“Remisteria”

( 24 x 36 inch oil on canvas )

One of my favorite painting i did last year, and its a very peaceful and relaxing scenery. I was commissioned by my coworker, and was requesting to have a painting that has a lot of “Wisteria Trees” and usually when i make a painting from someone, i let them imagine everything they want to be included in the painting, and its up to me to gather everything in the canvas. What she wanted was a sunset setting, with mountains and waterfall, and also a Bamboo house as well. So it gets me excited when they get excited as well, in my mind i add and subtract figures or colors that might work and what not.

Most of the time, the more i think about the painting that i wanted to make, the more easier it is to paint, its really an amazing process, feels like bringing my dreams to reality

I am still new to art and painting, i only started back in 2013. With no art or drawing background or experience , and not even one artist in my family to look up to, i would say it just came out spontaneously, and i consider it as a symptom of my awakening back in 2011. Im still amazed till now that Everything evolves within me and around me, and just accepted the fact the change is the only constant in this world, like i was given a chance to write my destiny and choose my path and felt like living again but this time every moment counts, and i always find time to sit and meditate undisturbed and be in the moment and be thanful for everything. Its a practice that i commit myself in doing as long as i live, and i could see that the direction im going is the best path, and it feels good too.

Here is my process for this wonderful painting

• i start by making a rough sketch and although everything is in my mind, i just made asketch so that the owner knows how it might look like
  
• then i start making th background, i cover the canvas with minseed oil and that makes it more smoother and its easy to blend colors, plus the canvas stays wet for long hrs. Then after making my sunset skies, i added a mountain and used a knife to shape it.
  

• then after blocking the foreground, i work on the landscape. And focusing more on where the fogs and mist. And its all about strokes, even just using a background color of black, just following the strokes helps alot.
  

• add all the green trees from the background, like i said its all about the brush strokes, and i used a worned out brush and spread it more, and load the brush and damp it in the canvas, i thinned it a little. Remember this: Thin paint sticks on thick paint

• i also worked on the water falls using a fan brush, used linseed oil on a black background then used a transparent color pthalo blue, then filled my fan brush with titanium white. Then got it on 1 stroke straight down then added more highlights on the edges. Dont over do it, its better to leave the dark areas for shadows.
  

• then useda fan brush with the Wisteria trees, and dabbing the fan brush with a downward stroke, i was able to give the effect of willowing trees.
  

• then lastly adding the bamboo house a native house in my country called “Bahay kubo”. I had a black background and allowed it to dry then use a detail brush for each line and a fanbrush for the roof.
  

And there you have it. The painting is done, Remy the owner already have it in her home and is very happy, now she promotes my work to other people and i get referrals as well. Although for now im doing it as a hobby, i really choose my subject and projects. But this passion of mine will never fade away, even if theres no money involved i would still be painting and keep in learning new ways to express my art, and hopefully one day i maybe able to do this as a full time.

thank you so much for viewing my art blog, hope you found some tips usefull if you ever want to try oil painting. Enjoy and keep steeming my friends!