Winter at Hagrid's

This was this years seasonal card and one of the gifts I gave my sister this Christmas.

After the thrill of working with oil on my last project I decided to continue using the medium and in the same way on this painting.

What I realized most on the last painting, was that I could create many watercolour-like effects with the oils but control them in a way I am unable to do with watercolours themselves.

I also wanted to paint something that would feel illustrative, and so I tried to create something in the style of one of my favourite illustrators of all time. I think in this respect I largely failed, but the process revealed many properties that oils possess that I hadn't previously discovered... we keep learning with every project and every brush stroke!

I'm not happy with the way this photographed. If any one has tips on how to photograph paintings please drop me a note, I'm finding it hellish. The original has many more subtleties that have been lost in this representation unfortunately.

Time: About 2 weeks
Medium: Canvas, finishing plaster and oil paints
Size: 23cm x 32cm
Reference: A nod to the Harry Potter film set design but mostly this one was made up (I sketched the idea first which I may upload in scraps)