Pencil Sketching on Vacation — A Landscape, a Still Life and a Portrait — by Damian Osborne Pencil sketching on vacation is a great way to unwind and get some sketching practice in, without needing to produce sell-able masterpieces. Sketching for me is relaxing and meditative. I put some earphones on with my favourite music, and zone out. I like drawing just for myself. Most of my drawings and doodles I don’t really show anyone. So I don’t have to care what anyone thinks of them. Drawing from life and not from photos is especially important. The best way…
Best Ideas for Oil Painting Every Painter Should Try
Watch this video on YouTube Best Ideas for Oil Painting Every Painter Should Try by Damian Osborne So, you’re wondering what you should paint? Here are some of my personal favourite ideas for oil painting: 1 | Landscape painting 2 | Seascape painting 3 | Still life painting 4 | Figure painting 5 | Self-portrait painting 6 | Painting portraits of your friends and family 7 | Painting animals 8 | Dreams, fantasy, mythological, allegorical and imaginary painting Throughout the history of painting, artists have found inspiration for their art from these universal and personal subjects. What were…
Alla Prima Still Life Painting Demo
Watch this video on YouTube Alla Prima Still Life Painting Demo by Damian Osborne Painting an alla prima still life is a really valuable exercise for any artist. For this still life painting demo, I set up some apples in an African bowl. The painting was another still life commission for a collector in the U.K. In my last post, I showed how to stretch a canvas for painting. I showed how to make a strainer frame and talked about the differences between a strainer and stretcher frame, and the pros and cons of each for stretching canvas. I…
How to Paint Flowers in Oils
Watch this video on YouTube How to Paint Flowers in Oils by Damian Osborne It’s time to paint flowers! I had these beautiful and exotic Amaryllis flowers from a house warming gift. They were blooming nicely. So I decided to paint them. The painting is a Christmas present for my mother-in-law. Flowers are easy to paint in oils since you can set them right up in front of you and paint them from life. If you’re new to oil painting, make sure you quickly read Beginning an Oil Painting – My 5 rules before you start. This is…
How to Draw an Abstract Drawing
Watch this video on YouTube How to Draw an Abstract Drawing (Abstract Still Life Drawing from Nature) by Damian Osborne 1 | What is abstract drawing? 2 | What is the point of abstract drawing exercises? 3 | Why is doodling important? 4 | What are the benefits of doodling? 5 | What is automatic drawing? 6 | What is abstract realism? 7 | How do you draw an abstract still life drawing? 8 | How are artists inspired by abstract patterns in nature? 9 | Isn’t all art abstract anyway? 10 | What is the role…
Still Life Painting of Apples
Painting a Still Life of Apples by Damian Osborne I had a commission to paint a still life of apples for a collector, so I decided to share the process as a still life painting tutorial. I set up a rustic-looking grass bowl with pink lady apples and a pretty brown and blue pashmina on the table. Then I lit the still life with a spotlight to simplify the shadows but also made sure I could see the canvas I would be painting on. It was better to paint it at night when the room was dark, but…