Would you like to know which the best painting I have ever done is? And what about you – which is the best one you have ever done? I might be able to give you the answer to that but while you are having a little think about it let me explain why I am asking. If you use Facebook you will have seen the various painting challenges doing the rounds. I was invited to take part in a watercolour one and found the whole exercise fascinating, inspiring and so, so enjoyable. The wealth of talent out there in all mediums is staggering and it was great to see work by artists from all over the world many of whom I have never come across before. For my series I chose paintings from a while back. This was a great reason to look back through the archives and pick out some old favourites. I was pleased with the way most of them had stood the test of time. I was surprised too how clearly I remembered doing them once they were in front of me and what I was trying to achieve at the time. So how do you pick which ones to post in a challenge like this? I posted in sets – moonlights, beachscapes, winter scenes, sunsets etc and used the ones I thought were most suitable so it was fairly easy in the end. But what if the challenge was to post your best painting ever? That would be a lot harder. I am very pleased with the painting shown above but is it the best I have ever done? Well I think I have captured the essence of Woldgate here in East Yorkshire. The composition works well leading into the painting and beyond as your eyes follow the road into the distance. The colours are fine and more importantly so are the tonal values making the scene appear very natural. The light effects are consistent with the sun shining from the right giving plenty of light and dark contrasts and the details – flowers, foliage, puddles and showers – give the eye something to dwell on. The sky though cloudy is still ‘unfussy’ and blends in well with the overall effect. It is not photographic yet gives a strong feeling of reality even though obviously a painting. In short it achieves what I set out to paint – a traditional English watercolour landscape. But much as I like it this is not my best ever painting. Like every painting I have ever done there are a few little things I would now do differently or take a bit more care with. If you are a painter then I suspect you feel much the same about your own work. So then which is my best painting and which is yours? Simple really …..always the NEXT one of course!
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