News

February 18, 2023

Paintings of Snow

It has occurred to me several times that if I have been negleting something in plein air for a long time, it is paintings with snow. The reason is obvious. I live in Prague and it just doesn’t snow here that much.

But this year I decided to be a little more proactive and take advantage of every opportunity. When it snowed in Prague, I was outside every day. And if not, I drove somewhere further where the snow fell.

Of course I was cold, naturally snowflakes got into my paints and then they became unusable paste and you bet that each time my fingers froze to the point that I was barely able to put things back to backpack. But discomfort and personal sacrifices are part of the story of painting in plein air.

January 11, 2023

Canary Islands

Canary Islands

At the time of writing this post I have already been to the Canary Islands four times. Every time I was there I felt like I was visiting another planet. Jagged rocks, bizarre cliffs, completely different plants and omnipresent volcanoes. To me, Canaries have always been islands to walk and explore.
It wasn’t until the fourth visit at the end of 2022 that I took the oils with me. I picked a few places in Tenerife and rented an apartment there for longer than most people would. If I had to hurry, it wouldn’t paint well.
Despite of having these rather comfortable bases, the paintings themselves were created in adventurous conditions. I often had to scrabble for long distance or struggle with the unpredictable wind.
But as always, it only benefited the images.

The following three paintings were painted in the studio after my earlier trips.

 

Feel free to contact me for inquiries.

November 18, 2022

Green Paintings

Green Landscapes

I haven’t shared any news through email for a while. Initially I wanted to make it a regular thing but there has always been something more important to do (like painting). So I had to admit to myself that there was no sense it promising any regularity. After all my art doesn’t work like a clock either.
Emails will arrive whenever I feel I have something to share.

Nevertheless I have managed to complete big chunk of work since the last message and that is what I’d like to share with you in the next few emails.

Due to unsually high amount of rain Spring and Summer were extraordinary green here in Czech.
So I decided to take an advantage of it and set myself a goal to get to understand it and to paint a good green painting.
Ideally with sun patches. Those are the hardest.

Painters are not keen of green paint. You can see that both in history as well as in contemporary art.
At the Academy in Prague some of the teachers even forbid students to use it. (needless to say that some of them even tried to prevent us from painting entirely). It’s quite obvious that I’ve ignored both.

Have I succeeded in making a perfect green landscape?
In case you are interested in purchasing of any of these paintings, just reply to this email.

I’m going to release one more newsletter before Christmas. It will contain paintings that I’ve created during this Autumn.

In the meanwhile you can follow me on instagram or browse my web which contains all my paintings with captions and availabilities.

I wish you wonderful Autumn days,
Tomáš Honz