A Blog About Oil Painting
Welcome to my blog. Here you'll find me rambling on about all sorts of things related to art in general and oil painting in particular. There's even a recipe for dog cookies hidden away somewhere.
Like the rest of the site, this section is still a work in progress and I will be making it tider and easier to navigate in time. There is a lot of content, so using the buttons below may help you to get around. Newest posts are shown first.
Coming Back to Painting After a Break
by Simon Bland / 28 May 2022
After spending the last seven years in Seattle, my wife and I have finally moved back to the east coast. I am now based in the suburbs of Boston, MA....
Closing Out The Year: Fall 2021
by Simon Bland / 29 Dec 2021
Closing out the year with a look at some of my work from Fall 2021....
Working From Photos: New Paintings Summer 2021
by Simon Bland / 25 Jul 2021
This article shows some of my recent work—all painted from reference photos—with a description of how I tried to get beyond the photo in each case....
A New Studio: Spring 2021
by Simon Bland / 26 May 2021
My studio has been quiet since February, the main reason being that we're recently moved within Seattle, and I've spent most of my time packing up the studio, pitching as much unwanted stuff as possible and setting up the new place....
Three New Works: Winter 2021
by Simon Bland / 21 Jan 2021
Here we are at the start of a new year and I thought I would post a few things that I've been working on recently. ...
Still Life Paintings: Late 2020
by Simon Bland / 15 Dec 2020
In the past few years, I've found that still life painting offers both a welcome change from landscape and portrait paintings, and is a great way to practice techniques. ...
Recent Work: Fall 2020
by Simon Bland / 13 Oct 2020
The pandemic has prevented me from getting out to paint this year and the only reference photos I've been able to take are of the skies seen from our deck. So in order to scratch that itch, I've taken to doing "virtual paint outs"—painting in the studio as if it was on location. ...
Recent Work: Summer 2020
by Simon Bland / 21 Jul 2020
Here are some of the paintings I've done in the past two months. A much slower pace than usual, but these are not normal times....
What's On the Easel?
by Simon Bland / 21 Jun 2020
Here we are nearing the end of the coronavirus lockdown. I have just started getting back to my studio routine and things are slowly picking up....