Allotment hens

Allotment hens

Here's a change, not a November painting of the allotments but one of my very favourite paintings from late spring. Quite a difference looking at those fresh spring greens now. I had a fantastic session painting this one, I was so happy there with the hens in the sunshine listening to the radio and summer stretching out before us.

Rather a special one this, and so I saved it for the Royal Institute of Oil painters exhibition. It's one of three that I'll have on show with the ROI at the Mall Galleries. The exhibition is open from the 30th November to the 11th December and I will be painting in the gallery on the 2nd December. I'd love to see you there :-)

Summer greens

Summer greens and blowsy clouds
SOLD

Here are a couple of fresh and green allotment paintings that sold at my exhibition in Putney, both plein air paintings from different allotments. The variety of greens on show is one of the many reasons I love painting at the allotments so much. I'm not much of a gardener myself, but I do so appreciate the efforts of others. And of course as painting subjects go, you can't beat the light reflecting off the greenhouse glass. 

Inham Nook allotments
SOLD

Where in the world...

English summer pasture
12" x 16"

This is my second painting as part of the Illume Gallery's 'Where in the world is plein air' event. For three days over a hundred artists took part from all over the world and made short videos to accompany their paintings.

It is so much fun watching the videos and fascinating to see where everybody has been painting this week. You can see my videos here and then click on 'artists' to choose which other videos you'd like to see.

I was amazed what I heard Lori Putnam say when she was filming for day one, about the passers by who stopped to chat!

Now all the finished paintings are for sale with the Illume Gallery of Fine Art in Salt Lake City in Utah, so I will be wrapping mine up and posting them off there. 

The team involved has done an incredible job co-ordinating all the artists and uploading the videos, and now they have a big exhibition to organise! 

'Down on the farm' - just needed a piece of straw to chew on!

Reverie

Reverie
Oils 28" x 20"
SOLD

A recently finished larger studio painting, finding inspiration in the Gunby Hall pond again. I was mesmerised by the deep dark reflection of the large tree, so I decided to call this painting 

reverie  noun  a state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts; a daydream.

Sometimes when I worked on this one I turned it the other way round as though I was painting a landscape and sky instead of a reflection in water. I really really love painting still water and reflections, mind you it's the ever changing sea that keeps me on my toes.

 

At the start, all splish splash

A section of the work in progress,
a pleasing piece of abstract design

Poppies everywhere!

Flaming June
8" x 16"
Buy it now

They are here for only a short while and when you come across a field of poppies in June they are so magical. This seems to be a good year for poppies in Lincolnshire, and these ones are only about a mile from where I live so I simply couldn't resist. 

This was one of those that almost painted itself, tripping off the brush so fluently, and in under an hour and a half my work here was done.

By the way the sky looks a much more subtle blue in the real painting than it looks in this version on my screen, and possibly on your screen too. Looks better in the progress shots below.

I took a couple of photos as I went along, as I know that many of you like to see the stages.

Sketched in with the brush, then placing of greens

A touch of red so I could see it in situ, then blocked the sky in 

Great studio for the morning :-)

Belton House fountain

Belton House fountain
Oils 16" x 20"

Here's a closer look at the fountain painting from last week. Despite the outbursts of rain I really thoroughly enjoyed painting this. I only live a couple of miles away so I can easily return here to paint the fountain again. Lucky me. Usually when I come here it's with the family at weekends and without my paints, so I will have to make another midweek visit.

We're having quite a lot of rain showers at the moment, with sunny intervals in between. I've got plenty to be getting on with inside but I'm keeping a lookout for a consistently fine painting day.

Here's a detail from the painting so you can get a better look at the brush marks. I especially like that squidgy turquoise stroke in the water section. 

Belton House fountain
Detail

Sketches of ladies

Oil sketch of friends in repose

Then I took the high key colour palette and used it to paint these small sketches in oil, based on my line drawings from the day spa and using a little artistic license regarding backgrounds etc. I just can't wait to be able to paint like this outside in summer. I just need to find willing models. 

In the meantime, if you're local and willing to spend a few hours sitting around in your dressing gown for me please get in touch!

Oil sketch of friends in repose

A new (P)interest

Study after Richard Emil Miller
1875 - 1943

I was telling you yesterday about my excitement in discovering Pinterest and being able to gather paintings that I find enormously inspiring together in one place. I am also discovering new artists at the same time, like Richard E Miller, an American impressionist. I had never heard of him until I came across this painting of his on Pinterest. He worked for some time at Giverny, and painted lots of 'ladies at leisure', a genre of paintings that I love.

The main thing I notice about my many 'pins' (small images clipped together on a 'board') is the great impact each one has on even a tiny thumbnail size, and the immediate statement that the colour palette makes.

I have long adored pinks and greens together and decided I had to have a play with this high key colour palette. I wasn't trying to achieve a careful copy or drawing but aiming to get the same sorts of colours working together.

 

Richard E Miller
Reading in the garden

Ginger on the red carpet

Ginger on the red carpet
Oils 12" x 16"

I went back to the allotments to finish this one and made a new friend while I was there. Well I just had to let him star in the painting didn't I? He was sooo affectionate!

I'm afraid I haven't captured a very good photo of this one, it's a bit fuzzy and the colours have gone a bit too garish!

Anyway here's a closer look at the cheeky chappie...

I'm very busy this week (as ever), so forgive me if I don't blog for a few days! I'm going into the SAA HQ tomorrow to shoot some pictures for a book and then on Wednesday I'm in London all day and hoping to fit so much into that day! I will report on what I achieve there! Finishing off the week with a day workshop on painting in gouache - I can't wait to show everyone there how fabulous gouache is as a (much under-used) medium :-)

Red carpet at the allotments

Painting at the allotments again :-)

The day before yesterday I made it to the allotments again, probably my favourite place to paint away from the sea! 

I was really interested in the red carpet, the pegs on the string and the bendy canes! I love love love allotments because I'm a sucker for pattern really. That and typography are both passions. Anyway here's a run through of what went on...

Stage one, blocking in large green masses...

More definition, varied greens, darker greens... (by the way the board isn't white to start with, it's painted in Winsor & Newton Galeria pale umber acrylic paint)

I used a colour shaper tool to lift off the highlights for the posts and string while the paint was still wet.

Starting to put in the reds and browns...

Strengthening some of the darks and highlights ...

I scratched out the thin wiggly lines for the netting, and added more definition of leaves in the foreground. This is where I had to leave it, but  I came back today to finish it off. I'll take a photo of the finished thing to show you next!

Mystery in shadows and brilliant greens

This barn is only a few hundred metres from my house and I often notice great painting subjects around and within it while walking past with my naughty but cute dog. I painted this corner last summer, but less barn and included the lane going up the hill.
This week it was all about those bright fresh greens of early summer and the deep mysterious coolness of the barn interior in shadow.
To my absolute delight I had an unsuccessful painting to work on top of.

I was really fed up with this painting back in Easter on Bréhat. I got caught in a real downpour stuck out on the rocks!
Now I was thrilled to have this dry base to work on, with it's existing colours and textures.

I started with a dark glaze over the barn area...

Starting to place the greens, at this point it's becoming less of a seascape!

Putting more definition into those greens...

Adding the light colour of the sky...

All starting to come together, working on what is going on inside the barn from here on and little highlights for the cow parsley flowers.

I will try to take a better photo of the painting to show you tomorrow...

Corelli antiques

Corelli antiques
Oil on canvas panel 12" x 10"

I finished the painting this morning. I'm quite pleased with how it works with the various light sources and shiny surfaces, and I really enjoyed doing it. Bon weekend everyone!

Cupcake and roses

Cupcake and roses
Click to bid

Oils on stretched canvas, 10" x 12"
I wanted to work again with the same subject that I was using for the thirty minute exercise, and this time get the teacup in! It's a teacup filled with candle, it's very pretty. I also wanted to use the same colour palette and even more importantly, I wanted the same boldness about the brushstrokes. And economy! I wanted to use the minimum of brushstrokes as necessary, place a mark and leave it alone.
I didn't have a time limit this time! I think I've achieved everything I set out to do, I like it very much! Would quite happily keep it but I'll put it up for auction in case one of you wants a chance!

Here's a detail, lovely smooth lusciousness...

Yum, I could eat those colours... or I could actually go and eat the cake I suppose...

Ten min prim

Ten minute primula
Click to bid

I'm still thinking about my faster painting workshop and decided to challenge myself with a ten minute time restriction today! Simple enough subject, small board (18 x 13 cms) and paints ready to go.... it was achievable I think!
It's such a good exercise as it forces you to consider what are the most important things about the subject that you need to get down!
Here's a close up so you can see how lush and thick the paint application was...

Still euphoric over the success of yesterday's thirty minute painting I find myself asking why isn't it possible for me to do ten such paintings in a single day? It's a great theory isn't it? So why doesn't it actually WORK like that?! Answers on a postcard please...


Hmm... sounds like a challenge though...

Painting faster!

Cupcake, rose and hyacinth
Click to bid

I've been preparing for my next workshop which is all about painting faster! It throws up some very interesting questions about what exactly you would call fast, and what the benefits are of painting faster. What would you consider fast in the completion of a painting? For me it's anything up to an hour and a half. Back in the day, at university, we painted in full colour from the life model with only five minutes each pose. That's what I call a good education!

So today I set my timer for this painting and gave myself thirty minutes. Not a second more! I started getting anxious when I had ten minutes left mind you!
Although reluctant to stop when the timer finished I did and am actually really thrilled with it! I think I captured the essential info with an expressive, direct feeling to the marks and bold colour. If I had unlimited time I'm sure I would have lost that with 'fiddling' and 'neatening up'! Sound familiar?
I used a fairly small board (10" x 8") and fairly large brush and laid out my paint on the palette before I started the clock.
I thought you might be interested to see the objects I was working from...

There are still places available on the workshop on Monday... you know you love a challenge! Find out all about it on my website www.haideejo.com