Gun Barrel track – oil painting with progress pics

My latest canvas. The track across land from Perth to Alice Springs (Coast to Central Australia) – for those who don’t know the area, these colours are not exaggerated, they are the colours of the North West of the country. Having said that, the photo has turned dark green into black. This canvas sold even before I’d finished the under-painting.

Oil on stretched canvas, 122 x 61 cm (48 x 24 inches) – I’ve included a few pictures on the painting progress.

Gun Barrel

Camp Site.- step-by-step oil painting

This is a step-by-step I did on FaceBook a few months ago and people are still commenting on it.

Camp Site

Oil on stretched canvas, 1202 x 62 cm (48 x 24 inches

Cocklebiddy – Rawlinna Track in the MotherShip

On a recent rescue mission to drive the stranded MotherShip back from Hervey Bay, Qld to Perth, WA, some 5000 Kms (approx 3,100 miles), I made the Cocklebiddy Roadhouse suffering dirt track withdrawal symptoms and a dread of the upcoming 147 KM (approx 91 miles) of dead straight highway from Caiguna to Woorlba. This is the longest straight stretch of road in Australia.

When asking about the 115 Km ( 72 miles – you can do your own conversions from here in) track from the Roadhouse to Rawlinna and then joining the service road for the Transcontinental Railroad, I was told it will take 4 – 5 hours and rattle the MotherShip to pieces – in short, I was unlikely to make it.

What a challenge!

Map – thanks to Google Maps

Oilpainting – Wright Cres – part 4

Final block-in

Block in the house, main thing here is to make the tone slightly darker that the sky – in the photo, this doesn’t seem to be the case, so a photograph can lie.

Colour 04

Oilpainting – Wright Cres – part 3

Laying down some Colour

The best rule when using pallet knife is always mix twice as much colour as you think you will need.

Mix the darkest tone/colour, in this case the two shapes on the left and right of the canvas, using ultramarine blue, yellow ochre, a smidgen of alizarin crimson and bulk with Archival Oils Smooth Jell Medium (keep some aside). I love this medium, could almost eat it.

With my biggest pallet knife – slap it on – don’t hassle about details.

Similarly mix a quantity of the lightest tone/colour, the sky. Initially ultramarine blue, phalo blue, lemon yellow and titanium white (keep some aside).

Colour 01

Oilpainting – Wright Cres – part01

Started a new canvas today 61 x 122 cm (48 x 24 inches) and thought I would give you a blow-by-blow description of my progress. What is the standard? Do you list the width first or the depth when stating the size of an artwork?

The Location is Gobba Lake, Wright Cresent, Bayswater, Western Australia (see Google Maps).

Wright Crescent, Bayswater, Western Australia

Oilpainting – Wright Cres – part 2.

Tonals

Start scrubbing in my tones with a big brush using Raw Umber and solvent. Don’t use any medium as the oil in medium makes the colour stick, which wont allow me to wash out any changes with solvent.

Tones 01