The earliest paintings in the gallery, "Going to Feed the Chooks" and "The Restless Sea'" were painted from memory. All except a small few of the rest were painted from life on site. These exceptions were created from original drawings or paintings completed on site at an earlier time or by using a variety of studio techniques to introduce some more imaginative ideas to my work, as can be seen in the "wineglass" series for example.

  Most of my paintings are completed over several sittings which may be spread over a number of days, depending on size and detail of the painting and how consistent the lighting conditions and the weather might be. All my pictures, other than the abovementioned exceptions, are painted directly from viewing the real life scene, so I must travel to each site and set up my easel on the same spot for as many times as it takes to complete the work.

  After finding a suitable scene and deciding on which aspect to paint, the first thing I do is make a detailed pencil drawing on paper. This helps me look closely at all the features and details, allows me to concentrate entirely on line, shape, form, perspective and proportion and get the drawing right before I start painting. It also gives a reference for transferring the basic shapes to the painting surface and allows me to concentrate fully on tone and colour relationships once I start painting.

  My next step is to map out the basic drawing on the painting surface then block in the main colour and tonal areas. I usually let this layer dry for a while before continuing. This is to prevent the next layer from mixing colours with the first.

 After the blocking in is completed, I usually spend some time observing and making notes on colour, tone, details and highlights just in case I can't get exactly the same conditions next time I'm on site.

  When the blocked in area is dry enough, I begin a process of refining to smaller sub-areas of tone and colour and start adding broad detail. I usually allow some more drying time before the final stage of adding fine details and highlights. I sometimes complete this final phase by working at home, referring to the original drawings and notes that I made but mostly this is also completed on site.

  To see an action replay of a painting being created go to The Painting Process page.

  I have occasionally tried to complete pictures in one sitting but I have rarely been satisfied with the results so far. However, this is a technique that I intend to explore further in the future, as I believe it will give a freer style of painting that I find rather appealing. I am also beginning to dabble in other subject material and forms, such as still life and figures and even some semi-abstract and abstract ideas.

 I hope you enjoy viewing my paintings,

Barney Miller