Wednesday 26 September 2012

Shortlisted!



My painting Sunday Morning is one of 40 paintings shorlisted in the Artist and Illustrator artist of the year completion.   If you'd like to see the other shortlisted artworks and vote follow this link http://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/artist-of-the-year  My painting is in the portrait section.

Friday 21 September 2012

Shoebury common


Shoebury Common

Oil on board 10" x 12"
 
This was a quick study really which I painted this morning before my students arrived for the last of our ourdoor workshops.  I'd borrowed a Ken Howard video and watched bits of it the night before and was interested in how he seemed to establish a bit of all the tones in his painting quite early on and also in how much warmth he seemed to see looking into the sun and that he only painted for up to 2 hours in a session.   Well today was quite a soft day light wise.  The rather  rushed structures on the left are supposed to be beach huts and I was very supprised to see a rabbit walk round the corner of one of them!
 

Friday 14 September 2012

Hockley woods


Woodlands tea stall at Hockley Woods
Acrylic on board 8" x 10"
 
 
I started on this one this morning as I was waiting for my students to turn up at our on location class.    After having a little wonder around first thing and selecting a few possible views of the woods I noticed  this tea stall out of the corner of my eye.   I liked the light and the way the trees framed the view of the tables and people so I made a start then added bits throughout the morning.   This is the second acrylic I've tried recently and as it was a bit cooler I managed to get a bit more paint on the board before they dryed which was the problem I had last week.    There were a few figures sitting at the tables when I started which was part of the appeal so I'll need to add them either from memory or photos I took at the time.

Monday 3 September 2012

Rayleigh Windmill


Rayleigh Windmill
 
Charcoal with pastel highlights A4 size.
 
Drawn over a couple of 20 minute lunchtimes sessions and compleated last week.  After drawing Rayleigh Highstreet in charcoal a couple of weeks ago I fancied using charcoal again but this time  I went straight in with tone rather than starting off with line.   I feel happier with the result. The lights were difficult with just the charoal so I fixed the drawing once the darks were in then drew with lighter pastel on top.