Lost and Found Edges

This month's workshop focuses partly on Lost and Found Edges which to me is one of the real beauties of working with oil paints - that you can soften off or completely lose an edge whilst leaving others sharply focused, adding an air of mystery and romance to a painting.

Here's the painting we're working with:

"Old Timers" 13 x 13" Oil on Canvas by Richard Robinson.

and here's the Plein Air piece where I began to explore the idea of exaggerating lost edges:

"Old Timers" 13 x 13" Oil on Canvas by Richard Robinson. Painted en plein air. (Outdoors on site).

See how crisp the details in the truck look and how intently our eyes become focused on it because of the vagueness of the edges surrounding it? Neat eh!? I love this effect and I plan to use it more and more in my work.

Another thing I cover in the demo video is obviously the process of how to build up to that crisp detail:

If you focus on the details too early it's all too easy to get lost. Much better to paint the big shapes first and then put the icing on the top.

We also look at methods of simplifying the background:

Simplifying the background with unified colour

Any of these background colour options could be used - it's a matter of preference, but the key is to keep the background simple by making its colours very similar. Let the foreground be the star of the show.

Get the Demonstration Video

Painting Workshop 45
Old Timers

I find this sort of nostalgic subject hard to pass by - call me sentimental. Follow me step by step as I show you the techniques I use to paint this classic scene of a 53 Chevy. Painting a consistent light effect, simplifying a background, lost and found edges and building up to crisp details are all demonstrated in the video.