Vibrant Oils

A complete guide to the most painterly of artistic media. Brimming with creative ideas and underpinned by her clear and friendly instructions, in this book Haidee-Jo Summer demystifies oil paints and shows just how versatile, vibrant and modern they can be. Bring warmth and light into all of your artwork.

Haidee-Jo Summers is an award-winning artist whose work has appeared in numerous exhibitions worldwide. Oils are her preferred medium, though she has written and taught on the subjects of acrylics, watercolors, gouache, inks, pastels and mixed media. Over the years she has worked on many different subjects which include still life, flowers, gardens, cats, interiors and portraits as well as landscapes, but in the last five years she has been completely hooked on plein air painting. She has always preferred painting from life, and has no qualms about painting anywhere, no matter how busy or crowded the setting, how complicated the scene or how difficult the weather.

The majority of her work is fairly small (10 x 12in up to 16 x 20in) and painted entirely on location with no finishing off afterwards. She also paints much larger studio paintings using small plein air studies as a starting point, together with any accompanying sketches and photos where needed. In the studio she is able to be more experimental in approach; having the luxury of time makes it possible to explore building up in layers, rubbing back and glazing.
Haidee-Jo's career has developed rapidly since graduating from Leicester University in 1994, and since then she has received numerous accolades, including the Young Artist's Award two years in a row by the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and the SAA Artist of the Year award in 2012, and more recently her work has been chosen for the prestigious Royal Society of Marine Artists exhibition at the Mall Galleries, London.