Peony in Oil – An Excursion into a Different Way of Painting

After a long time, I have picked up my oil paints again. Not because I want to leave watercolor behind – quite the opposite. But sometimes it feels wonderful to work with another medium and rediscover just how differently paint can behave.

While working on this peony in oil, I have become very aware of how much watercolor has shaped the way I paint. Again and again, I catch myself expecting oil paint to give me the same soft transitions, transparent layers and flowing movements of color that have become so natural to me in watercolor.

But oil paint has its own language. I have to remind myself to use more paint, simplify shapes and allow individual brushstrokes to remain visible. A flower petal does not always need many delicate transparent layers. Sometimes just a few carefully chosen areas of color, a light side, a darker shadow and a confident brushstroke are enough to create form and depth.

And that is exactly what makes this little excursion into oil painting so interesting for me. I am learning to look again without automatically painting in the way I would with watercolor. This peony in oil is still very much a work in progress, but little by little I am finding my way back into the completely different feeling of working with oils.

Will I paint more often in oils again? We will see. Perhaps the most exciting part is simply having the freedom to move between both mediums – choosing watercolor or oil depending on the subject, the mood and the kind of painting experience I am looking for.

If you would like to see some of my finished paintings, you can discover a selection of original artwork in
my collection of original paintings.

And if you would like to follow new paintings, works in progress and other news from my studio, you are very welcome to join my newsletter.

Sometimes a different medium is all it takes to see painting with fresh eyes again.