A friendly place to learn at your own pace.
with Richard Robinson
Learn how to make a leading gestural foreground and how to paint with big masses and finish with calligraphic details. Follow me step by step or use the resource photos to paint something more your own. Enjoy!
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Richard is a talented full time artist, who loves painting and teaching.
Hi I’m Richard. I’ve been painting my whole life and back in 2001 I traded my graphic design career for the humble life of a full time artist. I love painting, and as it turns out, I love teaching too.
Nowadays I balance my life between parenting, painting, surfing, travelling and teaching. My work is regularly featured in international art magazines, in galleries in New Zealand and America, on TV and in my Mum’s house.
I give outdoor painting workshops in interesting spots around this beautiful planet of ours and love encouraging people to paint. Two of my favourite artists are John Singer Sargent and Joaquín Sorolla.
My painting website: www.nzpainter.com
I’d love to be your new teacher.
Richard is a master artist with an exceptional skill in identifying and communicating key factors to making successful paintings. I have found his video workshops an excellent resource for improving my own work.
"Boat Repairs" 14 x 14" Oil on Canvas by Richard Robinson.
My motivation was to capture the character of the old boat, and so the painting needs little else to spell that out, which suggested to me the 'visual concept' of the small vibrantly coloured shape set in a large grey plane. View it from 20 feet away and that's what you see first. The nice thing about painting time worn subjects like this is that if you're a loose painter like me it allows you plenty of freedom because the looser your brushwork is, the more character the boat assumes.
"Painting the White Dove" 50x65cm Oil on Canvas by Jon Main
Nice colour work Jon! Great to see you pushing the envelope. Good energy in the brushwork although not so much on the ground. Drawing is good and you're the first I've seen who made really straight thin rigging. Nice! I probably wouldn't have put the yellow scaffolding smack dab in the middle there because it catches the eye more than anything else, though the subject is really the boat itself. You could glaze over it with brown to knock it back a bit, especially considering that it is in the shade. Hang on, your shadows are not all headed in the same direction - shock horror! Something to think about next time. A great looking painting nonetheless.
"Boat Repairs" 12x12" Acrylic on Canvas by Tone Larsen
Welcome to the club, Tone and you've made quite an entrance with this painting. Great painterly work! Drawing, colour and brushwork are all good. I can't see anything I'd change AND it looks like you got the most votes from everyone. Nice one!
"Wet Paint" 18x18" Oil on Canvas by Katherine Daack
Nice work Katherine. Your drawing is pretty accurate, colours are good, if a little light in the background boat on the left which leaves the painting a little right-heavy. Brushwork is lively and exciting, big strokes in the foreground leading our eye into the finer details. A little overworked in a few places tending to muddy colour like at the rear of the boat and in the bushes. If you're going to use a brush to blur edges you need to wipe it clean between each soft stroke otherwise you'll get mud every time. Hope that helps. Good work!
"Repairs" 12x12" Oil on Canvas by Manneherrin
Love the energy in this, Mannerherrin - vibrating with life! Despite the frenetic treatment you've managed to keep the drawing pretty solid, which is not easy to do. I would like to see a little more colour variety within the big shapes - mauves, turquoises, pinks. It's already visually rich but dashes of vibrating complements would be the icing on the cake. Check my Broken Colour Basics course here: www.livepaintinglessons.com/workshop31.php
"Dry Dock 2" 12x12" Oil on Canvas by Diane Grand
A very strong sense of warm light in this, Diane, with beautifully subtle colour changes from warm to cool along the length of the hull. Great modelling of the form. Nice! Excellent drawing too for the most part though you need to trim a bit off the back half of the keel as it is currently bending downwards. Check the photo again. Great idea replacing the background with a tropical scene. Top marks!
Boat repair Oil on canvas 50cm x 50 cm
Hi Anne-Dore, this is a dynamic piece with a graphic edge to it! You've captured the character of the boat beautifully, and I especially enjoy the contrast between the warm red hull and the cooler blue sky. The way you've handled the light and shadow on the boat feels natural and believable, giving the scene a grounded realism. One area to consider refining is the foreground. While it has a loose, painterly quality that works well, perhaps you could introduce a few larger areas of tonal variety to suggest texture or interest without overwhelming the composition. Overall, this is a wonderfully composed and executed painting—you’ve done a fantastic job conveying the mood and setting. Keep up the great work! Looking forward to seeing your next piece. Warm regards, Richard.
Boat repairs, acrylic
What a lovely soft sense of mood and atmosphere you’ve achieved here, Evelyn. The soft, diffused light and muted colours give a peaceful, almost nostalgic feel to the scene, while the movement in the brushstrokes adds energy and life to the foreground. The reflections and wet ground plane are beautifully painted, with those streaks of colour leading the eye naturally toward the boat. One area you could refine is the foreground, where the brushwork feels slightly hurried and could benefit from a touch more detail or texture for added interest. Additionally, consider darkening the shadows under the boat just a fraction to ground it more firmly and enhance the sense of depth. Overall, this is a charming piece with great storytelling, and I love how you’ve captured the character of the boat so well—keep up the fantastic work!
The OldTimer, 16 x 16, oils, by Marie-France L''Ecuyer, QC, Canada
You’ve captured such a wonderful sense of atmosphere here, Marie. The moody sky, the warm reflections in the wet ground, and the characterful old boat all work together beautifully to create a strong narrative. Your brushwork feels confident and expressive, especially in the sky and the foreground, and I love how you’ve created such a strong contrast between soft and sharp edges throughout the painting. You’ve really nailed the dramatic light and colour harmony here. Fantastic work—keep exploring this kind of drama!
On the Blocks
You've done a great job capturing the character of the boat and its surroundings, Leslie. I love the bold choice of the red hull—it immediately catches the eye and adds a wonderful pop of color against the softer background tones. The way you've suggested the reflections in the wet ground below the boat also creates a nice sense of connection between the vessel and its environment. One area to develop might be the values, particularly in the shadow areas of the boat and the darker elements in the background. These could be pushed a little darker to create more depth and contrast, helping the boat feel more three-dimensional. You might also soften the transition between the sky and treeline to make that edge sink behind, letting the boat take the spotlight with it's crisp edges. Great effort here—keep experimenting with these techniques, and I look forward to seeing where your painting journey takes you!
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