Fruit on Red and Blue Cloths

After a discussion with an Art Teacher at Itchen College I admitted to a life-long desire to be able to paint. The A-T said "Do it then. Anyone can paint." The first four paintings are my early efforts in acrylic paint. Even I am not sure which way up this one should be. This strengthened my opinion that not anyone can paint but I decided to stick with it and give the challenge a fair chance.

Turquoise Beach

This was intended as a memory of holiday in Turkey. I was pleased with the colour of the sea but the foreground did not work as intended. The clouds were painted with a feather in an attempt to get a light fluffy appearance.

Snowstorm

This is an attempt to get more out of acrylics by using a palette knife for most of the painting. The buildings and figures are pleasing but the sky came out a little heavy, perhaps I should have flicked the paint at the canvas rather than speckled it.

Reflections

This painting came about from an idea and a mental picture. I wanted to show the tall plume of smoke balancing the long reflection from the mast in the water. To emphasise these the picture had to be tall and narrow.

Distant Mountain

This is my first excursion into oils. After watching several Bob Ross programs on the Discovery channel I went to a Bob Ross workshop and produced this. Although simple in nature and lacking a focal point I was pleased with the overall effect to the degree that I abandoned acrylics and went to several more Bob Ross style classes.

Hidden Moon

The impact of the tree growing out of the oval mask makes this picture. A variety of techniques were used in this wet-on-wet painting. Palette knife, oval brushes, fan brushes and although I have improved in technique since this painting it is still one of my favourites.

Waterfall in the Forest

This painting works better on the screen than in real life as the dark texture needs a strong light to bring out the best in it. There is a great amount of detail in the foliage which is not immediately apparent.

Beach with Lighthouse

The sky and the foreground are excellent. Compare foreground with that on Turquoise Beach above and the difference is startling. The perspective of the lighthouse confuses the eye as it does not taper sufficiently towards the top and appears to lean towards the viewer.

The sender has included tags, so you can do more with these photos. Download Photoshop (R) Album Starter Edition-Free! http://www.adobe.com/aboutstarteredition

Variation on Niagara Falls

This painting was inspired by the view across Niagara Falls but the line of water at the point it tumbles over the brink has not quite worked. The sky is an improvement on earlier skies and the splashing water is still a little heavy. An OK picture but not one of my favourites.

Pastel Skies

All the elements of this picture are fine but putting them together has not quite worked. They are all too much in the same plane, it needs either something large in sharp focus in the foreground or something small and hazy in the background to give more depth.

Tranquil Waters

My best so far. The S shaped water draws the eye into the picture, the blue-grey trees in the distance add to the illusion of depth and the overall effect is exactly as I pictured it when it was being painted. I am pleased with this picture. I still cannot draw but I believe I can paint, maybe the Art Teacher was right.

Pippa Cat

After several attempts this is the nearest we could get to a smile.

True Love

This was a Teddy Jean won in a Chinese raffle by buying ticket No. 1. I advised her against as the first ticket out of the book never wins. Everybody knows this.