Friday 1 July 2011

An affair of the heart

I have something to confess to you all. I've been having an affair recently. I've been getting up at the crack of dawn and staying up well into the early hours of the morning just to spend some time with my new love. I know I've been unfaithful and have neglected my true love but the mutual attraction was just too great. I may never be the same person ever again.

So I went to see her again one more time this afternoon. We walked dreamily through the meadows by the river and sat down together for a while in the long grass. I held her hand, gazed into her beautiful coloured eyes, and said what I should have said much earlier; We really have to stop this now.

But who is this mistress - oils of course !!! And the true love I have abandoned all this while - watercolours. This is my first plein aire oil painting. Have  a lovely weekend :)



Flood meadows, Hartford, oil on gessoed cardboard, 6" x 8"

18 comments:

  1. Olala! I'm not sure what to say, because this is stunning! The trees are beautifully painted, and the grasses are gorgeous, and the colours great! I can only say: follow your heart!

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  2. Wel, ik kan alleen maar zeggen: ga ervoor! De schilderij is prachtig geworden. De kleuren zijn prachtig. Ik kan me voorstellen dat je helemaal in love bent.

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  3. Oops, written in Dutch. LOL
    One last, but now in English.

    Well, I can only say: go for it! The painting has become beautiful. The colors are beautiful. I can imagine that you're totally in love.

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  4. Judy - thank you! I thought you'd understand. Now I think it was worth all the disturbed sleep. ;-)

    Renske - dankje and thank you too! Now I can read your lovely comments in Dutch too. Yes, I'm deeply in love :)

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  5. A really super painting Michael. I have never tried oils, I could never wait the drying time but looking at this painting tempts me .. :)

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  6. Hi Ingrid and thank you. I use Artisan water mixable oils which dry quicker than conventional ones. I build the painting up in thin layers and thin the paint using a quick drying medium. This painting is almost touch dry already! Give it a go :)

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  7. Oh, Michael , say it isn't so... You can't reject your watercolors, just have a fling.. LOL your doing great with them but you can't leave your watercolor with a broken heart. !
    p.s. ( I too have a fling once in a while ) shhh ! my watercolor doesn't know that !
    Your doing excellent with these. BJ

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  8. Hi BJ, thank you for your lovely comments and advice in matters of the heart. A fling it is then, LOL. Glad to know I'm not the only watercolourist with a secret love :)

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  9. Wow! That is absolutely stunning! I love everything about it.
    It may well be that this is the fairytale romance, for you could be a natural :) xx

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  10. Hi Pat, wow from me too for your lovely comments! Just hope this one doesn't turn back into a pumpkin :)

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  11. This is just gorgeous! I think it's great that you try new things - Oils are clearly something you are very good at :0)

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  12. Hi Sandra and thank you for your comment. I seem to get better results with opaque media in general :o)

    Summer hols are approaching fast and I'm trying to refine my plein aire kit now in terms of ease of use, what paper, boards, brushes, mediums etc. I may take gouache instead but then I lose all the lovely qualities of oil. Acrylics are similar but just as messy as oils for plein aire :)

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  13. Great painting Michael, well done. I'm afraid I guessed your secret ;?

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  14. Thank you very much Sue. Perhaps I was a little conspicuous about my affair ;-)

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  15. This painting and the bridge painting, brilliant. All the best Michael.
    Vic.

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  16. Thank you very much indeed Vic. That's quite a compliment from the King of Greens!

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  17. This is really good, Michael! The colours are wonderful.

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  18. Thank you very much Lucia. This was my first plein air oil painting and I really enjoyed every minute of it!

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No silly verification words here - all comments are appreciated! Thank you :)