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 :-)

Shepherds hut and geese

Shepherds hut and geese
6" x 10"

A different location today and an extremely difficult day for plein air painting - barely tolerating the cold wind and drizzle I had to retreat to the car when the rain poured down. Luckily the car was very near. Although I had a warm hat and gloves I got very, very cold painting this one. I was so happy to get home and warm up and not leave the house again for the rest of the day!

And I must say, a few cups of coffee and the favourable reaction to this painting from my Instagram followers cheered me up no end :-)

Path to the greenhouse

Path to the greenhouse
8" x 10"

Still loving this series of autumn paintings at the allotments, on this day I made a new friend, and this is Don's greenhouse. Again with the low sun I was looking at a dazzling effect through the glass against the rich darks of the fences, sheds and houses behind.

I really enjoy a lot of the marks I've made in this painting, as well as the colour palette which feels suitably rich and autumnal.

 Detail

Pumpkins aglow

Pumpkins aglow
8" x 10"

You never know when you head out with your paints if you're going to find something really special. Any day could be the day when you find the proverbial pot of gold. It doesn't happen too often, and you know it when you see it.

Well, picture my face when I reported for duty at the allotments the next day not knowing what I would paint there, and then saw the way the low sun lit up this greenhouse. Not just the blinding light effect through the glass which was accentuated by the fabulous dark silhouette of the terraced houses behind but lo! The fabulous orange pumpkins and yellow squashes sheltering from the frost inside and visible through the glass. Yes, a 'red sail' day :-)

www.haideejo.com

Seeds for the birds

Seeds for the birds
11" x 14"

On the cold crisp and bright morning which followed the bonfire I painted these towering sunflowers. It's funny that when the glorious yellow petals have died away the leaves themselves take on the golden hues, lighting up the soggy autumnal landscape. I loved the contrast with the purple greys of the white house in shadow, and the silhouetted shapes of the seed heads against the sky.

Bonfire and drizzle

Bonfire and drizzle
Oils 8" x 10"

The next day couldn't have been more different, as we entered November. Dark, drizzly, grey and cold, but I headed out to the allotments to see what I could find.

The light was flat and uninspiring but the smoke from a bonfire caught my eye. I knew it would be a good challenge for me because the values were all very close and the colours desaturated. So I decided to embrace the greys and knuckle down to work, and was cheered to see a couple of chickens move into view. 

Making the most of a gloomy day!

Dahlias at the allotments

Dahlias and green shed
Oils 10" x 20"

The last day in October was unseasonably warm, like a mini heatwave. I went out to paint hoping to find either a pumpkin patch or some dahlias, aware that autumn was passing me by and I hadn't been outside to paint for a couple of weeks. 

I didn't find pumpkins but I was rather pleased to see this colourful display of dahlias. The arrangement of the flower bed and the long shed behind did seem to suit a longer format and luckily I had this 10" x 20" board with me, not a size I usually carry around.

I've attached a few photos of the work in progress below -

Leaning sheds and allotment hens

Leaning sheds and allotment hens
Oils 8" x 12"

Do you see what the hens were doing when I painted this one? They were queuing up to take turns in that lovely dust bath, so funny.

I really loved the strong lean on these characterful sheds and yes, I may have over emphasised the extent to which they leant ever so slightly ;-)

Sunny afternoon with the hens

Sunny afternoon with the hens

I had a gorgeous few days with these hens earlier in the summer. This is one of four or five paintings I did there - I can't be happier than sunshine+sheds+hens... except possibly for snow+sheds+hens! I'll try to get back here in autumn and winter as it's not a subject I ever tire of. 

Yes it is tricky because they're moving all the time but if you hang around a while you can usually spot another hen in a similar position which helps. I love being around hens, their presence is so calming. 

You can find out how this painting might be yours on my website here :-)

Mud bath

Mud bath
20" x 30"
SOLD

My exhibition in Putney with Paul Curtis NEAC is finished now but was a great success. I was so busy with the house move that I didn't get a chance to blog about it so I'll try to make up for that now and show you some of the work from the show. 

This is one of the large studio cow paintings that sold. I found I couldn't get a good photo of this piece but it gives you an idea anyway. It excites me the way the cows become a part of the mud, and the light catches the wet surfaces with little glimpses here and there in the darkness. I look forward to returning to this subject, I just need to find a local dairy farm willing to help out an artist.

Graze
20" x 24"
SOLD

New studio in the countryside!

Most beautiful view framed by the large door!

Less than a week ago we moved house and moved studio so we've had a fair busy old time of it, packing and organising things for weeks and weeks on end. Now we are finally here and although we  are going to be living in chaos for a fair while longer we are enormously happy with the new place and on a sunny day there is nowhere we'd rather be! We have moved less than a mile away, only to the next village so we have the advantage of knowing the whole area and yet still there is something exotic and holiday-like about our new situation and we are loving the views.

I'm feeling very inspired and can't wait to get those paintbrushes moving again, and soon I'll have to get into a new routine that allows me to get my work done alongside getting jobs done for the house and studio.

Tuesday

Sunday - I have some floor space! Yay!

Graze

Graze
20" x 24"

My exhibition opens today at The Russell Gallery in Putney, and will be open until the 2nd April. If you come to London this month please try and visit. There are also works by Paul Curtis NEAC which I am looking forward to seeing.

This is one of my new paintings in the exhibition - a large studio painting of some cows that I painted in Norfolk recently. 

Paintings can be viewed online at www.russell-gallery.com

Enquiries www.haideejo.com

Telephone: 0208 780 5228

Gallery email: russgallery@aol.com

12 Lower Richmond Road, Putney, London SW15 1JP

Roof with a view

New roof with a view

We went to Granada for a couple of days and the second day was really hazy in the afternoon - no strong sunshine or shadows to be had. We walked uphill to the Plaza San Nicolas to overlook the Alhambra palace. The previous afternoon we had painted here while enjoying a fabulous clear view of the palace and the snow topped mountains.

After the uphill walk I needed a little sandwich and recuperation time while I considered what to paint. It was then that my friend Karl Terry called out to me "I've found a great subject Haidee. You're going to love this!".

I did indeed love it! Karl had found these workers laying a new roof against the backdrop of the hills and palace. It even had cypress trees - which I love - and a tree in the foreground covered in Seville oranges. It would have been great to see some rim lighting around the men and the bits and pieces on the roof, but the hazy afternoon light had it's own charm. 

Painting next to Karl

Snowy new homes

First snow,  Drove allotments

These favourite snow scenes of mine, painted this year, have all sold in the last month and are heading off to their new homes. It's so rewarding every time my passion for painting the gorgeous snowy domestic subjects is deeply loved and appreciated by somebody else.

'First snow, Drove allotments' is a complete favourite of mine. Painted entirely en plein air I haven't had a single day since where I have been quite as euphoric painting as I was on that day. Such excitement, to be at the allotments with snow. Simple pleasures eh?

This painting also felt like real progress to me, in the manner in which it was painted. It was as though I'd passed another level or grade in my pursuit of simplification.
It goes to join another of my snow scenes from the previous winter at it's lovely new home.

Treading softly

 What can I say about 'Treading softly'? Well this photo doesn't do it justice at all. It marks another huge turning point in the development of my work and I was almost holding my breath all the while I was painting it. I was desperate to communicate that delicate softness of the icy early winter morning when your breath hangs in the air as if frozen and shapes are emerging and hidden by the morning mist. I have a tendency to be heavy handed and knew that with this one I had to approach it so delicately and softly and not like a bull in a china shop! That's why I was holding my breath the whole while!

The abstracted shapes and colour combinations within this painting do take my breath away, and I actually feel cold coming off the painting when I stand in front of it. I'm also very proud of this one and happy that it has gone to a very good home.

Out of the woods

'Out of the woods' is a good example of the less is more and get it down quick tactic. It's a much smaller painting than the others here and it's that end of the winters day, do I have it in me to stay out for one more hour? Oh my gosh look at those long shadows and the sun going down behind the trees. Yes. I. Do.

The thaw, Drove allotments

Aww 'the thaw'. Well this one is the largest snow painting yet and I passionately love it also. It's a bittersweet emotion because the snow is melting and my time to paint it is running out fast but what an exciting contrast to try to capture! The warm sunlight, the cool shadows on the snow and that really fresh green of the sodden grass emerging from it's cold cloak. Added to which the structure of the sheds, the opportunity for little abstract passages. Bliss. And strong tonal contrasts which meant that for this one I could be just as gung ho as I wanted! This one is like the 'yang' if 'Treading softly' is the yin.

'The thaw' is currently on display in the Royal Institute of Oil painters annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. Do go in and see an amazing show if you can but be quick, it ends at 1.00pm on Sunday 13th December.

Bay view

Room with a view, Portscatho

I couldn't resist painting the view from the window and the whole window and a part of the little fisherman's shelter! Fun to paint my paintings within a painting.
 It was such a wonderful place to spend a couple of days. Can you imagine having a studio with a sea view like this? What a dream :-)

Fig tree and shadows

Fig tree and shadows
12" x 12"

The morning light striking the agapanthus flowers, showing off their glory against the dark shape of my neighbour's hedge is what made me stop here. The peeps of bright acid greens through the gaps in the shadowy gate. And then the dappled shadow cast from the fig tree across the dusty path was enough to keep my attention. This is such a typical Bréhat scene, the pinks of hydrangeas seen in the garden beyond, the blue shutters at the window.

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.

  

End of day

End of day
8" x 12"

I made an attempt this week at capturing that elusive, fast changing time of day. Trying to catch those warm and cool colour shifts in the clouds. The sun going down in a final blaze of glory.

Meanwhile on a French island

Freshly laundered
Oils 8" x 10"

Meanwhile my lovely summer continues on the French island of Bréhat with the family. I painted this small oil study yesterday and am hoping to get a few more small oil paintings to take back with me as well as sketch lots and get on with writing my book! Not forgetting eating yummy food, testing the sun loungers, shopping for fresh local produce, BBQ's on the beach, strolling in the sun, playing games with the family and reading all the books I haven't had time to read...  I do so love August!

In the cooling shade

In the cooling shade
Oils approx 12" x 16"

I'm telling you the terrace was the only place to be in the afternoons... unless you were in the pool, or having a siesta in a darkened room ;-)