Hi Michael

I am happy to be your friend here. Thank you for the request.

Hello and welcome Michael.  I am quite pleased to accept your offer of friendship.  You have come to the right place if you want to improve your painting.   Richard has set up an incredible site with a lot of interaction between artists.   Ask for any help you feel that you need.  And if you are so inclined, try some of Richard's monthly workshops.   You might check out Michael Severin's blog on step by step painting of a larger canvas in oils and Richard Roger's blog on professional versus amateur artists.  Richard's DVD color course is incredibly good.   Thanks for your insightful comments on my "Judah Street Sunset" painting.  Not many people understand why I put things like overhead wires into a painting.  Stu 

Michael, I started painting in oils at age 9, with a professional artist as my instructor, but did not stay with this after a couple of years.  However, I continued to sketch, draw in pen and ink and pursue a number of other crafts.   I did not pick up a paintbrush again until I started my internship the first year after graduating from medical school.  This was an incredibly busy year and I began painting in acrylics for relaxation.   I kept this up, but on a sporadic basis until about 15 years ago when I started taking some classes and painting more.   I moved back into oils about 13 years ago and started painting outdoors about 6 years ago.  Now I have taken a lot more classes and workshops.   I am a general surgeon and very much a visual learner.   I found Richard through his free lessons, then his DVDs and now his competitions.   It is all about "brush miles" to get your painting where you want it.  Just a lot of practice.   These monthly challenges and painting outdoors with a group that paints together, along with the input I receive from other artists on this site that have made my work improve.   If I could take all I know about how to paint better and have it flow out through my brush onto the canvas without passing through my brain first, my art would be incredible; but of course, that's not how it works.   Your years of keen observation as a visual artist in the film industry will serve you very well, indeed.   Push yourself outside your comfort zone and your art will steadily progress.    Looking forward to more conversations.    Stu

Very happy to be your friend Michael! I greatly appreciate you stopping by and commenting and helping me out with my painting! I like painting a lot, but I am quite new at this... Liked it all my life, but never got my brushes wet... I didn't even have brushes! I have learnt SOOOO much in these past months that I am quite addicted now! I even know names of colours which I totally ignored.... Sometimes the translations don't work... but little by little... You have really landed on an excellent site Michael! Welcome!

Welcome! Nice to see a fellow South African, hope you enjoy “The Complete Artist”

Thank you Michael, your comments are much appreciated. You have a unique and skillful style of painting and no stranger to darks yourself :-)

I gladly accept your friend request. Also thanks’ for liking my work. I am currently working hard to have an exhibition in October here at my home in the garden. I have finished 21 paintings but I am aiming to exhibit at least 30 paintings. I truly hope my labours will be fruitful. By the way I like your self-portrait 

No I’m not an illustrator, but if the opportunity comes nocking I’ll sourly accept. You say tomorrow morning? I’ll rise bright and early to watch. Have a nice evening and a blessed Sunday

Hi Michael. Nice, now I have friends all over :)

Thanks Micheal, I am glad to be part of this community. I want to improve my paintings and I think I am at the right place now. Look and learn - that is what I must do. 

I am working from different photographs and objects and then create my own composition like you do... If there was something that was successful in one painting, l curry it over in another painting with something new  in the new painting.

Michael.

Thanks so much for your kind words and endorsement re the Lobster boats.

I have to admit there's a fine line between creative painting and a technical drawing. I try very hard to alleviate the latter as much as possible, so there's a free flow of colours that merge and hopefully become compositionally OK.......sometimes it works other times it fails miserably!!.

Thank you again and keep up your good work.

Regards

Kim

Thank you Michael, but I think you will like the revised version better! better photo, highlights added and colors adjusted. Thanks my friend!

Honored to be in your group of friends. smile

Will find the 2 images and post them.  Roena

Hi Michael.  Very honored to accept and thank you for the very nice compliment! :)

Michael, I see you were thanking Jan for sending photos of Edgar Payne's work.  I have his book, Composition for Outdoor Painting.  It was recommended to me as the "best" composition book out there and I agree.  Do you own it?

When I first hear of Payne, I did some checking.  Appears he was a CA en plein air artist and had so many titles of fame it just was impressive.  Dead and gone now, but his works sell for $300,000-$500,000++.  I figured he might have something of interest to say.  LOL  You should be able to buy the book for about $50, so dont reach for one of the super high priced e-bay ones.  

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&f...

It is the top book on this page.  

Which realistic painters are you finding?

Hi Michael, I'm glad you like Edgar Payne. I too think his paintings are strikingly beautiful. Have you seen the ones of the tuna boats? I think he painted those in Chiogga (Italy?). Wow! Love those juicy brush strokes. He has activated skies in many of his paintings that I love too. He wrote a book called Composition of Outdoor Painting & it's full of gems. Not a lot of paintings in it--just a few but the text is pretty rich in info. I got a copy from the interlibrary loan in our local library from another state and decided after checking it out I would like to buy it. Happy painting! Best! Jan

Edgar Payne's book cost about $39 if I remember correctly.  I think I bought it on Amazon.  

Thanks, Michael. You too!

Hi Michael, I don't know if you have a public library available where you live but often they may have Edgar Payne or one of the libraries they share interlibrary loans with.  It's free for a few weeks and you could check it out again and again. More convenient to own but until you find a copy perhaps you can borrow one.  Best!

Smiles to you : ))                                                 

Hi Michael,

Spot on, you won't believe me when I tell you this. The ref pic was square(ish), my paper wasn't...and I centered it !! LOL  For sure one argument against picking up a brush after midnight :-)  Thank you for dropping by and pointing it out.

I love your Cafe scene and the smoker (being one).  They make me want to pick up oils again.  Thinking of doing the lake using it.

Cheers, Jen

Your right Michael .. looks like a Mexican stand-off. The truth be said, when I got there there were 1000's of tourists (kept back by a roped perimeter)..mainly Japanese and Germans. Having fought my way to the front ,started sketching. Next thing 1000's of eyes on me!!

So determined to paint them all out!!!

Regards

Kim

Hi, Michael - it's an honor and a pleasure - keep in the paint, mate!

Happy to accept!  

thx for accepting... Have a great day.