I think I'm in love ...

There is one medium I have never tried - oil paints.  I've always been put off by all those solvents you need, not only to clean up but to thin the paint.

Then I discovered you could get water mixable oil paints that act exactly the same as normal oil paints, but clean up can be with water, and the paint can be diluted with water, though there are mediums available.  Don't know how it all works, but I decided I wanted to have a go, so bought a set of Daler Rowney Georgian Water Mixable Oil Paints - 10 tubes in all.

To try them out I found a simple photo of some lilac to use as a reference, used a 10 x 8 canvas board, and did the background first.  Now, I hadn't realised how long this paint takes to dry, so I had to wait about a week!

I've now found this stuff that you can add to the paint to thin it a little and also make it dry faster.

I also read about fat over lean - that is thin layers first, and build up to thicker paint layers.

Anyway, I finished it, and am quite pleased.  The proportions are not right, but the drawing course I start next month may help with that!

But for a first attempt .. especially as all I've used is paint ... not bad!

I love the buttery texture of the paint, and the way it it can go on really thickly, and there is no colour change when it is dry.

I think this could be the start of a beautiful relationship!