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McGregor Summer School – Painting in Colour and Light – Max Wilks

Oil on canvas - 40x30
Oil on canvas – 40×30
Oil on canvas 60x50 - After Max Wilks
Oil on canvas 60×50 – After Max Wilks
Oil on canvas - 60x50 - After Max Wilks
Oil on canvas – 60×50 – After Max Wilks
Oil on canvas - 30x40 - plein air painting
Oil on canvas – 30×40 – plein air painting
Oil on canvas 60x50
Oil on canvas 60×50
Plein air painting, oil on canvas - 40x30
Plein air painting, oil on canvas – 40×30
Ghost gums - 50x30 oil on canvas
Ghost gums – 50×30 oil on canvas
Nick - oil on canvas 50x60
Nick – oil on canvas 50×60
Oil on canvas, 50x60
Oil on canvas, 50×60
Oil on canvas, 50x60
Oil on canvas, 50×60
Oil on canvas 70x50
Oil on canvas 70×50

My painting buddy, Erna, and I had a great time at the USQ McGregor Summer School from 9th to 19th January. Toowoomba turned on exceptional weather for us again, with temperatures of around 40c in our classroom, but as you can see, Max Wilks kept us painting non-stop and struggled manfully with our various bad painting habits. I think his instructions might be summed up as – observe, think, paint loosely, keep it bright and clean. I’m interested to see how his instruction will play out in my paintings over the next few months.

By the way, all the workshop paintings are for sale – $100 for the smaller ones, $150 for the larger ones, unframed. Plus postage. Send me an email if you would like one.

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2013 – 100 paintings challenge — 2 of 100

Fishing for breakfast - South-West Rocks, oil on board, 51x41 cms
Fishing for breakfast – South-West Rocks, oil on board, 51×41 cms

Bad me, I’m bending the rules already. This painting was started some time ago, but it WAS finished in 2013, and that’s what counts, right? I’ve not been able to paint for that past couple of days, since I’ve been getting ready for 10 days away at the McGregor Summer School. I hope to come home with lots of lovely paintings to put me well ahead of schedule. I’ve also been working on a large 1m square painting, but that’s not ready to show yet.

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2013 – 100 paintings challenge

I’m very excited about 2013, and very happy to have arrived here. I think it’s going to be a big year in my artistic growth. One of my major challenges for this year is to paint 100 paintings. As friends quickly point out, that’s two per week. Well, they don’t all have to be large ones, I suppose. So, to get the show on the road, and running only slightly behind schedule in Week 1, here is my first painting — Life’s a Bitch. I painted it for the Royal Queensland Art Society’s January show themed “Life’s a Beach”. My reference photo was taken recently at the dog beach at Port Macquarie, NSW. My friends’ dogs were having such a good time. Their simple joy in living is instructive.

Life’s a Bitch – oil on board – 60×40 cms

Oil on board 60x40
Oil on board 60×40
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