Virtual Paintout - Iceland

Reykjanesbær – Iceland

http://goo.gl/maps/g6f28

Acrylic on Mounting Board

12.5” x 9”

I've been following a blog called Virtual Paintout.  Every month a different country is selected and you use google streetview to have a look around for something to paint.  You save the link and you submit the link along with your artwork.

Some time back I did a sketch from one of the countries, but never submitted it.  This time I took the challenge more seriously and submitted my painting.

It is an awesome excercise and I found that I ended up painting something that I don't usually paint, a street scene.

Portait on Mounting Board

Deep in Thought

Acrylic on Mounting Board

28 x 28cm

A few months ago I went to my local picture framer and asked for some mounting board offcuts.  He was happy to sell me quite a bit for a good price.  These boards are lovely to paint on and because they are cheap, they are nice for practicing on or trying something new.  This way I save my canvasses for my more serious projects.  The nice thing though is that these cards are quite nice to work on and the completed paintings can be framed.

I did this portrait last night and it seemed to fall into place quite quickly.  I like the loose, sketchy feel of the shirt and background. It definitely pays to play around and have fun when you paint.