#254 ‘Fishing Boat, Emsworth Harbour’ 8×10″
A quick painting of a still morning. Passers by were commenting on what a lovely morning to be painting, yes, so lucky I said. Not easy though, as this scene shanged within 30 minutes of starting it. I posted the photo (see below) on Instagram to show how...
#253 ‘Morning Light Albert Bridge’ 8×10″
On Monday I went to London to see the Chelsea Open Exhibition which I was very pleased to have two paintings showing in it. One of them was Albert Bridge so I was inspired to have another go at it. I have noticed the light is changing now the sun is lower in the...
#251 ‘Beer Head’ 8×10″
I looked around after I finished the previous boat painting I posted and saw the light on the water and sky and thought I've got to paint that! So I turned my easel around and started straight away. The light only lasted about 30 minutes so it was a scramble to get it...
#252 ‘Morning Light, Beer Beach’ 5×10″
I thought the sunrise was going to be a bit of a damp squib. So I had started another painting of the fishing boats but without the light it wasn't working so when the flash of orange appeared I picked up my easel and almost ran to the edge of the beach! Then painted...
#250 ‘Fishing Boats, Beer’ 8×10″
An enjoyable afternoon painting with some local artists from friends and instagram buddies from the Devon area. The light wasn't great flat and dull but choosing a colourful and interesting shapes to paint helps when there is no light to feature.Spent quite a bit...
#249 ‘Dawn Fishing Trip’ 15x40cm
I really like the shapes of the boats and the morning activity when the fisherman are loading up ready for day on the water.It needed fast painting as there was little time between the sun coming up and the boats disappearing over the edge of shingle. They are pushed...
#247 ‘Fishing Boat, Beer’ 8×10″
We have just spent 3 nights in Beer, Devon. I was recommended by painter friends that it was a good place, and it was! Really enjoyed the interesting beach with the fishing boats and very steep drop to the sea, great cliffs each side too.I eased myself in when we...
#248 ‘Sunrise, Beer Beach’ 8×10″
We were up each morning for sunrise, this was the first. With fast painting to get the colours and shapes of the clouds down before they changed. And a bonus to have a little fishing boat puttering into my scene, I put it in without too much detail just general...
Back in the Studio
Venice was such an amazing place to paint. Much harder than I expected with so many battles but I'm really pleased with the outcome.Some Venice painting Stats:I painted 15 in 6 days and 11 paintings turned out ok enough to show you! I walked on average 8,000...
#246 ‘Sunrise, San Giorgio Maggiore’ 8×10″
This was the second painting I did of this sunrise and the final 'en plein air' painting in Venice.I mapped out the building shape and high horizon line before the sun came up. The portrait format helps to showcase the lovely light on the water. I built up the...
#245 ‘Sunrise, San Giorgio’ 8×10″
I got there before the sunrise so I could mix some initial colours and draw out the basic shapes. I knew it would be quick and I wanted to capture the light and colours of the moment. At the same time I drew out a second board which I will post tomorrow.When the sun...
#244 ‘Gondolas, Grand Canal’ 8×10″
I painted with Sally Balick another artist, who helped firstly because it was such a busy spot and to be with another person helps, also to get ideas on how others tackle a tough subject.You don't realise how much the boats move until you try and paint them. Up and...
#242 ‘Sunset, Santissimo Redentore Church’ 8×10″
There are such great silhouette shapes for sky lines in Venice. Added to which beautiful light and colour = I could keep painting this amazing city!The historic wooden posts in the water helps break up the strong horizon line and make the composition more...
#243 ‘St Mark’s Basilica’ 8×10″
A really tricky subject. We got there early morning to paint in the fog, but it was so dense to start with we couldn't see it to paint and then it quickly cleared and no mist left just building!I kept it a sketchy and loose not getting caught up with detail, the sort...
#241 ‘Gondolas at Night’ 8×8″
This is my first nocturnal painting, there are not many places I've been that would inspire me to go and paint at night! This is one of them, with the dancing light on the water and tonal shapes were great.My painter buddy (Neil Pitcher) had a great light its one used...
#240 ‘Mist, St Marks Square, Venice’ 8×10″
I wasn't sure how I would tackle the mist but once I had found this great spot and mixed my colours, I really enjoyed it. Someone said to me to put colour notes down early on in a painting. Which I have been doing recently, especially in such a tonal painting...
#238 ‘Dusk, Grand Canal’ 8×8″
I stood in the Vaperetto water bus stop to paint this. It was a great view looking down the grand canal and the georgous light after the sun had set.It was very fleeting so I worked quickly and keeping it loose. I mixed the peachy pink colours with Naples yellow deep,...
#239 ‘Sunset, the Grand Canal’ 8×10″
I was going to get on the water bus and go to a St Marks Square for the sunset. But seeing the sparkle on the water and the colours I had to stop and paint.A lot of places I paint on location I am on show, this one was odd as people were in a waiting room and I was...
#237 ‘Maria Della Salute’ 8×10″
Monet painted this scene along with Ken Howard. You can see why with water, lovely shapes and light!When I started it was still hazy with the mist. But an hour into it and the sun was shining and intense, it totally changed the scene. I was floundering trying to paint...
#236 ‘Dawn, San Giorgio Maggiore’ 8×10″
I couldn't post while in Venice, I tried but had difficulties with Nick (my husbands) laptop, and I was out painting so much time was limited. I did write notes for each painting so I wouldn't forget. I will post two a day for the next 5-6 days :-)First painting in...
News Update
There are certain land marks in an artist career and one of them for me is getting into the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) exhibition (& later be a member of their Society).The ROI was founded in 1882 and is the only British Art Society that promotes...
#235 ‘Tower Bridge, The Thames’ 8×10″
This was the final painting I did on Monday. Started it about 10am there was cloud & sun, a lot less dramatic than #234. But still inspiring and interesting to paint. We were further away from the bridge so it's smaller in the composition. Putting the boats...
#234 ‘Morning Light, Tower Bridge’ 8×10″
Yesterday I was in London painting with two artists one I them Rod Major I'd met through Instagram!I set off from my house at 4.30am hoping to catch the sunrise. I was there in time but sadly the clouds obscured the sun and my composition didn't work - I was too...
#233 ‘Dawn, Langstone’ 8×10″
I decide not to settle for a mediocre composition. I went to a place I had liked previously painted and the tide was so far out there was a trickle of water and mainly mud! It didnt inspire me - and it needs too!So I drove across Langstone Bridge onto Hayling Island...
#232 ‘View to Bosham’ 15x40cm
I was itching to get out yesterday and was a lovely afternoon, I went to Chidham (West Sussex) and walked to the coast with a view across the water to Bosham. There was some gorgeous fluffy clouds when I arrived, I whipped out a board and drew with a brush the...
#230 ‘1964 Mechanical Horse’ 8×8″
This cute little vehicle was in Ian Cryers collection in Somerset. He loves old stuff especially around the railways. He tell me this is quite a rare 'Scammell Townsman' and he has two them! They were used instead of horses for hawlage on the railways lines. I...
#231 ‘Somerset Levels’ 9×12″
Somerset levels are quite flat and low level so the skies are amazing, dramatic and endless. Could paint them all day! A group of us liked this subject because when we arrived the light was behind the trees - contra jour and the cattle were standing with a halo...
#229 ‘The Plowing Match’ 9×12″
Horse drawn plows & tractors all competing for the best and straightest plowing! Quite mesmerising to watch, and also a bit of a culture shock when we first arrived in the field, with over 40 tractors, horses and farmers doing there thing, so different to the...
#228 ‘Somerset Canal’ 10×10″
Just had a weekend in Somerset with the Friends of the ROI. (Royal Institute of Oil Painters) Really enjoyed paiting and talking art with others.This was the first painting I did, it's next to where I was staying and also the hosts house - Ian Cryer the president of...
#227 ‘Low Tide Bosham Harbour’ 24x30cm
This is one that I didn't think was any good at the time but came out alright! Sometimes its the other way around, thinking its an ok painting and then looking at it again the next day and being disappointed!It was just after sunrise, a beautiful sky and a...
#226 ‘Boats, Bosham Harbour’ 8×10″
Last week I went to Bosham early morning and as I finished 'Bosham Harbour' #223 I turned 90 degrees and saw this scene, so I whipped out another board and got the composition down (before the boats moved) but ran out of steam to paint on site so I painted it today in...
#225 ‘Albert Bridge, London’ 18x24cm
I was up in London with The Wapping Group yesterday as their guest, a very enjoyable day. It's somewhere I wouldn't have usually painted but a great subject, at one point there was 5 of us lined up painting this bridge. (The Wapping Group are an acclaimed group of 25...
#224 ‘The Georgian Hotel, Haslemere’ 18x24cm
Saturday I was out with Haslemere Art Society painting on the High Street promoting our exhibition starting next Saturday at the Haslemere Museum. This is not a usual subject for me, but I looked for light and shade which looked great on this hotel front. Luckily...
#223 ‘Bosham Harbour’ 9×12″
I planned to go down to Bosham on advice from an artist saying it was gorgeous early morning. Somehow I picked the most stunning day, so happy. Got there just after sunrise and the cloud formation and reflections in the water....I painted the clouds quickly, they...
#222 ‘La Vila, Spain’ 18x24cm
I was experimenting in my studio with techniques. Raoul Dufy (1877-1953) used this process by putting down swathes of colour and drawing with a brush over the top. He used black. I mixed a black with Ultramarine Blue and Red Dioxide - which lends itself to the iron...
#221 ‘Chalk Path, The Trundle’ 8×10″
The light was diffused when I arrived but got stronger as I started which was easier. I have been using a homemade viewfinder recently which helps compose the composition (previously I've used my phone & taken pics) The viewfinder helps with what subject...
#220 ‘Evening Sun, Bosham’ 21x29cm
It's been gorgeous weather and I have made the most of it by doing an evening paint where the light gives me the subject.Husband Nick and I went down to Bosham and this view grabbed me as the sun was dancing on the water and warm apricots in the sky. I knew it would...
#219 ‘Palms, Villa Joyosa’ 9×11″
This was a tough painting! I started in the shade of the palms but as the sun rose I was exposed! Very hot and bright even my phone over heated and temporarily wouldn't work!The composition was tricky as there were a lot of palms all in lines, I moved my...
#218 ‘Finestrat, Spain’ 8×10″
I did the same thing as the previous painting and looked for light and shade. Finestrat is inland from the coast and quite mountainous. I climbed to the top of the village to get the morning light hitting the buildings. I liked the downhill curved of this little...
#217 ‘Villa Josoya’ 8×10″
Wonderful coloured houses in this Spanish town. I was in a shady square with friendly locals. When I was scouting the town for a painting, I looked for light and shade patterns, not so much about the subject. The light and shade fell nicely on this building...
#216 ‘Bougainvillia, Spain’ 18x21cm
This was in Finestrat it's the closest village to where we are staying with my Aunt. The doorway with this plant, was a real gem to find. Loved painting it, although I was unsure to begin with as the light wasn't on it, so it was quite flat. But as the sun...
#215 ‘Altea, Spain’ 8×10″
The first painting in Spain, it took me a few attempts to decide on the composition. As I was drawn to the light on the sea and the sky. But I got sucked in to a traditional a view putting the buildings in, I wiped it down and cut the building off. When...
#214 Setting Sail, Dell Quay 9×11″
What a great place to paint! So many options it was hard to choose until I saw this scene, when I couldn't take my eyes from it. It was a great sky day too, I wanted to do some cloud studies but this scene won! It was Sunday morning, and the sailing club was a...
#213 River Wey, Ripley 10×10″
I painted with the Surrey Hills Plein air painters on Friday, a nice spot, near the lock at Ripley. A tricky subject with lots of greens and the boat end obscured by the grasses. Sometimes paintings work from the beginning, others like this painting I was 3/4...
#212 ‘The Trundle, West Sussex 15x40cm
Beautiful morning today, with a warm light and fluffy clouds. I planned what I wanted to paint before I got there, as this is the third painting of this view recently. I felt I hadn't really got to grips with this swoop of this hill but I'm pleased with this...
#211 ‘Misty, Whitstable Harbour’ 18x24cm
This was the first painting I started on the Wapping Group Wednesday (an esteemed group of London painters!)I did a drawing in my sketch book to practise making the shapes as it was a tricky angle. I'd mixed all my colours and about to start painting when the skies...
#210 Sky Study, Whitstable 5×10″
This was the last painting I did on the day with the Wapping Group. I was very tired but couldn't resist the sky. It was ever changing and the light and cloud formation, yummy! I knew I had paint still mixed on my palette from the previous paintings so I could...
#209 ‘Salva Mea, Whitstable’ 18x21cm
The is was the second time for being a guest with the Wapping group (a prestigious group based in London the member are accomplished professional painters.)Whitstable in Kent is one of the further places they visit. I'd not been before but it had a lot to offer an...
#208 ‘Paynes Boat Yard, Thorney Island’ 24x30cm
My husband and I did a recce on Saturday for possible painting and photographic spots around Thorney Island (on the south coast of Hampshire). I loved this old boat yard so went back today. The owner was very friendly and even made me a cup of tea and biscuits while I...
#207 ‘Strood Farm’ 18x24cm
Driving to my potter friend she lives in the South Downs and on the way there I always think I want to paint this view! So this time I did. (It's nr Petworth on the A272)Quite hard to find a view whilst driving. I spotted this scene through a 6 bar gate a quick glimps...
My plein air experiences, insights, battles and painting life blogged as often as I can.
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