Home page for Bernard's Paintings

Landscapes in oils
by Bernard Sunderland

My life-long interest in painting and colour technology has finally brought me to realise that I prefer painting in oils to any other medium.
My interest in painting is colour in light and shade. This could equally be applied to still life or even abstract, but my traditional landscapes have become so popular that this is my most usual subject.
I enjoy painting and hope that this is apparent in my work. I offer my paintings at the lowest prices which I can accommodate because I want them to be available to all who find pleasure in them.

COMMISSION PAINTINGS:

If you would like a painting of a particular Yorkshire Dales village or scene, please email me at the above address. Let me know what size of painting you want and I will return to you with a ‘feasibility study’.

I usually paint on MDF board which has been well treated with acrylic primer (the same primer that is used nowadays on canvas). Just occasionally someone expresses to me the opinion that oil painting ‘should’ only be carried out on canvas. This is untrue. Historically, canvas came into use because it was cheaper, easier and more durable than hardwood panels. The same can now be said of MDF. Additionally, anyone who cleaves to tradition should reject modern canvasses - because the surface to which the paint is applied is the primer, not the canvas, and modern canvasses are primed as already stated with acrylic ‘gesso’. No painter having respect for the longevity of his work would now consider using the old-fashioned gesso of whiting and bone glue.
NEVERTHELESS, I CAN SUPPLY A PAINTING ON CANVAS IF REQUIRED.

I always apply a coat of picture varnish to my paintings when they are well dried. I use a slightly matted varnish to give a rather low gloss. This tends to enhance the range of colour values in the painting and acts as a protective coat, since it is usual to frame an oil painting without glass. If the painting becomes grimy over the years, the varnish together with the dirt can easily be removed with white spirit without damaging the paint.