Working up…

I thought you might like to see how I work-up my paintings. I normally apply a slightly diluted wash to the paper first. It's not revolutionary – plenty of artists do it – but I find this process helps overcome that initial fear when presented with a blank piece of paper, and provides a key to work to. I then paint some of the darker areas. Subsequent opaque layers are applied in a hit-and-miss fashion, thus allowing the colour underneath to show thorough. I like the roughness of this process.

The initial washes

Sutherland storm

Something different…

I fancied a change from my usual landscapes. I needed to find the right subject to work from, so when I managed to capture my other-half and son taking a daytime nap I knew I had something to work with. I was reasonably pleased with the end result, especially considering this is my first effort in ages, but there's plenty to learn… and you only learn by making mistakes and pushing yourself!

The original photo

At rest