Hello all, (or at least all who view this forum....)

I hope you don't mind me posting this here. I've just got back from two weeks in France and spent some of the time trying out a little oil painting.

This is the first time I've ever used oils for anything other than washes on models so it's been an excursion for me.
I had a lot of fun with this and it passed a few pleaseant hours while the rain poured down outside.
Sure, it's crude and naive but, what do you expect for a first go?

Comments are most welcome and so I'll start the ball rolling. Remember, I'm no art critic (or artist for that matter!) but here are a few points that occured to me once I stood back and looked at the finished article.

The colours of the sky and grass might seem too "bright" although I did want the appearance of a sunny day....... The same can be said of the strip of foliage. It seems too bold to me. Perhaps a subtler, cooler tone next time could suggest a little distance? I'll try to remember these things if I do another painting.
There are quite a few indistinct patches dotted around......in particular the wings. I blame this on my inate lack of skill although inexperience is another excuse I'm considering.. The furthest rigging is too thick. This was the first bit I did and tried it free-hand......not recommended. Eventually I ran the brush along a piece of paper to ge a nice thin, straight line. Should have done that in the first place.

On a brighter note, I'm happier with the cowling and shadows a long the fuselage, the wheels are n't too bad and the prop seems o.k.

Let me know what you think if you like. I'd like to get some feedback so I don't delude myself too much.

cheers,

Guy

Hardly crude and naive. I really like it. Looks like you have been at it for years.

Nige.

It's good Guy. As you say it's a little naive but that's what gives it it's character. A good effort for a first try. I've a friend who's father likes to paint aviation subjects and when he started off he used a slide projector to project slides onto a wall so that he could get a good outline of the subject with all the correct perspective etc. and then he had a good base to learn the difficult part. He's been painting for quite a while now and some of his recent efforts have been superb.
I really admire the aviation art of people like Robert Taylor, Nicholas Trudgian et al. Truly stunning work. They all seem to have one thing in common............ the ability to paint a good sky and a love of their subject. Keep on painting mate

Bloody great! If that's your first effort, I'm looking forward to the next ones. The rendering of the aircraft is really painterly, and shows you're actually looking at the subject, rather than just painting what you know is there (something I used to do when I painted). I agree that the grass & sky are a bit "lively", and the sky is probably also a bit indistinct, but that should come with practice. The horizon's probably too close to 1/2 way, so next time, use the rule of thirds to break up your composition - the same one they tell photographers to use... never have the horizon, or any breaking line in the middle of your pic.

Overall though, I'd say you should DEFINITELY do more painting, as you have a gift for it

Aww shucks you guys.

Thanks for taking the time to add your comments. It's great to get feedback from un-biased eyes. You've re-affirmed my thoughts on a number of issues and highlighted a couple of others which is useful.

I recognise that I have a huge amount to learn if I decide to continue painting but this one was fun and only meant as a quick holiday project so I'll see what (if anything) happens next.

I suppose a couple of books on the subject would be a good place to start but if I'm honest, I get more of a kick out of the 3D versions than the flatter variety. Since my self imposed hobby budget is reasonably limited perhaps I'll add a book or two to my Christmas list.

Thanks again chaps.

Guy, you're taking the piss right?

Deluding yourself?

As a first effort it's brilliant. The plane's bang on and the colours are lovely.

The only thing I can fault and suggest you could work on for the next one is the shadow under the plane. Doesn't look completely right, and I can't figure out where the sun would have been falling on it, but bloody hell, it's a million times better than anything I could paint.

Good work fella!

All the best,

Nick

Bloody good if you ask me, especially for a first attempt and for a first attempt, I would say a difficult subject to choose!
well done mate, keep at it

http://www.airfighters.com/ Hi Guy, I think you've made an excellant start. It must inspire you to carry on..I'm not very good with computers so I'm not too sure wether this link will work, but Google the adress if it does'nt. They have started doing lessons on perspective for budding aviation artists and I'm sure you'll find it most useful. Keep up the good work..Kindest..Jim.. (my first post so I hope it's of use)

Rather nice - but stay critical of youreslf - then it is only upwards!

My goodness! Guy, I wish I'd come across this a bit earlier, but I'm a 'newbie' on the site. That is damned fine work indeed, sir! All the more so that it's a first effort. You have an instinctive feel for oil paint and how to use it, and I can see bigger and better achievements to come if you were to stick at it. You also have a good understanding of perspective, and for shapes and how light affects them. I should imagine you've thought about this for quite some time, probably studying other peoples' paintings, before deciding to have a go at it yourself. That's pretty much how I got started with oils rather a long time ago. My first efforts were encouraging, so I kept doing them and getting better with each one, and was surprised that people actually wanted to part with money for them. You could go in much the same direction my friend, if you enjoy the challenge of harnessing a new-found skill - actually, I'll call it talent - because you've got that in abundance if you can turn out something as good as this on your first crack at it.

I'm now going to post up some of my stuff in this forum, and I'll include one or two early efforts for your amusement.

I'm mightily impressed, Guy . . . seriously.

Tim.

Wow! What a beautiful painting! Perhaps a little bit more shadows on the underside of the wings? Other than that, it's perfect!