I have only touched the surface as I delve into oil painting and enjoy very much the way that oils allow you to work in layers, change and modify your work , and let you be as loose or precise as you wish. The same spot can be revisited and refined several times, unlike watercolours that take on a life of their own in the way that they puddle and react to the paper. And yet, I think of oil painting as being more difficult, more challenging and somehow more refined.
I have such fond and vivid memories of standing in front of famous oil paintings for hours in art galleries in Europe, just soaking in the minute details, the skin tones, the lace, the clothing, the dark backgrounds, the gestures and symbolism, the eyes, the interplay of light and dark. Already as young girls my sister and I took art lessons at the Art Gallery of Hamilton from a wonderful woman named Mrs. Francis. Her class was filled with students of all ages and she taught us with such flair, flamboyance and enthusiasm for all free expression. Art history courses at university also offered an excellent foundation upon which to build a lifelong appreciation for fine art. Some of my most powerful "life-moments" have involved standing in complete awe before works of art and to date Michelangelo's Pieta is the single most amazing piece of art I have known.
More recently, so much credit has to be given to Paul Richard James . At his vibrant and organised atelier in Hamilton, Ontario Paul teaches the Old Masters Classes .
