#539 ’10K Followers Giveaway’
Long time no write...I have been painting a lot in my studio and garden and selling on instagram through the #artistsupportpledge - "Due to the COVID 19 pandemic many artists have found themselves without work, exhibitions being cancelled and sales disappeared" In an...
#538 Sunset, Bramshott Gate
Felt so inspired had to go back to this lovely spot. The sun has moved the shadows are longer and the light is warmer. Tried it on a larger landscape canvas 12x16" I'm pleased with the outcome. See previous post to compare the two paintings. Very cool photo taken by...
#537 Afternoon Light, Bramshott Gate
I probably wouldn't have painted this subject if the lockdown wasn't happening! Thinking the grass is greener elsewhere and driven out to find a subject. This is a short walk from our house, in the sticks and very quiet. I have painted it a few years ago in the snow....
#536 First Light, Camber Dock
One week into our lockdown in the Uk and I have been painting like billio. It's helping me feel 'normal' and posting my work on here and social media helps me feel more connected and less alone. I hope you are ok out there. This is an unassuming scene in Portsmouth....
#535 Sunrise Reflections
It was one of those beautiful perfectly still mornings. The sun rose behind me and I aimed to capture the colours as it did. It's always tricky to decide when to commit to the colours of the moment. I did it before the sun came up too much so it has a purple-pink...
#534 ‘Spring Flowers & Snowdrops’
The spring cheery yellows enticed me to paint them, I thought they looked good in the stripy blue jug! A mixture of daffodil varieties, I especially like the orange centres. Light source manly behind to lift the top daffodil head so it looks transparent. I had...
#533 Low Tide, Bosham Sunset
A follow on to the 4pm painting on my previous post. I wanted some thing dramatic and confident. An enjoyable paint with lots of subtleties in the darks - warmer pinky/orange and cooler greens/blues.
#532 Bosham, Receding Tide
Having finished my big studio paintings I was able to get back out into the plein air and painting outdoors. It was a shock to the system, bitterly cold wind in my face, I needed to weigh down my easel down with my bag and managed to knock the turps all over me! I...
#531 Sunset Walk, Chelsea Bridge
Last big painting for the Affordable Art Fair. It felt a big task and a pressure to get 3 paintings done and framed in 6 weeks! All the same size of 80x100cm. I am so relieved to have managed it and I'm pleased with the outcome! I have only painted one this size...
#530 ‘Late Afternoon, Albert Bridge’
Sometimes a painting doesn't go to plan. I started a large one before this and I worked for 2 days on it and then scrapped it. Drawn out, the composition seemed to work but with paint on it was 'thin' and lacking. On a big canvas there is nowhere to hide, you can't...
#529 View to Battersea Bridge
Painted for the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea for this Spring. So pleased to be showing there with the London Russel Gallery, not been in it before. They have asked me to paint 2-3 large paintings (80x100cm) of London Bridges. With a tight deadline of end of this...
#528 Venice Moon & Sun
'Moon rising, San Giorgio Maggiore' 12x24" 'Afternoon Light, Santa Maria Della Salute' 11x22" Studio pieces scaling up from small plein air paintings. Fun format and interesting looking at moonlight compared to sunlight! The paintings with the...
#527 From The Accademia, Venice
I started this painting on the last day of my Venice trip in September 2019. It was the afternoon and hot and sunny. Very crowded which restricted the spot I could stand on the Accademia Bridge. I decided to go for it with a big board 12x16" and in portrait format as...
#526 Langstone Harbour, Sunrise – Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Just to say thank you for continuing to read my blog and support me on this artist journey. 2020 was an amazing painting year for me, so many good things happened like Sky Landscape Artist of the year, Being in London exhibitions, Nominated &...
#525 ‘Albert Bridge, Sunset’
I have painted this view before, I like the strong silhouetted shape of the Cadogan Pier and Albert bridge framing the sunset. This time I used an underpainting which I did in the daytime en plein air. But it was such a drab grey day I decided to go back to the studio...
#524 Wintery Light, Albert Bridge
Painted during a rare window of sunshine - it's been a grey and rainy month! I stood on the Chelsea embankment right next to the bridge. When you are that close you realise how big and chunky it is, but also how elegant and lovely. I enjoyed the contra jour with...
#523 Carnaby Christmas
Painted a week or so before Christmas so there was a real hustle bustle in the air. Wonderful jelly fish Christmas lights, decorating the street. There was a marine theme and saving the planet message in Soho this year.
#522 Bosham Sunrise from Chidham
The second time I have painted from this spot, its like a secret gem of a subject, I saw no other people quiet & peaceful! The dark small building on the right is called the Raptackle its grade 11 listed and used for the sailing on Bosham quay. I put the clouds...
#521 Winter Light, Piccadilly
I am finally catching up with my jobs, it's been a very busy December with lots of commissions and orders for Christmas. I have several paintings I done in December and want to post over the next few days... This one I did during the ROI paint live day - corresponding...
#520 Sunset, Albert Bridge
I painted this back in the spring, it's my biggest painting to date 80x100cm. I wanted a centre piece for my solo exhibition in Chelsea, London. It has since been hung at the New Ashgate Gallery for the Surrey Artist of the Year. Also it was my submission painting for...
#519 ‘Admiralty Arch’ ROI Exhibition
My favourite society is the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) They hold an annual exhibition each year and it's one of my main goals to be accepted into it. This year I have been accepted in and I feel so chuffed! The quality of work showing is really high and it...
#518 Gondola Ride, Venice ‘DEMO’
I have never done an art society demo before this one.... at Leatherhead Art Club. The brief was to scale up a small plein air and describe my process. I was really anxious before as I didn't know if I could speak and paint at the same time! It's public speaking for...
#517 Albert Bridge, Towards Battersea Park
I did this painting in June as a warm up to the Sky Landscape Artist of the Year program I was on. (See previous post) A large canvas 40x50cm done en plein air and trying to cover it as much as I could in one go, this is where I got up to outside: I decided the bottom...
Sky Landscape Artist of The Year Contestant!
Preparation I have waited for three years to do the Sky Landscape Artist the Year as I didn’t feel ready before. For those who who haven't seen it, it’s a TV art competition with 8 artists in each of the 6 heats. The idea is to complete a painting in 4 hours - more...
#516 Autumn, Putney
Good to be home and painting on the Thames! Such a beautiful, crisp autumnal day, I really enjoyed it. I used a limited palette mainly Blue-Green (Cerulean) & Red-Orange (Cadmiums) which are tertiary complimentary colours. Useful to have a boat in the foreground...
#515 Autumn Colours, Rhode Island
I was standing on Hussey Bridge in Wickford. A beautiful scene of coloured leaves and reflections. Nice to have the kayaks in too. The subject felt too big for the size board I had - 8x14" so it was a struggle to make all the areas fit together and work as a whole....
#514 Autumn Plantation, Tennesse
The second painting with the Oil Painters of America group. We were on an old plantation - (big farm) with about 8 out houses these two were part of them. A still grey day but I boosted the autumn colours to make them stand out more. The tonal value and colour of the...
#513 Old Tennessee Barn
I had the opportunity to paint with the prestigious Oil Painters of America group. The morning we spent painting on Burns Grocery Farm, with wonderful old barns, this one is 150 years old. The grey sky seemed to suit the scene and I decided to crop the roof off to...
#512 ‘Pucketts Grocery, Tennessee’
I'm here in America to paint, visit friends and God Children. The last time I visited was in 2003 and this is the first time I've painted in the States! It feels a bit of a culture shock, so different to Surrey, England! Also just acclimatising from the jetlag, 6...
Runner up – Surrey Artist of The Year!
Voted by the public out of 300 Surrey artists down to 15 and now the top 3. I am so pleased to be awarded runner up in The Surrey Artist of the Year! Public votes means a lot as it shows people like my work (I must be on the right track) and they want to buy it - 2...
#511 Venice 32,33
Some small sketches from my trip, that I did over the 3 week period just not posted on here. All featuring Maria Della Salute. Such a great shaped building!
#512 Venice 31
A sunrise impression from the Accademia Bridge. I know this subject well and enjoy painting a fast sunrise of colours. I have just finished it with a few tweaks in the the studio...
#511 Venice 30
I started this painting on the first week. I brought it home and I couldn't stand it. Had to turn it to the wall! A friend staying int he house we shared called Emma liked it and kept turning it back around! Because of her belief in it I thought Id try and finish it...
#510 Venice Collection
It's like unwrapping old friends once back in the studio seeing all my paintings again and in such better light than the house we had in Venice. Felt quite excited seeing them all as a group. Several unfinished but wont take long to get them done.. Extras I couldn't...
#509 Venice 29
My last paint in Venice. I really like this spot as it's not too far from Maria Della Salute (dome building) and you get action of the gondolas in the foreground. Plus afternoon sparkle and sunset colours. Artists heaven! Felt exhausted and had been really pushing...
#508 Venice 27 & 28
Standing on the point - next to the old customs house and now art gallery, looking towards the sunrise and Giorgio Maggiore. I went big 12x16" much harder with a fleeting sunrise to capture the moment but also cover the board quickly enough. I prepared with the...
#507 Venice 24, 25 & 26
It was raining so I sheltered under the fish market building - see painting below. I enjoyed it a lot so decided to do a couple more! Then I started to see all the wonderful facades around the city. Will do more next time! From the Fish Market Next to Accademia...
#506 Venice 22 & 23
Barnaba Canal, the square next to where we are staying. It has such a nice atmosphere with locals sitting drinking their Aperol spritz & tourists eating ice cream (including me!) This was painted before the tourists and all the workers crossed the bridge on their...
#505 Venice 21
I had started this soon after arriving in Venice, but a thundery rain storm stopped the paint, but luckily I was able to go back near the end of trip as it was a similar weather day!
#504 Venice 20
Late afternoon when the sun is travelling between San Giorgio Maggiore and Maria Della Salute. I wanted to put interesting marks and different colour variations in the water and sky. The silhouette of buildings are fab, although it took some working out of composition...
#503 Venice 18 & 19
Zooming in to the Maria Della Salute instead of doing the big skyline so tempting to get everything in which is tricky when is such a wide spread of landmarks. This one was before and the sun a little higher.
#502 Venice 17
Such a tough subject! I went big too 12x16" 🙂 It was early morning and the sun was behind the building, so the tones were close together and colours similar.I looked for the warm and cools and made sure the drawing was correct and the skyline details which was so...
#501 Venice 16
From Accademia Bridge at 9am. My biggest board so far on this location 11x14" Really simplified the colours and shapes but put in enough so they weren't too blocky. I liked the bit of light hitting the left buildings, gives a pop of colour.
#500 Venice 15
Wow I made it to 500 posts!! It also happens to be my 5th year wedding anniversary today too 🙂 A great place to spend it in in Venice. Not an easy boat to paint especially during a fleeting sunrise, focused & fast painting, capturing the light as it changed from...
#499 Venice 14
A quiet weather morning. Up early waiting for sunrise which didn't happen due to cloud cover, it was surprisingly colourful though and enjoyed painting the soft light.
#498 Venice 13
The same evening as Venice 12 I waited for the moon to rise and the sun to set. I noticed the low moon is warmer and with small dazzles and higher moons creates brighter larger sparkles. The moon I painted was fairly low. I needed my lighting gear as I wouldn't have...
#497 Venice 12
Sunset but looking away from the sun for a change, which is much more subtle and enjoyed the colours shifting and warm glow of light. Sometimes it's hard to know when to commit to a colour scheme as once you put the colours of the sky in then that's its generally set...
#496 Venice 11
Went back to the same spot the next day and painted it in the morning with the sun shining on the side of the building and the light reflecting down into the water.
#495 Venice 10
Maria Della Salute from the Vaperetto stop (boat bus.) Close up of this beautiful building and the gondola ride station is right next to us. The sounds of the gondoliers shouting to each other and an overhead rescue helicopter made the paint a noisy one! The...
#494 Venice 9
Fitting the sweep of the city in one painting from Maria Della Salute to the Campanile tower in St Marks. Painting the shapes of the buildings in and then waiting for the sun to come and deciding at which point to stick it in. This sun is quite low just as it's...
My plein air experiences, insights, battles and painting life blogged as often as I can.