An evening on the Prom

My latest oil painting is inspired by an evening walk with my daughter along the beautiful beach at Tidal River at Wilsons Promontary in Victoria.
I have included photos of the painting process to give some insight into how the painting progressed.
I seem to be drawn to sunsets, and I love to try and capture even a few percent of the true beauty and majesty of the real thing.

project instagram

I have recently been doing quick and small paintings of my instagram photos I have taken on my iPhone.
I thought it would be a good way to practice painting and give a variety of challenges to myself, with the end result being that I would improve my artistic skills.
Here is what I have done so far.

If you want to follow me on instagram my user name is @lytesyde

Perfect Break

I have come to realise that the most abstract subject is reality itself.  I mean, throughout nature there is so much in the way of patterns and imagery that make fascinating subjects for an artist to be inspired from.
This latest art project I have been doing is a set of three canvases that when put together, reveal a scene of swell lines approaching a shoreline and breaking in an almost perfect pattern on the beach. I have used only black, grey and white to emphasise the patterns created by the waves.
This work is for sale at  http://turningtide.bigcartel.com/product/perfect-break

Wild Sunset - Wilson's Promontory

I recently got out of suburbia (finally) and made it to one of my favourite places in Victoria - Wilsons Promontory. I took the family on a few days vacation, staying in a cabin at Tidal River. What I love about Wilsons Prom is the rugged wilderness meeting beautiful pristine beaches and coastline.  Here is the first painting I have done inspired by this trip. I went for an evening stroll with my 5 year old daughter along the beach and watched the sun go down. It was beautiful and a special time.
You can purchase this painting at http://turningtide.bigcartel.com/product/wild-sunset-oil-painting

Kangaroo Sunset

So far my art has been a hobby, with a long term goal to one day retire from 9 to 5 work, and be able to make enough money selling paintings. However, with the economy doing badly in Victoria where I live, I have been made redundant at work. This means I have to find a new job by the 23rd of March.  So I am doing everything I can to find new employment, and at the same time, I am ramping up my attempts to market and sell my artwork, in case I need to fill in the gaps between jobs.

Here is the latest work, with a distinctly Australian flavour. It is priced to sell. You can purchase at http://turningtide.bigcartel.com/product/kangaroo-sunset 

Tarneit Rainbow

This oil painting completes my series on Suburbia. I am hoping that my work gets accepted in a local exhibition coming up in a few weeks.
This was an extremely challenging painting. I realised that it is so difficult to paint a rainbow without it looking cartoonish. I have attempted to show some of the glory and wonder of the colours that shine through as the sun reflects its rays of the rain clouds. This simple but amazing natural phenomenon always brings a smile to my face, and transforms normal 'suburbia' into a wonderful and miraculous place.

Urban City

In this latest oil painting I have just completed, I have tried to capture some of the variety and uniqueness found in the inner city. There are so many different types of buildings, old and new, so many shapes and styles that give cities a life and character of their own.  This painting is inspired from a photo I took looking outside the window at Myers in Melbourne.