How a painting begins… midsummer in Greece!

Posted on by Ask in Oil paintings by Elaine Ask

Its scorching hot, in the middle of the day in Greece, but have found a shady spot underneath a fig tree in a secluded corner of Galaxidi. The easel is up and the painting sketched out in charcoal directly onto the 80 x 60 cm canvas, underpainted in cerulean blue oils. Semi-squishy fallen figs get stuck on my sandals, but at least I found a subject quickly and have made a start. Its my last full day in Greece so need to work fast!

Charcoal sketch for an oil painting. Light and shade creates fascinating patterns on the ground beneath an olive and a mandarin orange tree.
Photo of the scene taken at the start.
AskArtist. The painting begins by sketching this scene from life. Elaine Ask
Easel set up in a shady spot
Paints laid out neatly
The first few brushstokes indicating the most exciting areas of light and colour. This is contrary to how I usually work, building up from one section to the next, but am too excited to see it begin to take shape.
Its coming on slowly…
Greek Oil Painting by Ask 2020 in Galaxidi
Shadows and Light – Under a Fig Tree in Galaxidi, Greece

Published by Ask

I sold my very first painting when I was 19 while still at college and held my very first solo art exhibition in November 1972. In the 8 plus years that I lived and supported myself and my young family entirely from my art, I held a further 7 solo art shows, and have since had a further 8 in the UK.

7 thoughts on “How a painting begins… midsummer in Greece!”

    1. Thank you.Jorge. There are infinite little corners of this earth that entice the eye, so even after 50 years, I doubt I will ever run out of real life scenes to paint.

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