I’ve now been using my newly discovered Alkyd oil paints for a few weeks and quickly found out that, as claimed, they do dry slower than acrylics, but much faster than conventional oils; most of the colours I used ( nine or ten) hardened overnight. The great advantage is that you can still manipulate the paint easily during a working session of two to four hours. For someone as impatient as me they are perfect! I have now added two new works using Alkyd paint to the People Gallery – Paul, the drummer and a portrait sketch of Gillian Anderson, the actress recently seen in the BBC TV drama series “The Fall”. The beauty of using these materials is that if I look again at these paintings in a few weeks and feel unhappy about any aspect, I can quickly make adjustments/corrections, and replace my images with the amendments.
The art world never fails to surprise me. I went to the London Art Fair in January and, as in previous years, there was a mix of beautifully executed contemporary work which I thoroughly appreciated, plus several works on display which totally baffled me. How do these dealers and gallery owners manage to unload such rubbish which I know full well required little effort, time or skill! Hearing some of the conversations taking place between the dealers and their clients sometimes makes me feel that they are on a different planet to most of us. Eavesdropping on such pretentious rubbish always drives me back to the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery to soak up those amazing early works by Cimabue, Duccio, Giotto, Martini, the Wilton Diptych and many more. Similarly, when it comes to portraits I head straight for the Rembrandt room. Such visits always cheer me up and restore my spirits when I’m feeling a little miffed with these so called arbiters of taste!