hi
i dont do much painting currently but i used to do quite a bit a few years ago. like you, i know a bit about it with education and i visit a fair few galleries as well. i havent really got the practical skills to do accurate representations of what i see (i failed art at school) so i have gone down the collage/abstract route and have tried to make work which represent thoughts and ideas.
i like collage and use found images from magazines (old national geographics are pretty good) and images that just seem to turn up into my life. mixing these up with acrylic gets me where i want to go.
i have photocopied images and enlarged them and painted over them in black and white too - it's a good cheat for painting an image that i cant draw
i tend to varnish them after too as i like the finished effect - the way it seals the different textures of paint and paper together
oils are fun, but a whole different ball game. i mainly use them because i love the way they smell. they mix together totally differently to acrylics and take ages to dry
here's some of the bits ive done in the past -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79226406@N ... 470491743/
some are a bit meh now i guess but i'm pretty fond of some of them and have got them hung up at home. when you get some stuff sorted out, post it up and let's have a look
