Recent Paintings

Hello everyone. It has been too long since I have posted or commented on my blog. Painting is one of my passions, but the other is music. I play guitar and I was unable to play until recently due to some issues with my wrists over the past 4-5 years. My passion for playing has been re-kindled, so this has taken some time away from my painting. I have to try and balance it out, but it is very difficult. These are only a few of the watercolor paintings I have done in the first 6 months of this year.

The first painting is a wild flower found during winter in Malta called Borage. It originates from Syria but various forms are found throughout the Mediterranean and Northern Africa.

The second painting is of Marsamxett Harbour in Valletta. Marsamxett is pronounced Mar-sam-shett. This is a view of the Carmelite Church (with the dome) and St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral in Valletta (Il-Belt) or the City.

The third painting is a sea view on the coast not far from the village of Bahrija pronounced (Bah-ree-yah). This was a wonderful hike my family and I took during the winter last year. Beautiful views indeed.

The fourth and last painting is of Tas-Salib pronounced (Tahs-Sa-leebp). This means Of The Cross or The Cross. This is located between Rabat and Mtarfa on the back roads heading towards Mgarr.

These are approximately 10 x 12 inches on a Matting or Backing that is 16 x 20 inches.

Getting back into the Acrylic Groove

It has been a few weeks since I have posted anything on my site. I have to say that I am really excited with the outcome of my latest painting......and it's not watercolor either. My feelings have been torn and reborn, realizing what I have been missing for the past 5 yrs since I last painted in Oil or Acrylic. Acrylic is different from oil in it's drying times and it's sheen, but they are very similar in mixing, consistency and texture. What I have realized is that I am much better painting oils and acrylics than watercolors. Watercolors can be more difficult in a sense. You have to reverse your thought process about how you are going to apply the paints. With watercolors it tends to be light to dark, but with Acrylic and Oil, you are applying the colors from dark to light since you are always adding white to get a lighter color. Of course you can have darker tones than straight out of the tube, but you get my drift(I hope). Automatically with watercolors you add water and build the colors. This can be a difficult process. It shouldn't be of any surprise that I am realising that my talents lean more towards oils and acrylics than watercolors, but what can I expect since in all honesty I have only been painting with watercolors for the past 2 yrs or so. Although watercolor is more difficult for me at this time, it won't stop me from learning and trying to get better. I see this more as a challenge.

This is a painting from a picture I took of an old shelter in a field here in Malta at the bottom of Saqqajja Hill. This building has been around for some time(at least 100 years) and has seen better days. My painting depicts the building in a much better light than it actually is. I have added some coloring to the stones as well to give the painting interest. I painted the stone in lighter shades of cream and white, but the painting became washed out and uninteresting, so I changed it to the current color scheme. This is a smaller painting that measures 8x10 and due to this, it took a lot longer for the brick work than it would on a larger painting. Regardless of this fact, I thoroughly enjoyed this painting and I can't wait to start painting more in oil and acrylic. I hope you enjoy this landscape and I always look forward to your comments.

Living, Loving, Painting and a bit of Wet Canvas

Over the past few days I really haven't painted a lot, and that could be due to the colder weather we are experiencing here in Malta at the moment, but I have had the opportunity to discuss various issues about painting with friends and acquaintances in a number of different conversations and topics. Whew! What a long sentence. Anyway, one of the topics I was discussing with a friend was trying to go from one level to the next. You know, improving your game and stepping it up a bit. I am in the process of taking some painting classes, but I just haven't found the right place or teacher yet. Another way is to network and to do research on the Web or by reading. There are plenty of videos on YouTube, WetCanvas and many other sites, where you can find instructional videos on different topics to help you improve as a painter or artist. Personally, WetCanvas is one of the best ways I have found to get instruction, critique, and comments on my paintings that I submit for other artists to view and provide feedback. This has encouraged me a lot as an artist knowing that if I ever have a question about how to start something or how to correct a mistake or to enhance a painting, I can go to a forum and ask fellow artists worldwide. Not will I only get 1 or 2 different types of feedback, but I may get 5 or 10. Other than you being your own worst critic, other artists will shoot it straight and try to help you out.

Another discussion I had this week was whether it is right or wrong for an artist who is painting to trace or copy the under drawing or if it should be done freehand. The subject of copying from a projector came up. A person can look at this in a number of different ways. If you are wanting to paint, you tend to want to start the painting right away, but the under drawing takes some time, so some people find it easier to trace the drawing instead of drawing freehand. You still have to paint it and that is the hardest part. The thought is if you can paint, that is the end goal and the drawing is only a small portion. If you can't paint well, no matter how good the drawing is, the painting will.....well you get my drift. This is one theory. The other thought is that the drawing is part of the art itself and more of a "pure" form and this isn't looked at as cheating, such as with tracing or copying. Both are food for thought. I myself have always taken the "pure" approach with the underdrawing, but this doesn't mean it is right or wrong. Let's face it, Michelangelo used his black pin box to help him cut corners too, but it didn't make him any less of a painter.

I recommend that anyone who is interested in learning, advancing your skills and talking with other artists, I would highly recommend connecting to WetCanvas . I do know that taking lessons will improve and advance my God given talents, and until I find the desired place to study, I will be living, breathing and loving painting........and I will spend some time on WetCanvas too.