The Port (Oil painting)

This original oil painting is done on stretched canvas and painted on all edges. I wanted to capture the busyness of this Australian seaport, with the boats, ships and people walking beside the water. It is a cityscape and a seascape all in one. I painted this artwork earlier this year and used more of an impressionist style than I normally use. I painted this picture after visiting with some lovely work clients who had recently bought an apartment on the Gold Coast and looking out from their balcony onto the beautiful view of the water and all the activity going on below. This painting is 20″ X 16″ in size. 

Outback Drought (Oil painting)

This original oil painting shows a dried up river in outback Australia. The drought has been hitting hard so this once flowing river is almost dry now. The countryside and the gum trees have for the moment kept their green leaves. I painted this artwork several years ago and it hangs in my private collection.

Northern Territory (Oil Painting)

I painted this original in oil a couple of weeks ago. It is of an outback scene in the Northern Territory, Australia. I was hoping to capture the brilliant reds and yellows of the dessert landscape and the feeling of isolation that can abound in outback Australia. This painting is 20″ X 24″ in size. Shortly it will be available through my online art gallery at http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com/ 

Old Parliment House Tasmania (Oil Painting)

This original oil painting is part of my private collection. I painted it about 10 years ago and it took over 100 hours over several months to complete. I love the beautiful historic stonework buildings and being able to capture them on canvas. This painting is oil on canvas board and is 18″ X 24″ in size.

Old Shed (Oil painting)

This is an original oil painting on masonite board. It is of an old farm shed in the Australian countryside, set amid the gum trees. There is always a great deal of character to the old farm buildings which I like to capture. This artwork is not for sale, however my works which are available can be found at http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com/.

Fruit in a barrel (Oil Painting)

This still life oil painting shows a variety of fruit with an old wine barrel and a chopping board. This artwork is part of my private collection and was painted under my maiden name of Debra Walker. It is oil on canvas board 18″ X 24″ in size.  I was especially pleased with the way the apples and grapes came out in this painting.

Houses in the country (Oil Painting)

This is an original oil painting from my private collection. It was painted about 12 years ago. I love to capture the beautiful stonework character of these historic houses. They are set amid the countryside and old stonework fences. Green is the predominant colour in this artwork.

The Old Country Servo (Oil Painting)

I painted this original oil painting about a month ago. It is of an old service station in country Australia. It is painted on stretched canvas and is 16″ X 12″ (40cm X 30cm) in size. I love to try an capture the atmosphere of rural Australia. Pictures like this can cast our minds back to history and the slower more casual lifestyle of the past. This painting is for sale through the online art gallery at http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com for $180.00US (including delivery).

Rounding up the Mares (Oil Painting)

This original oil painting shows a young stallion rounding up his mares amid the beautiful Australian high country. It is painted in oil on stretched canvas and is 18″ X 24″ (45.7cm X 60cm) in size. Blues and green are predominant in this artwork. It is available for sale unframed for easy shipping. You can purchase it for your collection directly from the artist at http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com/ for $330.00US delivered. This is a saving of over 30% off the price you would pay for it in a traditional art gallery. Debra Lohrere’s original oil paintings hang in collections all around Australia.

Rock Pools (Oil Painting)

Rock Pools is an original oil painting on stretched canvas that was completed in November 2007. It is 100% hand painted and signed by the artist, Debra Lohrere. It captures the atmosphere of water flowing down a mighty river in the heat of the day, amid the lovely Australian landscape. This artwork is 100% handpainted and signed by the artist. Debra’s original oil paintings hang in homes locally and nationally and make a great addition to any collection. It can be purchased using Paypal at http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com/

Peaceful Ocean (Oil Painting)

This original oil painting is done on masonite board. It was painted many years ago under my maiden name of Debra Walker. It is now available for sale for the first time at my online art gallery http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com/ This painting comes unframed for ease of transport and is available for delivery anywhere in the world. It will be bubble wrapped and sent by Australia post within 2 working days of receipt of payment by Paypal.

Houseboat on the Murray

This is a small original oil painting depicting an old paddle powered houseboat sailing down the magnificent Murray River in Australia. It is 12″ X 9″ (30cm X 24cm) on stretched canvas and is for sale unframed for $230.00US with free delivery. This painting can be purchased using the security of Paypal at my online virtual gallery at http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com/

Horse Country (Oil Painting)

Horse Country is an original 100% handpainted oil painting. It is 40″ X 30″ (100cm X 75cm) on stretched canvas – unframed. This painting was completed in late 2007. It is quite a large artwork and would suit a large wall space such as a lounge room or feature wall. Available for sale for $430.00US delivered worldwide at http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com/ 

Farmland (Oil Painting)

This original oil painting is 12″ X 16″ painted on stretched canvas. It shows the rolling green hills of the Australian countryside, with an old farm and shed. It is set amid lush green gum trees. This painting is for sale through my online art gallery at http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com/

The Ranges

This original hand painted oil painting was completed in February 2008. It depicts the lovely Australian ranges with a river curving through the countryside. It is 20” X 24” (50cm X 60cm) unframed on stretched canvas. It is priced at $330.00 delivered and is for sale at http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com/

Cows by the river

This original landscape oil painting depicts some cows grazing by a river amid the beautiful Australian countryside. It is 16″ X 20″ (40cm X 50cm) on stretched canvas – unframed. It is available for sale for $330.00US delivered worldwide at http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com/

Country House

This original oil painting on canvas board depicts another historic Australian house, set amid the lovely Australian countryside. It shows the lovely stonework that was used for many of the early colonial houses. This painting is available for delivery worldwide and will be shipped from Australia within 3 working days. It is 18″ X 14″ (45cm X 60cm) – unframed and priced at $330.00US delivered. Available via secure Paypal at http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com/

Stonework House on a Hill

This original oil painting of an historic Australian building is set in the middle of the day, with a bright blue sky. It is painted on canvas board and is 18″ X 14″ (45cm X 60cm). It is available for $330.00US delivered anywhere in the world at http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com/

Old Farm

This original oil painting is 90cm X 90cm in size and depicts an old farm in the Australian outback in late afternoon.

Approaching Sunset

This original oil painting by Australian artist Debra Lohrere depicts a river just before sunset. This original painting is available for sale at http://www.gallery-of-oil-paintings.com/

How to paint beautiful skies

When doing oil paintings of landscapes, the way that the sky is painted can set the mood for the entire picture.

A dark sky is often associated with late in the afternoon, a light blue sky with the brightness of the middle of the day and a purple sky with approaching sunset.

A common mistake with novice artists is to use too few color for their skies. A mixture of dark blues, light blues and plenty of white makes for a far more interesting looking sky. There are various techniques that can be implemented. Brushing on a good thick coat of oil paint, with light blue on one area and different shades in other areas then using a 1” wide brush to pull colors from one area to the other in quick left to right strokes can be very effective. Another technique is to use plenty of thinners, a mix of 50/50 linseed oil and artists turpentine is good. Cover you entire sky area with very thin paint and then use your fingers with the white and various shades of blue to construct your clouds.

If there is going to be any water in your painting ie: rivers, dams lakes etc, then make sure you use the sky paint to roughly paint in your water areas for good color symmetry. Painting beautiful skies helps keep up the motivation to paint a beautiful picture. Some artists spend a lot of time painting the clouds into various shapes to depict other objects and add symbolism to their works.

Using palette knife for skies can be effective, but does require a lot more paint to be used. Interesting clouds can also be created with the palette knife.

Unless you are painting a seascape, where it is imperative that the horizon is dead straight, it is usually not critical to have your skyline dead straight. Most often in landscapes you are going to have mountains or hills are other varying landscape components directly in front of your sky which will be at various angles that hide the straight line of the horizon.

It is a good idea to mix your sky colors with yellow to create the greens for your painting, as well as using premixed greens such as sap green, viridian etc. This helps add color uniformity to your painting. The same goes for your mountains, mix reds with your sky blues to give you various shades of purple for your mountains. Even the rich dark undiluted blues can be used for mountain peaks.

Try to avoid painting a sun directly. If you want a sun then have it behind clouds with the bright sunrays in whites and yellows showing through. Use thick brush strokes for this. It may be best to let the blue of the sky dry before painting the whites and yellows for the sun beams over the top, to avoid them mixing with the blue and ending up with a green tinge.

If you are painting the sky at sunset, then a huge range of colors from red, to yellow, to purple as well as blues can be used. Again if there is going to be water in your picture it is a good idea to paint the water at the same time as the sky to get the consistency of colors and then paint the landscape components afterwards.

Debra Lohrere is an artist and author http://investmentpropertybooks.com/artwork.html

Prints of her artwork can be purchased from http://www.redbubble.com/people/writeinvest/art

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Welcome to my new oil painting gallery blog.