So I went back to school this semester in hopes to finish in the next decade or so. I'm only taking one class--Senior Illustration Studio. I've taken similar classes in the past where we basically spend the whole semester exploring mediums of our choice and creating pieces that will hopefully help us fill out our portfolio. So I was a little bummed on the first day of class when we were told that we'd be painting almost exclusively in oils. I HATE OIL PAINTING. (Or at least I thought I did.)
There's no question Oil painting is one of my weaknesses, so I decided I'd try to use this time wisely and really work on improving my skills--figuring that would have to help in other areas of my work, right?
Well with the help of my instructor, Bjorn Thorkelson, and regular conversations with a good friend of mine, Buck McMurray, I've really gotten into it and I think I'm actually starting to really like oil painting. Like, I think I might even pursue it outside of this class.
Anyway, here are a few paintings I've done over the past two weeks that I've been pretty happy with. The first was done with a live model during the two and a half hour class. The other two are of my lovely wife and 18 month old son and I did those here in my studio. Let me know what you think!