A Blog About Oil Painting
Welcome to my blog. Here you'll find me rambling on, unassisted by AI, 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.
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...
Waterford Art Harvest
by Simon Bland / 01 Oct 2015
The forecast for more bad weather finally did it and the Waterford Homes Tour and Crafts Exhibit (otherwise known to everyone in Loudoun County as the Waterford Fair) was cancelled. Some of the activities have been rescheduled as a new event on October 17 & 18: Waterford Art Harvest. This event ...
Return to Trough Hill Farm
by Simon Bland / 29 Sep 2015
Corner of the Field. 8x10, oil on linen panel. 2015 Today's paint out was a return to Trough Hill Farm in Middleburg, VA. The sky was overcast and dark all morning. Fortunately the rain held off until mid afternoon. After walking around the property I settled on a corner of one of the back fields as...
Paint Out at Trough Hill Farm
by Simon Bland / 22 Sep 2015
Although started on location, this painting underwent several revisions in the studio over the next three years....
Paint Out at Bronze Hill Farm
by Simon Bland / 15 Sep 2015
Today's paint out was at Bronze Hill Farm in Middleburg, VA. It was a near-perfect day for working outside. As usual I started with a small 5x7 to get myself in the mood. I ghosted-in the image with raw umber (applied with a paper towel) then troweled on the paint and finished by working the edges w...
Wind Field Farm (plein air and studio work)
by Simon Bland / 02 Sep 2015
Wind Field Farm (plein air). 9x12, oil on linen panel. 2015 As September arrives the colors of the sky and landscape start to transform and the yellows get darker. It's tempting try and convey the sense of early fall by adding orange to all the paint, but that doesn't always work out well; I toned t...