Thank you to everyone who sent in their paintings for the Red Boat Project (instructions here) for us all to enjoy and be inspired by. From ink and wash to watercolour to pastels, acrylics to oils, these paintings show how different mediums each have their own characteristics, along with the artist’s style. Enjoy!
From Marion: I like your use of negative space, which helps lead the eye up the composition and gives breathing space. The level of detail on the nets works for me as it’s balanced by the looser marks of the ground and grass next to it and decreases in the further ones. The boat looks right to me, but in real life it is a bit like a little boat in a storybook, starting with its colour.
From Marion: My very first thought was “ooh, Bee’s managed to stick to just line and a little colour as I’ve wanted to but haven’t yet managed and look how beautifully it works!” (Join the discussion on Patreon )
From Marion: I like your reworking of the wall, and it now lets the red of the boat dominate the composition. (Join the discussion on Patreon )
From Marion: The sandpaper may have eaten up your pastels but working light onto dark has given the shadows and depth very effectively. I like the level of detail, the balance between it telling me enough so I understand what I’m looking enough but leaving enough for my mind to fill in as it engages with the painting. (Join the discussion on Patreon )
From Marion: It’s very moody and effective! I think the orange is essential in giving it energy.
From Marion: Would never know there was an unsuccessful painting beneath if you didn’t tell! I like the effect, the geometric layer beneath the expressive telling a different story and connecting the composition.
From Marion: Taking the line out to create a frame on three sides is so effective. An idea I definitely want to borrow!
From Marion: This was my first attempt. You can see a video of its creation in this blog. Overall I was pleased with it, and delighted I’d tackled the subject because boats are something I rarely paint.
This was my second attempt, working with the thought of having the red of the boat’s hull as a strong shape of colour at the top of the painting. I shared a video of my painting this to my Patreon project subscribers here.
This was my third attempt, again using the red of the boat as a strong shape of colour at the top of the composition. (And it’s not merely to avoid dealing with the perspective of the boat!) There’s a lot I like in this painting, but feel it still needs another round to add some highlights and darken some shadows; it’s a bit midtone.
A reminder: all the monthly projects can be found on this page. It’s never too late to do any of the projects, and if you’d like to share a photo of your painting email it to me and I’ll add it to the next month’s photo gallery.
If you’d like help with your project painting through a critique, this is available to project subscribers via Patreon (sign up here; there’s also an option for ). If you enjoy reading my blog, you can support me with a wave via Patreon. A big thank you to all my Patreon supporters and subscribers; I greatly appreciate it. If you’ve any questions on how Patreon works, simply email me or post a comment on this blog (comments get held in an approval queue until I’ve read them and approve them for publication or delete).