I painted this little scene today in about 3 hours on a 6x8 inch gesso'd masonite board with a palette knives. This is no particular light house, just a derivative from my mind. It reminds me of the lights of harbors that I saw when I was in the navy.
I wanted to try the knife on a small piece of work and this came to mind. I had some paint left on my pallet from this weeks work, so I used what I had plus a bit more white. I used the larger knife to spread out the sky and water to establish the horizon and switched to small knife for the detailing. 6x8 inches is a small area for me to paint, much less using stiff knives. Although the small knife blade is the same thickness as the larger knives, it felt stiff due to it's short length and was harder to control. Had more tendency to cut through the layers enstead of floating and blending. I switched back to the larger knife whenever I could. After I thought I was finished with the painting, I realized there were no birds in it! We can't have a seascape without birds, so one more trip back to the easel for the birds.
It is going to take longer for this painting to dry because it is layered with thick textures, so I will not post it on ebay or take it to shows until it is ready to handle. It is for sale. Email me at
jimmie@jimmiesart.com to check for availability.
The light houses guided lost ships to safe harbors. Jesus Christ is my guiding light.
Jimmie
I finished the Yaquina Head Lighthouse painting today. The lighthouse is about 90 foot tall to tip top, the light is at 81ft above ground and 162 ft above sea level. It is a magnificent tower sitting high on a cliff overlooking the sea. I want to express thanks to my good neighbor Gary that gave me some great pictures from their vacation for reference material. The sky and the lighthouse is painted with a more realistic smooth brush strokes and the cliff foreground has texture with an impressionistic look. The painting is 20x16 on stretched canvas and done in oils. I hope you like it. Email me if you are interested in purchasing this one or any of my other paintings. Those that have sold are usually in print.
I painted this small alla prima oil painting using a couple of palette knives. This type of painting is relaxing and good for exercising the creative side. I planned it as I went and used the knife to blend color and build texture on the canvas. It gets a bit wetter as the paint layers are added. The lighthouse was kept simple and I also scratched in some birds. The canvas is an 8x10 gallery wrap with edges painted for hanging without a frame. 
