First week-end of the Swindon Open Studios

This week-end, I took part in the Swindon Open Studios at The Platform. We were eight artists in this space. I will also be there next week-end.

 

I managed to do an oil painting that I will show you in a next post.

Cafe Zoetrope‎ (San Francisco)

Cafe Zoetrope‎ is located 916 Kearny Street San Francisco, CA 94133. The whole round tower is covered in weathered copper, which gives it its unique look.

Cafe Zoetrope (San Francisco) – Watercolour (31 cm x 39 cm) by Benoit Philippe

Painting in veins

For my painting “Morning fog in San Francisco”, I used a veining effect. “Veining effect” is an expression I made-up to describe the impression created.

Morning fog in San Francisco - Oil on linen canvas (50 cm x 60 cm) by Benoit Philippe

This effect is an attempt to emulate the veining that occurs in some stones, where brightly coloured veins are set against the neutral colour of the stone.

Veining effect (Click on the picture to enlarge)

In this instance, I used pure Turquoise paint mixed with some Lefranc & Bourgeois Flemish Medium paste (clear) in tube. This product is designed for impasto as it contains cobalt-zirconium siccative and touch-dries in around two hours. It is glossy and transparent and makes the paint it is mixed with “sticky”. In practice, this means I was able to add these stokes of Turquoise blue on the fresh underground without smudging the paint.

Lefranc & Bourgeois Flemish Medium paste

The final effect is interesting because the Turquoise blue paint brightens-up the sky while the overall neutral tone shows through.

I believe it also create interest to give the viewer a different impression when he looks at the painting from afar (where optical mixing happens between the Turquoise blue and the background) and then closer (where he can see the Turquoise veins in the sky).

Related articles

• The making of “Morning fog in San Francisco”

• Texture in oil with painting knives

Oil painting Painting technique Painting effect Veining effect

Swindon Open Studios 2010

I will be taking part in the Swindon Open Studios 2010. I will be exhibiting some of my works and painting at the Platform, with seven other artists.

Where:

The Platform (Ex railway museum),

Faringdon Road,

SN1 5ED Swindon

When:

11^th /12^th September 2010, 11am to 5pm and

18^th /19^th September 2010, 11am to 5pm

Over sixty artists at twenty two venues will be displaying their works for nine days between September 11th/19th 2010. More information on the Swindon Open Studios website.

Serene gardening (San Francisco)

The Japanese garden in San Francisco is a great source of subjects.

Serene gardening (San Francisco) - Watercolour (31 cm x 39 cm) by Benoit Philippe