Helen McKay Fine Art

My portfolio is now centralised, hoping to eventually merge all of my separate work streams into one place, started with the gallery pages. Take a look and let me know what you think

I've always been a bit stubborn about going back to basics but I recently subscribed to a Craftsy class by Rob Zeller and I am really looking forward to the boost it will give me. When you are out of a studio atmosphere and going it alone it is so easy to get stuck in a rut continuing with the same thing over and over and making the same mistakes every time. I'd recommend Craftsy www.craftsy.com I'm learning a lot and it just goes to show you how little you actually 'learn' at art school.

Trying out a new technique - instead of starting with green I've used burnt umber and painted into it free hand rather than gridding up first, really enjoyed it. Next step is to use zinc and titanium white to complete the tonal underdrawing before starting the glazes. Credit to Adrian Gottlieb for sharing his tips online. (His website is all ads so can't share it but his blogs are easily found on Google)

Spent some time studying paintings by Delaroche and Rubens to help me with my technique. I looked a bit odd at the national gallery when everyone is contemplating and I’ve got my nose pressed against the canvas to see the brush marks :) I hope to use this study to get back on track learning the classical technique. Any pointers to some good resources, videos, blogs etc would be gratefully received.