oils... and the absurd obsession??

"Oils are so easy to work with and change" they said. "They have such a better quality to them." "I love working with oils!" Lies from the mouths of fools. At least, that's what I thought in last year's oil painting class. A class that I, in kind terms, hated. I couldn't for the life of me understand why people spoke so highly of oils. As far as I was concerned they were hard to lay down and when they did finally get put down they had a hard time staying put. Bristle brushes were my worst nightmare and turpenoid destroyed everything it touched. It also smelled bad. Still does. Hm.
This semester I'm in a plein air class being taught by Dave McClellan. He converted me to the oil side. Working in oils was the only part of the class I had been dreading, but to my delight, it turns out oils are everything they're hyped up to be... and so much more. Maybe I'll put some of my plein airs up eventually. For now, here are some strugglesome pieces from that oil painting class of death.

still-life portrait (inspired by one of my roommates at the time)

reflection (I have a relationship with my Zune that borders on unhealthy)

texture (This isn't a particularly pretty painting, but creating the texture for the canvas was a lot of fun. Let's just say it involved gesso, paper towels, wood shavings and... cake mix?? After an entire year the painting still has a sweet smell to it.)