Lake Merritt Japanese Garden

Oil on Masonite Panel, 12×9″
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I’ve been studying oil painting for months, reading piles of books, learning from others, watching endless painting videos (some that are literally “like watching paint dry”), taking a class and practicing every chance I get. Last week it seemed that despite my study and “book learning,” while I had the knowledge of how to paint in oils, I didn’t have the skill to actually do it. Today I think something has clicked and I’m finally starting to get it.

I nearly finished this painting on site with my plein air group this morning at Oakland’s Lake Merritt Botanical Garden. Unfortunately (or fortunately, really), the painting had a little accident on its way home and got smeared. That gave me the perfect excuse to work on it some more.

I’d been having difficulty with painting on the slick surface of the gessoed masonite with the stiff bristle brushes — the paint wouldn’t stick and kept sliding around when I tried to paint another layer on top. Then I got an email message from Nel, raving about a new softer brush she was enjoying: a Raphael Kevrin Mongoose Series 877. I picked one up at Artists and Craftsman in Berkeley and used that to fix and finish the painting. She was right — it’s a fabulous brush!

I had the most trouble painting the water, especially since I omitted the little island/tree in the middle of the pond and moved the big redwood tree all the way to the right. I had to adjust the reflections from what was actually there and I don’t think I quite got it right. Hopefully it looks a little like water and not grass!

Any tips appreciated (I mean advice, not spare change.)

Here’s the photo I used to finish the painting at home, and a couple steps along the way:

Preliminary value and compositional sketches

Blocking in the shapes and colors

Adding thicker paint