# First oil painting after a long brak



## Arduy (May 31, 2020)

*First oil painting after a long break.*

I've made my first oil painting on canvas after a pause of nearly 40 tears due to shift work in a hospital, and I'm not perfectly content with the outcome, and I don't really know why. All of my co-workers like it very much, but I wanted to hear from you all if the painting could be ok. Thank you very much for your time.


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## Richardson111508 (Aug 15, 2020)

Looks great to me, but I am a beginner. Was this done in part with a knife?


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## Arduy (May 31, 2020)

Hello Richardson11150, thank you for your reply. I did this painting using only two painting knives, and the larger one of the two was used to mix the colors too, cleaning it to apply the colors mixed.


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## Richardson111508 (Aug 15, 2020)

I’m not very familiar with impasto, so I’m not the best judge but I think it looks great! What size is your canvas? How long did it take that to dry?

I just started painting and posted a few pictures of my first three pieces on here yesterday. Take a look and let me know what you think!


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## Arduy (May 31, 2020)

I'm happy that you like it. Thanks. When I started painting it I didn't have too much time, so I made it in about three days (about two hours each day), and I had chose a relatively small canvas: it's 60 cm by 45 cm (about 23.62 by 17.722 inches). The painting was finished in July, it's already dry to the touch, but I'm wainting until January to put a final varnish on to it. I'll surely look for your pictures, and I'll tell you what I think about them. Maybe we have a similar genre or style?


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## Ally (Nov 14, 2020)

Hi, 

I think what you are not happy with is that there is only one or two similar tones to the painting. 

Subconsciously you are looking for dark and light contrasting values (different to colour) to add compositional pleasure.

If you squint your eyes when looking at the painting you will see that there actually isnt much variation in tone despite the bold colour palette.

For your next one I would recommend doing a few small studies only using black and white (maybe 1 grey mid tone if you need it) to make sure the composition is engaging and the eye is drawn where you want it to be. Then when you start your big one you'll be all set!

I love your brushstrokes by the way. Very strong and painterly!


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