Black water

They say oil and water don't mix, but I think they do! I have a little bit of an obsession with trying to capture the essence of water with oil paint.

I think what first generated this interest is my visit to Monet's garden in Giverny, France. As many of my followers know, I like gardens and I like painting. So Giverny was a little piece of heaven for me. On my return I spent weeks in my studio painting. I shared some of this work in my post 'Are you ready to get oily?'. Including the painting below.

As my work has progressed I've started to look at the roles of light and reflections on the colour and shades of water. The colours that are reflected back at us are not always what we think water should look like. This is what I enjoy about painting, letting go of the preconceived ideas, going where the paint tells you and following that inner voice.

I took the camera out this week and tried to capture the water how I sometimes see it when I am painting. I don't draw or paint from photographs, but I sometimes use them as reference or as inspiration. My photograph (it is blurry- not your eyes!) of 'black water', not exactly how I see it with my own eyes, but I'm trying to give you a bit of an idea!

Can you see why I use the zesty green and blue in my painting when you look at this photograph?

My 'Black Water' oil painting on canvas.

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