News: Layers of Light: Simon Bishop’s Landscape Demo

Demo held: Monday, 13 April, 2026

Talented LAS member Simon Bishop took us through his approach to using water-mixable oil paints, which he uses in both landscapes and portraiture.

LAS member Simon Bishop demonstrated his approach to water-mixable oils, which he uses for both landscapes and portraits.

He began with a quick landscape sketch on white-emulsioned MDF, then built depth and atmosphere with a trowel and brushes, using clean water to soften edges and guide the viewer’s eye with light.



With a small trowel, Simon added detail and perspective. Then refined the foreground colour and mid-ground copse colour with a small flat brush. Next, changing to a big, soft brush, the existing colours were moved around using clean water and broad strokes. Removing hard lines and directing the viewer’s eye with light, with focus on the copse and fence posts. 

For his second piece, Simon painted Storm Over St. James Church, using the same method to even greater effect.

Starting with rough sketches, he blocked in the main shapes and colours, introduced rays of light, then blended and adjusted layers as the paint dried to refine the church tower and surrounding landscape.

A thoroughly enjoyable and informative evening.

The Artist

A member of the Lawrence Society, Simon has developed a distinctive technique for using water-mixable oil paints, which he uses for both portrait and landscape paintings.

See more of Simon's paintings on Facebook.