Hello all friends here!
I am not using this blog anymore and have moved it on to my my Virtual Art Academyt website:

Buddhist Festival Qinghai

This summer I did a painting expedition to Qinghai, a largely Tibetan province in north western China. There was a Buddhist festival taking place with a temporary tent town of tens of thousands of Tibetans. There were some great compositions with the brightly colored clothing and tents.

On account of its high altitude, the light in Xinjiang in China is even more intense than that of California or Tuscany where I have a studio. It was around midday and very hot when I was painting in this small Kasakh village, so I hid behind a large wall to get out of the heat. The village is as yet undeveloped and still has many original mud and straw buildings which give it a warm and welcoming feeling.

If you are interested in the color harmony I used, see my painting technique explanation:

https://www.virtualartacademy.com/oil-painting-techniques-secondary-color-harmony

Painting a sunset on the grass plains of Qinghai, China at 3110m above sea level. 

24x24 Oil. Zhaosu, Xinjiang, China.

Just finished this 24" x 24" oil. I did the first version (60cm x 80cm) plein air in Zhaosu, Xinjiang, China last fall (sheltering in the shade of a tree in front of their house, hence the wall shadows!). But I re-thought the composition and did this one in the studio, this time adding the two children to give the painting a story.

Imprimatura on the Canvas

I am experimenting with a technique of creating the imprimatura on the canvas 'as you go' rather than pre-prepared. Also having a different imprimatura in different parts of the canvas. There seems to me to be a warm underlying light in a rainy English winters day. So I tried a warm imprimatura in the mud area.

PS The photo of my painting is not accurate. I took it hastily under interior warm light. The actual colors are much truer to nature. But of course even though the photo is warmer, all of the internal relationships are accurately picked up by the camera.

Esedra Giulio, Borghese Gardens, Rome - 9in x 12in - Oil on Linen - 2015

I painted this in the gardens outside the Villa Borghese in Rome. It is a beautiful museum to go to if you get the chance, with some wonderful sculptures by Bernini. In this painting I used the key discovery of color pairs.