Getting seasonal with a wintery snow scene.

Here I've gone for a larger 12 x 16 board again, to try to get used to that sizing. The theme is winter sun, there is a surprising amount of yellow and red in the trees despite the blue overall cast.

 At this stage it's mostly finished, I'll have another look tomorrow to see what need's to be done, and get it signed.


 

Close up 

As always for now, these are for sale through eBay at CrightonFineArts. 

In the New Year I'm hoping to have an exhibition, I will update with information regarding that when I get the dates.

Making a mountain out of a mountain painting.

  This picture was a bit of a struggle. It's been so dark that I had to paint in stages, but it at least gave me time to make some notes about what needed to go into the picture on the next session. I also started on a larger board of 12 x 16 inches, so it seemed like a lot more to cover compared to the usual pieces.

   The initial wash in.

A bit further along. 

End of the first day.

Several days later, I was able to finish it.

 Sky close up.

St Margaret's Bay (again), oil on board.

 Another view of St. Margaret's Bay near Dover. This one was painted pretty quick, I didn't remember to photograph as I went along and so I only have the final painting to show here.


   No coloured under-painting on this one, size 10 x 12 inches.
To be listed on ebay under CrightonFineArts.

Bridge over Kentish Fields

Well week six of dark, overcast days rolls on, leaving me to work in limited time on studies inside.

 I started working from the sky down on this, over a burnt sienna oil prepared board which had dried for a few weeks.

I finished this the next day, as shown below. This one I'll either keep, or frame to send to a gallery exhibition.

Bedgebury Forest oil on board.

Another small oil on board, half of which I'd wiped down when I realised I was not concentrating and things had started to go ...... off, rather.

  So I grabbed an hour and finished this as the light faded away. I'm itching to go plein air painting again as soon as possible, however tomorrow rain is forecast once more.

Using a limited palette.

I used a picture from morguefile.com for this as I'm unable to get outside to paint right now. I had to guess at some of the colours and detailed areas, as the picture is pretty small on the chrome book sat away from the easel, but then that's fine since I'm not looking to exactly replicate the image anyway.

  I wanted something that would dry faster than using walnut oil for a medium, so I dug out the Winsor & Newton Griffin paints. Then to add to the complication of fast drying paints, I went with a limited palette of yellow ochre, cad yellow hue, permanent rose and cobalt blue hue, with titanium white of course.

Pumpkin still life.

I haven't painted a still life in months, and not only did I foolishly try to paint as the light was failing, I went and added a deadline into the bargain, since the pumpkin needed carving.

  I tried to do thing differently to the landscapes, regards the medium, the brushes, the colours. Painting orange and purple vegetables certainly allows me break out piles of colour that rarely get a look in normally.

 Many areas are not 'finished' but I'd rather leave this and try a different set up. 

    

St Margaret's Bay, Kent.

Yesterday I started a quick oil of the bay at St Margaret's, near to Dover. The water was a gorgeous colour in August, but sketching on the beach was bad enough with the flies and wasps, so painting wasn't an option that day. 
When the tide was in, it seemed to concentrate the flying things on the small strip of beach left, and this is a very popular beach so wasps are in heaven here, what with the children and ice-cream mixture running about !

  The first session ended after 45 minutes, as the light faded too much to continue. 

 Today I have more or less finished. I like to stop when I am not sure where to go next, rather than over-working the paint and muddying with the wash underneath.

   I did not paint either the wasps, and I also omitted the railing and concrete ugly stuff which humans require to access the shoreline.  


   When this dries, I'll be adding it to sell on eBay. 
8x10 inches, oil on hand prepared gesso board.

Trying to embark on painting en plein air, when it never stops raining !

  Well, this post is about six months in the making. I only started trying oils out in the New Year, and I was too afraid to go outside to paint for the longest time.

 I finally made it several weeks ago, and it wasn't as bad as I'd built it up to be in my mind.

 The family went fossil hunting (shark's teeth) down at Reculver, and I managed a couple of small pictures on site.

  Now I'm typing this, I recall how small flies stuck into the paint.... and I never got around to removing them .....