more experimenting

After my foray into collage and acrylics, I am continuing with the same media, but a little more conventionally with a variation of my more usual (commission) work. I normally work with pencils or pastels and have always been a little afraid of acrylics and oils, although I have done a small amount of water colour in the past.  The previous experiments have been put on the back burner for the moment as I wanted to try a portrait in paint. I have previously attempted to create a memorial  portrait of my G.S.D. Kess (she had to be p.t.s. nearly two years ago, due to illness) using pastels/pencils etc. but for various reasons I have not completed a picture.
So I am attempting a painting, with a small amount of collage in the form of a quote from John Galsworthy

"Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives."




I am struggling a bit as I am not really sure if I am using the paint correctly, but it is the only way I will learn.......... this is where I am so far, apologies for the poor photography.

I am actually wondering if oils may be better for me, as I am continually adding medium to try and blend and stop the acrylic drying out, but this is the nearest I have ever got to painting a portrait in acrylics (I did do a skull once at college, but that was easier because it didnt have fur and was smooth!) so I am going to see it through to the (hopefully not bitter) end!


Any advice welcome.

I have just started the summer break from college/uni and although I have some work still to do (commission and small local exhibition entries) as well as sorting out and organising my artists research etc for september, I have taken the opportunity to play with some paint.
I have become increasingly frustrated and dare I say slightly bored with drawing and so wanted to have some freedom (of expression) using a media I have virtually no knowledge of (or control over). Inspired also by our recent visit to Cornwall I thought some landscape work may be a good way to go! As it turned out the results are much more expressionistic than I originally planned and the work evolved into something else............ enough of my waffling, this is one of the pieces I have been working on, I would love to know what peeps think, good or bad..
Click on pics to enlarge


                      acrylic and collage