WIP… but this painting’s nearly finished now, my first oil piece in quite a number of years. It’s been a strange kind of reunion. I usually work digitally these days (tablets, layers, quick edits, overpainting photos, composites, undo buttons… what’s not to love?), but something in me wanted to pick up a brush again and see what happened.

It was a bit tricky at first. Oils are much slower, less forgiving – once it’s down, it’s down, and I had to re-learn a few things. But once I found the rhythm, it all came back. Maybe like catching up with a messy, smelly old friend you haven’t seen in ages but still somehow know.

My main issue this time was canvas size, way too small for how I like to paint. Next time I’ll go bigger, or maybe even go back to making DIY canvases out of cardboard and sacking. Might be fun. I’d like a bit more texture to paint on than what you get from those flat, shop-bought ones.

The Gloamrats have made their way into this picture now, a group of small, damp, paper-crowned figures slinking through a rainy ginnel behind Mill Street. The whole scene’s soaked in that damp, forgotten Harrowden atmosphere I love: slick cobbles, dripping brickwork, and that eerie stillness you only get in backstreets when the rain’s coming down.

Just a few finishing touches left now, and then I’ll let it sit and dry before sharing the final piece with you fine folk. Been good to step back into this kind of making – even if the digital realm is still where I feel most at home.

Spent the afternoon diving into a proper painting for the first time in a long while, and back to oils, no less. Picked up a fresh canvas this morning, on a bit of a whim.

Before I moved over to digital, I used to work a lot in traditional media charcoal, ink, collage, and of course, oils. I use to love doing huge expressive paintings with a brush, but it’s just something I gradually drifted away from really, especially working day jobs where I mostly do digital art. These days I mostly use my tablet (with layers, undo buttons, over painting and all that good stuff), but it felt right today to return to something more tactile.

This piece is still a work in progress, maybe halfway through. Not gone too badly, considering half the oil paints had gone strange on me, and I was working with nothing but big daubin’ brushes.

I’ve got some new paint and brushes on the way, so once they arrive I’ll start tightening it up and bringing in more detail. I reckon there’ll be a few Gloamrats sneakin’ about in this one, possibly a cat watching from the shadows.

It’s rough, it’s unpredictable, and I’ve missed it. Just wish I had more time, it’s a much slower process.

“Scrawlin’ t’Brassmind,” Gloamrats muttered, “red eyes watchin’ like boggart. Or back ward d0g.”