Hunters yard

Hunters yard
14" x 18"
Sold

One of my favourite paintings from this year, actually one of my very best yet I think! You probably know that I like to bite off a bit more than I can chew when choosing a subject, I think it's how to keep growing my painting skills. Always strive towards something that you think is a little beyond you, that's my advice.

A subject like this is fraught with difficulties. What are the focal points? How to deal with the background (exterior scene) without it coming forward? How best to describe the value relationships between the dark interior and sunlit goings on outside? How to simplify all the busy objects and shapes within the boat yard? How to capture some of the figures that pass through and even.... can I get the dog in? What about the shine on the floor? The electric strip lights? And all these decisions to make while answering questions from onlookers.

But I was truly gripped! As soon as I saw it I knew it was my subject. Wild horses wouldn't have dragged me away from Hunters yard that afternoon.

Detail from Hunters yard

Hunters boatyard demo

Hunters boatyard
9" x 12"

On a busy Saturday at the boatyard I painted a demo for a lovely group of artists in the sunshine. A very nice chap positioned this boat for me as all the others were to be taken out that day, and a lovely lady called Joan stood for a few minutes so that I could have a figure in the painting. Her jacket tied around her waist made for a lovely bright colour accent. 

The main focal point for me was the sail against the dark interior of the boatyard.

In the afternoon, I went inside the boatyard and painted from the inside looking out.

For more information on Hunters heritage fleet of beautiful wooden sailing boats see here.

St-Just-in-Roseland

The creek at St-Just-in-Roseland
Oils 16" x 26"

I had a great five days in Cornwall last week plein air painting while filming for my DVD with APV films. The weather was variable but we didn't get rained off and one of the days was an absolute scorcher. I found some cracking subjects and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We are going to have a day filming in my studio this winter and then the final editing will take place.

I'm gathering together a list of people who'd like to be the first to know when the DVD is available, and those people will be able to order a signed copy direct from my studio. One lucky person on the list will be sent a free copy of the DVD!

If you'd like to be added simply send me a message or reply to this email and I'll pop you on there :-)

More work on boat sheds

Work in progress

I continued with various thin coloured glazes such as greens on the grasses and trees and blues on the boat and sheds. Each time the painting would be left alone for a few days afterwards to let the glaze dry. Again this is a luxury of studio painting. The whole course of a painting is making a series of changes, and if you have time on your side then one of the options open to you is using a glaze to subtly alter the colour tint of an area. 

I then mixed up thicker, more opaque paint for the bright light greens of the sunlit areas of grass.

I also mixed up an opaque lavender grey for the shed doors. Later I decided this was too light in value and so (when really dry) a glaze was applied to darken it down at which point it 'sat' better in it's surroundings.

The painting was left like this for all of January as I was fully occupied with my Nottingham exhibition. So near and yet still so far!

A return visit to Brancaster Staithe last week gave me the chance to look again at the subject and gain some fresh ideas, and also the impetus needed to press ahead and get it completed.

The plein air study perches on top of the easel

The first change I made was to alter the whole sky area to a sort of light valued warm grey, but I left areas of peachiness breaking through. 

I had also seen the light coming down through the gap in between the sheds this time and thought that would definitely be beneficial to add. Also the roof on the left had sustained further damage and I happily let more sky show through with the new gaps. I had a firmer idea about the shape of the trees in the background too.

Tomorrow I'll show you the end result of all these layers and adjustments...

Mud and wind in Norfolk

Reflections at low tide, Brancaster Staithe
SOLD

At low tide at Brancaster Staithe in Norfolk the colours and reflections in the wet mud are stunning. We were blessed again with a bright but cold day, it was extremely windy though! To counteract the effects of the wind I positioned myself in front of a wall, had my tripod legs spread wide and my bag of paints hanging from the tripod as a weight. Still, it was very tricky to attempt straight lines!

I deliberately pushed the boat up and out of the top of the painting because I wanted to focus attention on the reflections beneath and the weight and bulk of the boat. The buoys provided a nice couple of bright spots amongst all the gorgeous greys.

Work in progress at Brancaster Staithe