Painting in the Studio New Year’s Day!

Happy New Year from the Retreat! Jana has passed responsibility for this blog over to me. I am John Skelcher. I can't promise to keep it as organised as Jana but I shall try to keep it of interest to anyone who enjoys painting and the Italian countryside.

Just warming my soul this wintry morning (not quite freezing but cold enough!), by overworking  a summer scene painting. The scene includes a view of the much loved Monte Falcone and plenty of sheep! Struggling with greens of the tree tops! Oils can be a little frustrating and it is always difficult to exactly know when it's time to stop and leave for another day. I tend to work it to the paint becomes too fat to work- i.e it starts to blend with the under paint causing you to loose control of the mixed tone.

My work tends to rely on a technically smooth surface, so I try to keep it lean but opaque. Anyone who paints may understand that there is always a temptation to try something new and you break your own rules. This can be good but for me at this moment i am trying to stick with a style of painting that i have developed. So discipline comes into it as well. I shall let you know if it pays off later. But for now I shall get on with painting and hopefully take a snap and upload for those interested...

Anyway Ciao for now, but if you want to book a course, see our Courses page for dates.

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