bill alexander Archives

November 16, 2012 By Thomo

Bill Alexander: Step By Step Oil Painting Lesson Of Holiday Mountain

Oil painter William (Bill) Alexander was born in 1915 in East Prussia. From a young age he painted, and quite frequently painted murals for wealthy aristocrats on the run up to the war. With a supportive family of Bill’s talent they all immigrated to North America where his dream was to build a house and share his oil painting talent with the world.

As with a lot of artists it was a struggle to work and support a family with art alone but he persevered and developed his famous wet on wet technique and developed a range of palette knives and brushes to help other artists mimic his talent with oils. After the hardship it paid off and Bill Alexander hosted and developed a TV series to expose himself to millions and is now respected the world over.

In this oil painting tutorial the legend Bill Alexander extends his knowledge with wet on wet oil painting and the techniques which accommodate this style to you, the viewer. This is a step by step oil painting lesson where Bill paints the mountainous scene (Holiday mountain) with some impressive foreground foliage.

Using a variety of brushes ranging from round, flat to the infamous fan brush Bill Alexander creates the scenery of the rolling mountains impressively quick and using his acquired oil painting techniques makes them come to life. Using the palette knife he scrapes the oil paint down the sides of the mountain to leave the impression of fresh snow which any beginner could achieve with a few practice attempts. As a professional oil painter specialising n landscapes he knows the best way to teach his art students and followers and uses a very soft approach to making sure any artist at any level can follow in comfort from their own homes.

The fan brush technique is especially effective for achieving vibrant and quick foliage which looks almost life-like on the canvas. For more of Bill Alexander videos just click on the tab section or alternatively type his name into the search box on the site. If you have found this oil painting tutorial helpful feel free to leave comments at the bottom or push it out to your friends using the social buttons on the right.

September 22, 2012 By Thomo

Bill Alexander/Loweii Speers: How To Paint A Mountain Water Run-Off In Oil Paints (Playlist)

Welcome to this wonderful and concise art video tutorial with Alexander and Loweii teaching you how to paint in oils a mystical mountain with picturesque waterfall.

Loweii begins with his canvas and applies a liberal amount of paint thinner to the entire surface with his 4 inch brush to prepare for his painting. The sky and water are applied next with the same brush and an ultramarine blue before he continues with his fan brush in a dry brush technique with white and a touch of crimson to create his clouds. The big brush is used to add body to them by a stipple technique.

Next comes the mountains with the use of the artist’s palette knife and the combination of prussian blue, black, crimson and thick white oils. Throughout the playlist you will see how working from the background through to the foreground makes the oil painting process a whole lot easier!!

September 15, 2012 By Thomo

John G Heinrichs: How To Paint Lower Falls In Oil Paints

In this video art tutorial John Heinrichs teaches in oil paints the budding artist how to complete the lower falls of a waterfall. He begins by telling you that he has decided to use a 14×18 canvas which is what he traditionally teaches on in his workshops. The canvas has been painted black with an �gesso but you can also use just black acrylic paint or even use a latex paint like Bill Alexander uses in his oil paintings. This lesson teaches you how to work with transparent colors such as sap green, prussian blue and cadmium yellow oil paints.

The upper section of the canvas is is covered with the sap green and the lower section of the canvas in prussian blue, both applied liberally with the use of a 1 inch brush. The introduction of a medium sized fan brushis used with cadmium yellow and titanium white in a twist motion to form the foliage in the centre of the canvas. The landscape is then finished with rocks and water applied with the combination of a steel palette knife and again the medium fan brush. Fan brushes are always selected to be in proportion with the size of the painting.

This is a great video to learn from and I’m sure you will be able to gain valuable experience and tips from this confident professional oils artist!

September 9, 2012 By Thomo

Bill Alexander: Wet On Wet Oil Painting – Painting A Path (Part 3/3)

William (Bill) Alexander was born in 1915 in East Prussia. As a youth he put his artistic talents to paint murals and carriages for local aristocrats. After the war, Bill and his family immigrated to North America to pursue their dream of building a home and to share Bills gift of painting. He is probably one of the happiest artists on the planet. The video is very easy to follow and you can easily share his enthusiasm for painting. Some great techniques are used to achieve nice tonal values of natural light on the pathway and the trees.

September 7, 2012 By Thomo

Rod Moore: Oil Painting A Seascape For Beginners (Playlist)

This tutorial is part of an 8 part series taught by Rod Moore, a professional oils instructor and artist from Australia who runs Moore art school also in Australia. He teaches beginners the famous wet on wet techniques applied by the likes of Bob Ross and Bill Alexander. He is also the artist for a very popular Australian Artist’s show called Plein Air. In this 8 part series you will learn how to successfully accomplish a beautiful seascape from which you can stand back and be proud. A cracking little series showing you how it’s done by the masters.

September 1, 2012 By Thomo

Bill Alexander: Wet On Wet Oil Painting – Painting Fall River (Part 1/3)

Oil painting legend Bill Alexander kicks off this three part video tutorial by showing you how to paint Fall River his way. He uses a selection of his desired tools like a large brush, one inch brush and palette knives to bring vivid color to his oil painting. Watch, listen and learn from the master at work…This is a much watch art video tutorial for any aspiring oil painter!

August 28, 2012 By Thomo

Bill Alexander: Wet On Wet Oil Painting – Painting Fall River (Part 2/3)

The second instalment on how to paint wet on wet oils with Bill Alexander. Get your brushes ready!