Back to the roses

Walled garden, Belton House
10" x 14"

I grabbed the chance to go back to the garden a couple of days later. I was rained off on this one, spent about half an hour fiddling about with the umbrella. Undoubtedly I would have gone on longer but really what more was there to say? I think it's all there, with a refreshing spontaneity. Sometimes we just go on too long... like an after dinner speech...

As seen (unframed) in a group of paintings in the studio

All of these paintings except the two small ones on the right are now wrapped up and on their way to Josephine Harpur Fine Art, to be exhibited in Suffolk shortly. 

I'm here!

Rose garden at Belton House
12" x 16"

Ok so it seems as though two months has passed since I spoke to you last - it isn't that long but I've been packing a LOT in to the last four weeks! I'll try to get you back up to date with a lot of mini blog 'postcards' and action shots!
This is my favourite of the three paintings I did for the 'Where in the world is plein air' video event. This was day three for me and again I was blessed with fantastic weather. It was a really hot day but I had a tree fairly close to me so I was able to step back in the shade and cool off now and then. What an idyllic spot and subject, I didn't know which way to look! The roses in England have been absolutely amazing this year.

It was a nice surprise to find one of my Facebook friends/blog subscribers sketching in the garden too :-)

Actually this is one of my favourite paintings of the whole year so far, and it's now in America at the Illume gallery in Salt Lake City along with my other two from the event. If anyone could show me a photo of them in situ I'd be enormously grateful, it's a little far for me to get to at the moment.
You can watch the video of it's creation here.
You could even be the rightful owner of this gorgeous painting :-)

French coffee and roses

French coffee and roses

Just before I left France at the end of August I was working on a magazine article about painting vibrant still lifes. As the weather was so lovely I painted this in the garden, using flowers from the garden. I built up the colour in a series of glazes firstly with acrylics, and then moving on to oils for the finishing touches and more opaque areas.

The picture below shows the progression of stages - the first three are in acrylics, and then the last three I was using oils. I tried really hard to stop before I'd crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's, so that viewers of the painting will be able to put their imaginations to work a little.

Cottage with blue shutters

Cottage with blue shutters

This house stands at a corner two or three minutes walk away from my house. I've walked past it many times and considered painting it but haven't. This year the flowers in the garden look particularly spectacular, in fact it's almost hidden by the flowers! I took Lori there and we both painted it, from different viewpoints. It's a very busy corner in summer and we attracted a lot of attention. It's also a very popular corner for people getting lost and stopping to study their maps.

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...