Painting with Paint Shapers

Painting without solvents 

I taped part of the process of painting this painting using brushes and paint shapers. I started with brushes and used the shapers to blend color and so some linear work at the end.  I did not use solvents.

Zinnias Demonstration

Azaleas

My azaleas are blooming now.  They grow like weeds here in NC.  Now if the deer would just leave them alone.

Camellias in a Blue Vase

My camellias have finished blooming for the year, but I have several good pictures to work from.  I have planted several bushes that bloom at different times from fall through spring, but the deer eat some of them but not others.  The different colors must also be different flavors like jelly beans.

Oil Paint without Solvents

Over the years I have learned some techniques for painting with oil paints without using solvents.  I really like the working quality of oil paints, but just don't want to handle solvents.

Clean your brushes with a mixture of one half Murphy Oil and one half water.  This even works to rescue brushes that have dried paint.  I find this to be a better cleaner than mineral spirits and much more friendly to the environment.  It cleans your hands as well.

I cover my palate with waxed paper so that I don't have any clean up at the end of the day.

This is a link to my video showing how I use oil paints without solvents.

Contemporary Impressionism

I love creating paintings full of happy colors, and flowers are the perfect excuse.  Zinnias are a flower I grow now, and remember in my grandmother's garden.  I used an approach I call contemporary Impressionism because rather than blending the colors I pot them in with individual brush strokes and let the eye blend them into a rich tapestry.

Azaleas

I made some changes in an earlier piece to make it more colorful.