Evening light, Harwich

Evening light, Harwich
24 x 30 cms

At the end of the first day of teaching in Harwich (a chilly day with a strong north-easterly wind) I took my paints back out to the Quayside. It wasn't weather conditions for the faint hearted, but once I'd seen this subject well... I couldn't care less about the practical difficulties. I just get so excited and carried away... I only noticed I was shivering with cold when I was packing up afterwards.

I LOVED the red flags and of course the dazzling light on the sea. It was a real challenge because the boat was silhouetted against the water but there was still colour to be seen within that silhouetted shape, but very very muted. Even the bright red flags had to actually be painted as dirty reddish greys. A great learning experience, and I was really happy with the end result and happy that I'd earned my hot dinner.

Evening street study, Seville

Evening street scene, Seville
Oils 8" x 12"

Talk about a rush! When you attempt a subject like this you know that time is short. Most of the street was in shadow and the warm evening light was still hitting the tops of the buildings, mainly on the left hand side but some coming across the sides of the buildings on the right too. It was one of those 'nothing to lose, just bash on with it' moments. Again I knew I had no time to be finickety with the drawing or details in those buildings - an effort to catch the light and atmosphere being order of the day.

Evening sailing

Evening sailing, St Mawes
14" x 18"

This is one of my favourite painting spots so you may well recognise this view. I was particularly keen to abstract and soften the buildings to focus attention on that dazzling light on the water. The action in the harbour is represented by a few strokes of light and dark and a couple of more intense spots of colour. 

I'm really busy getting ready for my new solo show in Nottingham, which opens in just a couple of weeks! There is so much 'last minute' preparation underway but it's all very exciting. I really hope you can make it!

Solo exhibition in Nottingham 'A lighter touch' opens on Friday 13th November until Sunday 22nd November, at 71 Friar Lane Nottingham NG1 6DH. I will be in the gallery each day and showing around 70 new paintings. We will have late night openings until 7.30pm on Friday 13th, Saturday 14th and Friday 20th. All other days opening hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm. Ten days only, don't miss it!

Summer evening, Bréhat

Summer evening, Bréhat
8" x 12"

I am rather happy with this one, the delicate colour shifts in the sky from pink, through orange, gold, lavender and blue. The soft diaphanous rolling clouds that mark this summer evening. 

And I love, just love, that juicy green pebble shaped stroke.

  

Fête des voisins

Fête des voisins

Have you any idea how tricky this little exercise was? This 10" x 12" canvas was painted en plein air on Thursday evening, when we had our wonderful neighbourhood summer party. Believe me, nobody was posing or sitting even remotely still!! This was all action, real life, plein air challenge with the setting sun to contend with and dogs running around nearly knocking over me/my easel/my champagne glass/all three!
And fun like that doesn't come around every day :-)

The photo doesn't do it justice so forgive me if I show you again at some point when I've actually worked out how to use the new camera which I'm presently scared to even hold in my hands!

Chasing Albert

Painting in situ Portscatho harbour

Another one from my Cornwall trip. This is Portscatho on the Roseland peninsular. I had to move halfway through the painting because I was roasting hot in the sun, even though it was evening and I had my umbrella set up! I kept thinking it would cool off and it didn't, so eventually I found a place in the shade lower down. Phew! It was a relief to get this spot and take my shoes off and finish the painting barefoot.
I don't have a very good photo of this one because I framed it and left it in the gallery within a few hours of painting it :-)

It's called 'Chasing Albert' because I could hear a child calling the name Albert over and over again. Eventually I discovered that Albert and his sister were swimming in the harbour, and it was little brother standing on the jetty doing all the shouting!
Albert and sister made it into the painting.

Chasing Albert

Available to buy from the Harbour Gallery :-)

Sennen cove and new website

Evening light at Sennen Cove 8" x 10"
SOLD

This is another one painted on my July trip to Cornwall, and already sold at the Scarlet hotel thanks to Mark at the Harbour Gallery :-)

Sennen cove is magical in the evening light, I definitely need more visits there. It is of course a place where Ken Howard has painted a lot over the years.

I found out some great news yesterday. All six of the paintings I've entered for the Royal Society of Marine Artists exhibition this year have been pre-selected. This means they've passed the first round of selection and now have to make their way down to the Mall galleries in London for the final selection round. Now don't get too excited just yet, because last year I had four make it through pre-selection but none of them actually made it to the walls!
Still, I think you should celebrate all little successes and I'm glad my entry has got thus far. I shall keep you informed...

And here's something worth celebrating! I've got a new website! Ok it's not brand new but it's as good as new after having spent a great many hours giving it a revamp! There's not a page on there that has been spared the overhaul, and lots of new pages too, so please go along and have a good old rummage through :-)

www.haideejo.com

There'll be an online store to follow so I'll let you know when that all happens, and my blog has also had a freshen up so if you receive this by email you might like to go and take a look at blog base camp too, at www.haideejo.blogspot.com

Portscatho harbour in evening light

Portscatho harbour, evening light

The short break in Portscatho resulted in four paintings, this one on the evening I arrived and then three on what was to prove the hottest day of the year so far!

The harbour here is so pretty and I adored the sweep of the hill and those white houses lit by the evening sun. Almost every house in Portscatho is whitewashed. Can you imagine how dazzling that can be on a 'blue sky' day?

Here are a few photos I took along the way...

And here's a snap of it in it's frame, white washed to match the houses and looking rather spiffing!

And all my Portscatho paintings as well as three of my Mousehole and two Sennen cove paintings are now available to buy from the beautiful Harbour Gallery in Portscatho :-)