Knowledge base

Safety of oil paints and mediums!

How safe are oil paints?  I get many questions asking me about the safety of painting with oils, some say they don’t use oil because they believe the fumes to be too strong, or they believe oil pai...

Painting Frost & Snow In Oil

I’ve always enjoyed painting winter scenes. There’s something magical about the contrast between delicate frost-covered twigs and the smooth, pillow-like snow resting on the ground. Leaves dusted w...

Painting Portraits: Capturing Character in Detail

  I’ve always had a passion for figurative work, especially portrait painting. Portraits can be some of the most challenging subjects, but also the most rewarding—there’s nothing quite like capturi...

Painting fine details with the Series 2 Pointed Brush

I get many questions asking how I achieve such high detail in my paintings.  Brush control is paramount when painting fine details and of course having the right equipment is essential. I use my Se...

Painting lifelike fur

I enjoy painting animals, most of the time they appear in my landscape paintings, rabbits, sheep, cattle etc a smaller element in a bigger scene, but I find a stand alone piece, can be striking as ...

Mastering the Comber Brush 🎨

One of my favourite tools in the studio is the Comber Brush—a wonderfully versatile brush that makes adding fine details quick and effortless. What Makes the Comber Brush Unique? The flat, serrated...

How to create the perfect V when painting foliage, using the fan brush

Getting the perfect V-shape mark when painting foliage can feel a little tricky. Many artists struggle with it at first, but with the right brush loading technique and a few small adjustments to yo...

How to Add Texture Using the Tree & Texture Brush

Creating depth and texture in realistic paintings doesn’t need to be difficult. Have you ever wondered how I achieve this effect in my work? One of my go-to tools is the Series 3 Tree & Texture...

How to Paint Fine Details and Grass Using Rigger Brushes 🎨

Every artist knows how tricky it can be to capture those really fine details—like blades of grass or thin tree branches. That’s where the Rigger Brush comes in. It’s one of my favourite tools for a...

Frequently asked questions | Technique

How much time do you allow to pass between your blocking in layer and the following layers? The time required between the block-in layer and the oil detail layers to complete a painting depends on ...