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.
Painting at the Beach
by Simon Bland / 23 Dec 2015
After several days of rain I made the most of a brief break in the weather and went to paint at the local beach. It's just a ten minute trip from the studio but I can't think of a more challenging environment in which to set up an easel: it was cold, windy, it rained and the easel blew over. I ...
Bunny in Progress
by Simon Bland / 22 Dec 2015
Bunny (WIP). 14x11, oil on linen panel. 2015. It's been a while since I finished any new work so I jumped the gun and posted this one before completing it. This is done from the customer's own photograph. This first layer is painted directly over a (dried) raw umber block in and was done in one sess...
Setting up the New Studio
by Simon Bland / 09 Dec 2015
I'm almost done moving in to the new studio in Ballard. This is a shot I took when I was halfway through. The studio has north light windows and I've put in some daylight LED bulbs above as work lights. I'm not sure their color rendering index is going to be great, but I think they will work when co...
Relocating
by Simon Bland / 24 Nov 2015
As you may know, my wife and I have recently moved to Seattle, WA. I will be taking space in a new studio starting in December at which point I will resume my normal painting schedule.My email address, web site and phone number will all remain the same. You can get in touch with me at any time via m...
Cottonwoods
by Simon Bland / 19 Oct 2015
Cottonwoods. 11x14, oil on linen panel. 2015. Today's paint out was at Great Country Farms in Bluemont, VA. This will probably end up being my last plein air of the year. This is one of the few locations (perhaps the only one?) in Loudoun County that has stands of cottonwood trees, so I made the mos...
Another View of Meadow Grove Farm
by Simon Bland / 16 Oct 2015
Trees at Meadow Grove Farm. 5x7, oil on linen panel. 2015 This small sketch was done earlier in the summer after a paint out at Meadow Grove Farm in Bluemont, VA. It's almost exactly the same view as another painting I did two years ago, but done at a different time of year. It's one of those scenes...
Chester
by Simon Bland / 14 Oct 2015
Chester. 12x12, oil on linen panel. 2015. This recent commission was based on some reference photos that I'd taken back in 2008. Sadly, Chester passed away unexpectedly this year. I painted the portrait at the same time I was working on another, and having both in the studio at the same time led to ...
Return to Ayrshire Farm
by Simon Bland / 13 Oct 2015
Ayrshire Farm North Fields. 5x7, oil on linen panel. 2015. There were so many things to take in at Ayrshire Farm today that I spent most of my time on photographs rather than actually painting. As a squirrel gathers nuts, at this time of year I try to collect as much reference material as possi...
Paint Out at Ayrshire Farm
by Simon Bland / 06 Oct 2015
Ayrshire Farm South Field (plein air). 9x12, oil on linen panel. 2015. Today we finally got the opportunity to paint at Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, VA. The farm is about 800 acres in size (if I remember correctly) and we were provided with satellite pictures as a guide to the different fields. I st...