Painting The World Around Me - II

The long gap of 11 years or so made it a bit of a struggle to go back to Oil Painting. The colors didn't speak to me, if I had to get philosophical :D. It came back to me this time though. I could immdediately see the difference in my approach, in the way I mixed colors and applied them fearlessly. Of course, something my husband preaches could've helped a little - I had a plan!! So instead of getting too excited and working the strokes haphazardly, I looked up some youtube tutorials, went over a bunch of pictures online and decided to copy a picture I liked. I mean, I ain't no Picasso! It really helped - having something to look at. This was a good practice painting and I'm liking the product way better than the last one.

Here's the original painting: http://artmauve.com/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=708&zenid=f60522ef8adddbcb860741a477b965a9

And here's my version of it (simplified to suit my skill level). Please be lenient in the comparison as the original painting was by a pro =).

I had no patience to hang it on the wall and take a pretty picture!



Some of the finer details

 

Painting The World Around Me

The last couple of days, I gave my dining table a break from the hot pots of steaming curries and used it as a coloring station instead. I'm sure it enjoyed losing itself in the world of oil paints just as much as I did.

For as long as I can remember, painting has been a big stress-buster for me. Painting that magical place from my dreams on a paper brought it to life. Back in school, when getting a project done or studying for an upcoming exam were the causes of worry (oh, how little of the world I knew), I would lock myself in a room and start working the strokes on a paper. Many a times, the painting would never go beyond some random strokes; yet the colors would brighten my world.

On our first trip to Michael's together (yes, it happens to be an event for me!), I expressed my wish to try oil painting on canvas some day. Hubby immediately bought the essentials to get me started on it. Without any clear picture in mind, I started working on the painting. Then half way through, we moved into a new place and the painting sat in a corner completely neglected. Finally, seeing a friend's oil paintings gave me a nudge and I went back to it determined to complete within a couple of days. So here it is, almost finished..and I say almost because I'll keep finding some mistake or the other I would want to fix. I'm absolutely not satisfied with the product knowing I've made quite a lot of errors. It's been so long since I last used oil paints (coming to think of it, any paints) that my skills are a little rusty. Nevertheless, I'm back to the colorful world of painting thanks to hubby!

A poor start, but a start nonetheless...