Oil Painting from life can be mastered with the right formula and practice, whatever your ability.

I’m Jo Bansall a professional oil painter but I didn’t start this journey until my early forties.

I had no particular talent, just a love of observing and trying to catch the world around me but I became frustrated with my ability to draw and paint. I found that what I produced was not particularly accurate and everything looked flat.

Determined that I could learn these skills I travelled to Denmark and then to Italy ending up in one of the top realist schools of art and completing four years of full-time training.

“I can’t draw because I have not talent” is a myth, it can be learnt just like reading and writing. “Oil paints are difficult and only for talented artists” is another myth. Oil paints are one of the most forgiving mediums, they just need to be handled in the right way so that they work for you and not against you.