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!

Waiting at Harriets

Waiting at Harriets

The wet day in Norwich turned out to be such a blessing. In the afternoon it stopped raining but look at the incredible subject I found thanks to the wet streets! I just fell in love with the deep aubergine colours of the jewellery shop and the purple and white striped awnings, as seen with the warm cosy glow through the windows and their reflections. 

I'm sad that I don't have a better photo of this one but it sold at the Paint Out Norwich auction before it was even dry. Am happy that it's gone to a very good home though :-)

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! 

Umbrella days

These are sketches from my brief stay in Paris in November, on a rainy day at the Louvre gallery. The reason I'm showing you them now is that I've been busy last week writing a new article for The Artist magazine and I'm using these sketches in the article. It's about painting a new studio painting from a plein air painting, which is something I've only really got to grips with in the last two years. I still have a lot to learn of course, but I am getting more intuitive and noticing where techniques used in the studio are changing my plein air work. For me the two really go hand in hand. As Kevin MacPherson says in his book 'Landscape painting inside and out' -

"Indoor and outdoor painting are complementary experiences. As memories of nature breathe life into your studio work, the disciplined approaches and principles you practice indoors will enable you to attack the canvas outdoors in new ways."

I will let you know when the article gets published :-)

Glimmer

Glimmer
Oils on canvas 12" x 16" £795

I painted this at Hook Head in Ireland a couple of years ago, and although I was always happy with it I've really enjoyed making a few minor changes to it in the studio this week and now I love it. The 'idea' or story behind the painting is really that fleeting light effect on top of the headland there, in the midst of an oncoming storm. By the time I'd packed up big fat spots of rain were starting to fall, and as I reached the car it started to hammer down!

The photo above doesn't show the subtle colour shifts so I've added a few close-ups to give you a better look.

This painting breaks one of the rules of atmospheric perspective, by placing the more saturated high chroma colours in the distance. To balance this unsettling effect somewhat I made sure to place the strongest tonal contrasts in the foreground, see the light valued sea spray against the dark crevices in the rocks in the section illustrated below -

Detail of waves and rocks

The distant glimmer, fleeting light

I am taking this painting up to Hull this weekend with four others, where it will be part of a mixed group show called 'Water runs deep' at the Studio Eleven gallery.
The exhibition opening takes place on the 19th July from 2-4pm, and the show is then open until the 7th September. 

A lot of rain

Between the showers, Mousehole harbour

Actually not just a lot of rain but a lot of driving too! I've finally arrived in Mousehole and it's such a magical place, even in the rain!
After settling in the rain stopped for an hour and a half this evening so I managed this one down by the harbour . I planned to stop after an hour and a half anyway, and the rain recommenced bang on cue as I was packing up. I wonder what the weather will hold tomorrow... I think I might stay in Mousehole all day...

Wet morning on Water Street

Wet morning on Water Street
8" x 10"

The first painting of my first day of the Florida trip, in the rain in Apalachicola. I loved the reflection of the red plastic storage container on the wet concrete, and the green fishing nets sprawling along the ground. I was standing in the same spot as with yesterday's painting, but this view is looking to the right of that shrimp hut.

View from the restroom

What a great day, I won a prize today!
This morning it was the QuickDraw event at Cape San Blas, and I won an honourable mention prize - how fantastic is that?!

Let me explain the title of my painting, 'View from the restroom'. The QuickDraw was taking place between 10am and 12pm. By ten minutes to ten the heavy rain started, and it didn't stop until about 12.30! Perfect timing!
It was more a case of choosing your shelter than choosing your subject, if you know what I mean! I was painting from the shelter of the porch on the restrooms (or toilet block as we would say in England) as was Lori Putnam, Tracey Frugoli and Nancie King Mertz, all of us looking in different directions.
Hence, view from the restroom!

The organisers really look after us artists here, and we had music to keep us entertained, doughnuts and coffee.
I was really honoured to win a prize.

After everything was over here we went for a big shrimp lunch and then painted on the beach for the whole afternoon where, I am pleased to report, it didn't rain at all and in fact it was very warm and sunny on and off. It was bliss!

I can only attach one photo to my blog each day while I am here, but if you would like to see more of what's going on look for my Haidee-Jo Summers Artist page on Facebook where I'll be sharing more pics of the paintings I'm doing :-)

Galley hill allotments

Work in progress

Stage 1 - I started with a painted line, then on to large masses

Blocking in masses and getting darker

Building up the darks

It was very dark and grey and cold, very windy and at times raining, but was I happy? Oh yes! I have discovered some local allotments and I am thrilled as I've always loved painting allotments. In fact I did a magazine article for the Artists and Illustrators magazine in about 1995 all about painting allotments in oils! In recent years I have found it difficult to gain access to allotments as they have become locked and gated to reduce crime. It's a shame that it's been necessary for councils to do that. 

So I was extremely happy to be here today and can't wait to go back. I didn't quite get finished as I was too desperate to get to a bathroom eventually! I'm also sorry the photos are so poor - I guess it's because there wasn't any light!

Tomorrow is my 'Finding your style' workshop in Fulbeck which will be very interesting - let's hope we can get into the village hall this time!

Shipwreck before downpour, Brehat

Shipwreck before downpour, Bréhat

Owww! My right hand is really hurting from rubbing wax into frames all day! On the plus side eight more paintings are now beautifully dressed and looking lovely for the exhibition, including this one which the ladies from my painting holiday will remember from May. Another rainy painting session!
I like to have frames made in untreated wood, and then I give them two or three coats of Farrow & Ball paint, in a colour that suits. When that's all dry I coat the frame in beeswax and then rub it all off (that's the hand hurting/time consuming part!) which means that not only is the frame a gorgeous hand painted colour but also better protected against dirt or damage! :-)

Salle a manger

Salle a manger

This is the painting of the breakfast room I was working on yesterday afternoon. Isn't it a gorgeous room? That painting above the fireplace at the end is a hunting scene, except you wouldn't know because I haven't gone so far into it as to paint the hounds!
Today was mainly dry, although overcast and still lots of mist around. I went in search of boats (you don't have to go far to find boats here) and worked on a triptych the whole day! It's still not what you'd call finished but I think it's worth spending a bit more time on so hopefully I will show you that soon.
There are so many fabulous marine subjects here- I could easily fill a month if I had it!

St Malo in the rain!

Carousel at Saint Malo

Rain again!

Here I am, safely arrived at the hotel in Douarnenez, and trying to figure out the wifi on my phone so that I can get my blog to you!
We had the morning in Saint Malo to paint and guess what? Umbrella came in handy again!
It poured it down!
I managed about an hour and a half on painting this carousel, being splashed by passing cars! Then I had enough of wetness and squelched back to the coach with a sandwich!
We travelled all afternoon and Douarnenez is wet too, but looks a place full of potential subjects. After dinner I thought my evening was over but quelle surprise! It stopped raining and a wonderful sunset appeared in the soggy sky and sea, so I popped outside again and painted two little'uns.

Coming back to earth

My TV interview with Anneka Rice

I confess, I'm having difficulty coming back down to earth after events at the weekend! I'm also having difficulty writing my blog post tonight because really, what can ever compare?! And yet, I don't want you thinking I'm ignoring you, so here's a brief review of what I've been up to post Millennium bridge...

I've been sorting out my sodden kit from Sunday, which was hurriedly stuffed into various bin bags as I left the bridge (proving once and for all that tv filming isn't glam!). The umpteen brushes that I'd used got cleaned with special love and care. Tubes of paint got dried, rubbish got thrown. Palette still drying as we speak.

I've found a link to the BBC news page featuring the work of many of the artists on the bridge...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-18330492

I've enjoyed very much reading Katherine Tyrell's lovely jubilee blog post on her Making a Mark blog.
My favourite quote of the day is "This is the essence of British plein air painting spirit'!

I've been looking at funny little clips about me in local newspapers -

 How lovely and sunny it is on those photos! If only...!

I've been working on a third painting, a larger canvas based on the two I did on the bridge - putting them both together and finishing it off a bit! I really don't want it to look too tight - hence I am really nervous of spoiling it - hence it might become too tight...
If it works out well, you'll be the first to see it. If it ends up a disgrace well, just forget I ever mentioned it, ok? Deal!

I've been painting and waxing frames and fitting in these two paintings, and have driven them to Patchings art centre today where they will be exhibited in The Artist exhibition in the Barn gallery, from June 14th to July 22nd.

Painting from the model

Union jack tea party

Diamond Jubilee River Pageant

Me on the Millennium Bridge, painting the crowds before the boats came

Let me tell you all about yesterday!! I know that most of you watched proceedings on tv and saw for yourself how beautiful the boats were, and the amazing atmosphere with the crowds lining the river bank waving their flags! And the weather... hmm. Not exactly what you'd expect in June (British summertime, no?) and not exactly Pimms and strawberries weather!
There were twenty artists chosen by the BBC to paint the event, unfortunately they couldn't take any more than that so we all felt very special to be chosen.
We assembled and met the tv crew at about 10am and then spent the next two hours huddled around a table in the Tate Modern cafe, while the rain poured down outside! It was so great to meet some new painter faces! The only person I knew previously was the amazing David Pilgrim AROI.
When we went out to the bridge the rain had eased off and our half size french box easels had been assembled and lined up. We were allocated places and then we had a little shuffling around as some of us wanted to paint the boats coming towards us and others preferred the view on the other side of the bridge, looking towards Tower bridge.
David and I had a problem straightaway with the easels as they couldn't hold a canvas or board any shorter than 35 centimetres! If you look at the photo above you'll see the masking tape at the top of my board holding it on!
This was such a surprise to me as most plein air painters paint on a small scale in order to work quickly before the scene changes too much!
Having said that though, some of the artists on the bridge had enormous canvasses to work on! One guy had half a door! The lovely lady next to me, Gillian Burrows, was painting on her iPad!
There were others using oils, acrylics, watercolours, pen and ink and gouache. Quite a variety!
Everyone got cracking straightaway. The atmosphere was fantastic! I could hear the BBC coverage playing from a big screen somewhere nearby but couldn't see it. There was a lovely smokey smell from some food being cooked outside that was making me feel hungry!
I decided to get a painting done of the crowd lining the river and have a little practice painting the bridge, before the boats reached us. This is it, exactly as painted on the bridge and relatively unscathed by the journey back...

Crowds lining the river, waiting for the Pageant to start

At that point, the Pageant had begun although it would still be a little while before we would see the boats and so I started my Pageant painting. I decided to look towards the other side of the river as the buildings over there made for a more interesting skyline, such as the Post Office tower which is apparently called the BT tower now. The crowds got livelier as I painted in the bridge and the buildings in the distance and sky. Then we saw the boats coming under the Blackfriars bridge. When the boats came, they were in groups. For example the rowing boats were first, led by the beautiful Gloriana.
I had to work fast! The drizzle turned to rain which got heavier and heavier. My Jullian umbrella (possibly the best painting accessory of all now!) was worth it's weight in gold that day!
The wind was also getting stronger, so I had to hold my umbrella the whole time I was painting, in case it flew away with my easel!
I didn't have time to take any photos!
I looked up, looked at one particular boat, tried to capture it's main shape and colours in my mind and then tried to place it on the river in my painting, using only a couple of brushstrokes. Repeated this method over and over again.
This is why my painting is a medley of boats from the different sections of the Pageant. I have the Gloriana, some rowing boats, the Royal Barge 'Spirit of Chartwell', a lifeboat, a narrowboat, a gondola (? not sure but it looked like a gondola to me!) and anything else that caught my eye!
The rain was coming in sideways and underneath my umbrella and my palette was getting wetter and wetter! The canvas was getting a fine spraying, and water was swirling around my feet!
Some of the artists started to leave as their work, anything on paper particularly, was suffering too much.
Easels started to fall over. I held my umbrella as close and as low as I could!
One of the crew asked me if I would do a piece to camera with Anneka about 'soldiering on', I said of course. Then my umbrella had to be lifted away from my painting for the cameras, and my canvas started getting really wet.
After the interview, I couldn't add much more despite my best attempts to dry the unpainted parts of my canvas with my sleeve! The oil paint just wouldn't stick because of the water - it was like wax resist, but in reverse!
Here's my painting now, completely untouched since I left the bridge -

The painting as I left the bridge!

You can see the difficulties I had with the paint with the nearest boats, and the red was running down from that disappearing red boat on the left!

This is the view from my umbrella!

I've decided I will work further on these paintings but only very little, as I'd hate to lose the spontaneity of the piece. That's what actually being there in person does for the painting, and it would be a travesty if it ended up looking as though I'd painted it in a nice cosy studio! I may try to do another more finished piece though, based on these ones.

Thought you might like to see the view on the bridge by about 5pm!

Another scene I'd like to paint!

Before I go I just want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who took the time this weekend to email or text, leave comments on my blog or Facebook or Twitter. You are so fantastic and it made me so happy reading them all on my way home on the train last night! :-)