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Cotswolds Apples

October 16, 2018 By: Paul7 Comments

Cotswolds Apples – Oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches

Currently up for auction, click here to bid

I was about to hit the publish button, but I just couldn’t do it.

Making something new public is always at least a little nerve-wracking for me. But it’s very rare that I actually stop myself doing it.

I have a rule of thumb that I should hit publish whether I’m happy or not, because I never really am.

It might be a blog post. In which case I usually want to spend longer on it because I think I might not have got the ideas across clearly enough.

Or it might be a painting, as it was here.

How do you decide when a painting is finished?

I’d done three sessions on it, which is usually enough for me to be fairly happy with a painting.

But for some reason, even though I’d signed and photographed this one, and set up the auction, I just couldn’t do it. It just wasn’t ready to put out into the world yet.

I knew I could make it better with a bit more work.

What happened next is that I put it back on the easel, set the cameras up and hit record.

And this video is the result. It’s a record of what was going through my head as I was trying to work out what I need to do to take this painting a bit further, to become – I suppose – happier with the result.

Just get to the easel

I really, really didn’t feel like working that day.

I don’t know about you, but every now and again I have a day where I feel so low I can hardly get myself into the studio. I don’t know where it comes from. I wish it wouldn’t come at all.

But it does. Less often these days, but I know that every now and again I’ll really struggle. And the only way I know to deal with it is to just get started.

I don’t always manage it. This video is of one of the days when I did. It was streamed live on facebook at the end of last week.





Mostly this is a video of me thinking out loud while I paint. I had a separate camera on the palette and managed to get both into the stream at once, which makes it a lot more informative I think.

If you want to be in with a chance of catching one of these streams (I usually do at least one a week, when I’m on a roll) then you can follow me on facebook here.

Also, here’s a pic of the painting at an earlier stage. You can see the raw umber and black underpainting I usually start with now, in the background.

I’ve filmed the whole process of painting this one too, which will be coming out soon as a complete video – along with excerpts from the live stream. I hope having both, some edited video and some more off-the-cuff live footage where I talk as I paint, will help give a clearer picture of how I go about putting together my little paintings these days.

The video should be out sometime in the next few weeks. It will be part of a new subscription thing I’m bringing out soon, which will cover both sides of being an independent artist making a living online – the art part (like, the painting) and the online part (like, running a website and building an audience).

I’m getting ahead of myself though! Stay tuned and I’ll have more on that soon.

Best wishes and thanks for reading.

Paul

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About Paul

I'm a (mostly) self-taught artist. I paint realism in oils, mostly still life. I share my work, my evolving process and what knowledge I've gained on my own learning journey here, in the hope that it might help you along on
yours.

Comments

  1. 1

    Helga Parker says

    October 16, 2018 at 4:41 pm

    Hi Paul, this is an awesome painting and I keep learning from you so much. It can’t get any better then this.

    Cheers
    Helga

    Reply
  2. 2

    Darlene Childs says

    October 16, 2018 at 5:59 pm

    Paul, I am a huge fan and I am so grateful for your honestly!

    Reply
  3. 3

    Mateo says

    October 16, 2018 at 9:44 pm

    Brilliant painting. Thank you for sharing the difficulties and doubts, they gift us voyeurs with a touch of your ultimate victory. I selfishly hope it doesn’t go through the roof in the auction, I’d really like to buy it! But of course, it will, and it should

    Reply
    • 4

      Paul says

      October 16, 2018 at 10:08 pm

      Thanks Mateo, I’m very glad you like it!

      Reply
  4. 5

    Erin Hardin says

    October 16, 2018 at 10:35 pm

    I can’t believe the timing of this post. I am actually having one of those days right now. In fact, this very moment I’m feeling a bit sick to my stomach with angst over a life-drawing group I’m about to attend. While of course I don’t want you to have bad days, it is nice to know I’m not alone in this . Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  5. 6

    Erin Hardin says

    October 16, 2018 at 10:36 pm

    And, as always, the painting is absolutely beautiful!

    Reply
  6. 7

    Steve Campbell says

    October 16, 2018 at 11:39 pm

    I deeply admire your openness and honest approach to your technique and thought process as you create these amazing pieces ..You have a fan here and as always look forward to seeing more! Well done !!!

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Paul

I'm a (mostly) self-taught artist. I paint realism in oils, mostly still life. I share my work, my evolving process and what knowledge I've gained on my own learning journey here, in the hope that it might help you on yours.
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