Painting Hobby Update

I have not mentioned very much of this hobby as late since we’ve had some other activities to cover. So, today I will share with you another pastime that I have enjoyed. I try to spend some time each week painting a landscape, an old building, or a still life. It is very relaxing and rewarding. And if it does not turn out well it is very easy to just paint over!

Background

I’m not sure how I ever managed prior to retiring. Too much to do and not enough time! My hobbies include home brewing beer, target shooting, travel, ham radio, playing pool, wood working, wood carving, reading and painting. Might have missed a couple. Pat is a very swell gal to humor me.

I always thought that I might enjoy painting landscapes back in the working years. Just never got serious enough to try it. Then we retired, bought the truck and RV and spent the second winter in Texas. Our RV park had a dedicated art studio with lessons and plenty of table space to paint. That was my start.

Unrelated to my painting, my father-in-law Ray began painting with his non-dominate hand after he had a major stroke. He gave us a couple of his paintings and they now hang next to mine.

About

I have tried oil painting and water color and then finally settled on acrylics. The advantages of acrylic paints are the fast drying time, they are much less toxic than oils, and they resist fading. I like the strong colors that they can provide.

Lessons and books are always a good thing to build up the skills required. There are many YouTube videos as well to pick up some training. Some are free and others subscription or pay per view. I’ve done some of all these methods. So, I have been at this hobby for 3-4 years with some long absences when things get busy. But still learning something new all the time.

I started with an inexpensive set of tubes of acrylic paint and since have moved to much better quality paints. The actual paint is not something to scrimp on for something that may last awhile.

Another improvement has been in the canvas. I started painting while we were in the RV and did not have much space. So I began using some very good “140 pound” paper that is better suited for watercolor. This was fine to be able to store the 9×12 paintings in portfolio books. A nice small storage footprint.

I have now switched over to canvas that is stretched over a wooded frame. Started with 11×14 and since moved up to 16×20. It was a little intimidating at first with a large canvas, but I think that it is actually easier to plan out the scene.

Favorites to Study

My favorite painting style is the Impressionist made popular in the late 1800’s by Claude Monet, Pierre Renoir, Edouard Manet, Paul Cezanne, and many others. I’ve made my version of a copy of many of these masters works. Some are decent, but I’ve learned from all of them.

People always ask if I plan to sell my artwork. No, no plans at all. I just do them for our enjoyment. I plan to give some away for Christmas presents. The photos below are some of my paintings that I have copied from several of the masters. The photos are not the best due to glare and not the best lighting, but I’m too lazy to set up a proper photo booth, so there’s that.

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Other Works

The paintings below are from scenes that we have seen while traveling or else ideas I’ve gotten from other paintings. I take hundreds of photos when we travel to use either in this blog or else as a new painting. You may notice that I like tropical and Florida settings.

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Wrap Up

I hope that you enjoyed some of the results of this hobby. I do believe that my skills are improving over time. Some of my new paintings make me happy while others may not make the cut and be painted over.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people who have homes in the Florida storm path. As I write this update we are in the path of the former Hurricane and now tropical storm Ian. High winds and heavy rain are predicted. The grocery stores were slammed yesterday as I can attest. I’m sure that milk and bread were top sellers.

Take care and God Bless.