#463 'Towards Chelsea Bridge' 35x45cm

Working on a larger scale again out en plein air. Was lucky with the sun coming out so provide sparkles on the water and great silhouetted shapes. My sort of subject! I wanted to paint as much as possible outside -because it takes me out of my comfort, pushing to make decisions and bring areas to a conclusion, I took about 3 hours and did 90+% of it, pleased to manage this, and with the outcome.

Solo Exhibition London 2019

My statement piece - 80x100cm 'Sunset, Albert Bridge'

The last few weeks have felt a whirl wind and I'm finally able to do a blog post about my solo exhibition! 

My husband Nick and I drove up on the Sunday unloaded a whole van full of stuff and started to unwrap the paintings. Monday spent all day hanging the show.

The room is an old studio used by artists around a 100 years ago. Two doors along Turner had his studio! The high ceilings and homely but grand feel suited my work a lot more than a white square box type gallery.

Getting some sun!

We opened Tuesday morning and had our first visitor at 9am! In all we had 181 visitors over the 5 days. Which felt a good amount, enough time to speak to everyone :-)

46 framed paintings on the wall & 46 unframed

The Private View Tuesday evening I was incredibly nervous and couldn't stop shaking! The unknown reaction of what people would think and whether they would buy as well. It felt as though I was hanging on the walls along side my paintings, incredibly exposing. But I needn't have worried, the reaction was positive and overwhelming. I felt giddy with all the compliments about my work - with the amount I had painted in 8-12 months and the quality. Some said they thought I would be an old person because the paintings had a maturity - I'll take that as a compliment!
A huge boost which alleviated my fears and set me up for the rest of the show. 

Me in the blue dress PV night

So many people came including my sister & her partner who flew over from South Africa to see it and support me. My mum also came so nice to share it with my family. Artists friends and people like the Haslemere Art Society ladies and Instagram and facebook 'friends' all made the effort to get up to London which I feel blessed for their support.

My family helping to pack up the sold paintings.

I was lucky to have a friend and collector Natalia on my side she worked hard to get her Chelsea/London contacts into my show, which really helped.

I sold 51 paintings which is AMAZING! So happy and pleased that my work is out there and being enjoyed. 
I have worked very hard the past 5 months to paint enough and organise it all. Nick my husband also at the end worked full time on it and was with me throughout the show (a gem!) 
It hasn't put me off doing a solo show and I will do another in time.

We are hardly home and now preparing for the Surrey Open Studios, bring it on! I will post again about that soon.

#456 'Dawn, Tower Bridge'

Painted on the same day as the previous Tower Bridge I posted, just a little later in the morning about 7am. I finished it in the studio as it was a bitter morning -1 degree! Seems a distant memory now with the lovely sunshine we are having. 

The cloud was actually behind me in the sky but I felt the composition needed something more so I turned around and painted it in :-)

This is where I got up to en plein air. 30x40cm

#455 'Evening Light, Hammersmith Bridge'

I have been working hard on all the elements required to put on an exhibition in London. Only 4 weeks to go now and I'm counting down... 
If you are interested in my paintings and want to see a taster of the show I have uploaded some of the paintings on my website under - solo show catalogue have a look :-)

http://clarebowen.co.uk/solo-show-catalogue/

I managed to get a plein air paint in, wonderful relaxed feel, almost like Europe, The Blue Anchor Pub spilling out onto the Embankment and people enjoying a drink and the evening sun. I got moved off my great perch when the club rowers were launching their boats, huge 8 man vessels, interesting to watch them all.

#454 'Lights on Tower Bridge' 6x12"

Up crazily early 3.45am to get to London to capture the the illuminations before they were turned off! And the deep ‘blue hour’. Its surprising how quickly it changed from this to daylight see pic below - about 20 mins! I do enjoy the race against time and putting the impression of the place without too much details more shapes and colours.

#452 'Sunset Walk, Chelsea Embankment'

Beautiful light and pastels colours! I wasn’t going to include the left side of the embankment thinking it was to contrasted but I think it helps the composition and really shows off the light colours. Plus the romantic stroll aspect has a good feel.

#451 'Admiralty Arch' 10x12"

It’s funny how you can love a painting you’ve done one moment & hate it the next. I started this last year en plein air & abandoned it in disgust when I got home. Saw it again recently & thought that’s worth working on! & now I’m happy with the result. Such an up & down painting life!! 

The main things I changed was adding people especially the foreground biker as there was a big area of pink tarmac! - I toned down the pink it was too bright. Plus adding more light through the arch to draw your eye into it and putting the bus in, got to be done London and red :-)

#449 'View from Battersea Bridge' 30x40cm

I have painted this bridge many times - easy to get hooked onto such a great subject! Plus it helps to really get familiar with something painting it over and over like Monet did. Recent paintings: Morning, midday, golden hour, twilight, and this one at 2pm. Also changing the view point.

Glowy light and intense afternoon colours! I stood at the top of the steps going down onto the embankment. It was a horrid spot as I was on a cross roads with the traffic right next to me. But worth it as I liked the shapes of the lights against the water. 

Painted with the sun on my back and therefore the painting was in full sunlight. Back home in the studio the painting was quite a few degrees darker than I wanted it because I was mislead with the sunlight on it. Tip: paint in the shade as sunlight is misleading! And the shade is more like the environment you will see it in a home.
I had to do a whole layer over the top of the one I painted outside to lighten it.

#448 'Twilight, Albert Bridge' 30x40cm

Started en plein air. When the sun goes down the colours intensify!
I might come back to this one and lighten the bridge a little more. A contrasted painting with very lights and very dark darks, so I had to lighten the darks and darken the lights so they weren't so far apart!

Plein air started at 6pm

#447 'Golden Hour, Albert Bridge' 30x40cm

No wind, beautiful light and cloudless sky. Such a great combo, with the silhouetted shape of the old Victorian Bridge (built in 1873.)

I maped out all the dark structural areas first, not much detail just main shapes and then the lighter sky. Tricky when it changed so quickly but finished in the studio. I wanted it to feel like that strong light shinning just before it goes down and mellows.

In mid painting flow when a photographer quite far away with a zoom lens was aiming at me. I called after him once he'd taken it but it was way too loud with the traffic on the Chelsea Embankment next me, he disappeared but kindly looked me up - from my website on my Open Box M pochade. 

Thank you Wojciech Jarowslaw Pawlowski for the lovely sunlit photo.

My First Solo Exhibition!!...Save the Date

New flyer

Just 4 months until my first solo exhibition in London. The time has come around quickly and I am started to feel excited and also think there is so much to do - reminds of planning a wedding!

I've finished designing these 'save the date' flyers and sent them to be printed. I hope you can 'save it' and possibly make the show- it would be great to see you :-)

I will also be getting some PV invites printed nearer the time, if you would like one email me clare@clarebowen.co.uk

Took 22 paintings to be framed this week, not easy choosing so many frames at the same time, we have very good framers 'The Artistic Framing Co.' in Waterlooville Hampshire, with 40 years experienced helped! Plus my Mum has a good eye.

I hope to have 50-70 paintings in the show, I need to do more of Landscape and London, thankfully still time to do it!

#422 'Christmas Lights, Irving St, London' 30x30cm

On Saturday I took part in The Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) Paint Live day. 60 artists met up in the Mall Galleries to have a paint off in London - 1/2 mile radius of the galleries in central London. 
It was raining and grey but I decided to embrace this! I took 2 umbrellas incase it was gusty and one broke one!
Not easy as it was a Saturday and run up to Christmas shopping, so busy could barely see my subject! Loved the reflections and lights, it makes up for the grey day! 
It was my first time taking part and I found it quite nerve wracking as the paintings were judged at the end of that day in the Mall Galleries. I am pleased I did a painting I'm happy with and didn't mind showing to others!
I will do it again next year :-)

#412 'Albert Bridge, Reflections' 12x12"

I used a home made linen board....
METHOD for making one: I roughly cut out some preprimed canvas stuck it to a MDF board so it overhung on the sides. I used Neutral PH PVA glue (so it wont rot in the future.) Once dry I cut it butt up to the board with a scalpel knife = linen covered board ready to use!

And this was the first painting I tried on it. I have had this canvas for years and I'm not sure whether it's too course. The subject may have called for a finer weave but it made me apply the paint loosely yet put in details like the boat. Its always a fine balance of enough information to it being overworked.

Here are the stages of my painting

#411 'Autumn Light, Albert Bridge' 24x30cm

Arriving in London I had a plan to paint the same scene as I did this time last year:

Including a bit more of the river bank and boats on a bigger board.

The tide was very low, which helped the composition anchoring it on the side. Also the space between the pink part of the bridge and water was huge which allowed there to be more room for boats and water.

The light was beautiful and it got better and better! (as we were leaving!) I goal I was aiming for painterly but well observed...

I was in London collecting work from the Chelsea Art Society Open exhibition I was really pleased to have a painting hung and it sold :-)

#403 'St James's Park' 9x12"

Painted yesterday on a very sunny October day at St James Park with 80 or so other plein air painters! It was fun being part of this gathering and enjoyed chatting with lots of artists, it was hard to focus on the painting! 

This was not any easy subject with so many greens - bit of a shock after Venice colours, I felt rusty with mixing them and 'seeing' them. But I'm pleased with the outcome, the fountain was especially fun to paint. 

#341 'Afternoon Light, Albert Bridge' 6x12"

The sun was from behind and directly lighting the bridge, not easy to paint as it's more about colour less tonal than I have been working, but a good challenge! This was the final painting of the day with my 1:1 student Christopher Mike. 

I wanted the bridge to stand out, so I made the sky a strong rich colour and the same for water with less white in the mix.
The boats I only suggested a series of marks, not much 'detail'  as they weren't the focus.
There was a refection in the water of the pink bridge, I put in a swath of pink below but then painted the deeper blue over the top just leaving a few areas of pink showing through to give an impression of reflection and rippling water.
The white struts on the bridge implied but not all drawn in. Its surprising how little the eye needs to know what is there.
Pleased with this little painting will do more sunny colourful pictures!

A happy student at the end of a good painting day!

#340 'Boats by Albert Bridge' 10x12"

A one to one plein air teaching day with Christopher Michael, choose Albert Bridge area and we were lucky with lots of sunshine!

I helped Christopher with the practicalities of working outside, equipment, layout of paint and using a viewfinder and then tonal values and not including everything you see in your painting! Less is more.

For myself I am always looking to improve my work and move forward so this day I worked on richer colours, strong and painterly brush strokes. I assessed the painting back in the studio and decided not to work on it any more, leave it as an impression rather than an anatomical painting of boats and the bridge.
I'm pleased with the outcome!

Our Open Studios continue today, Saturday and Sunday, if your free come see my previous post for invite come by and say hello :-)

#324 'Spring at Richmond Bridge' 9x12"

I have been visiting my sister in South Africa a hard decision not to take my paints but lovely to have family time and a break. So I'm fresh and ready to go and what a day to start back...

Painted this yesterday in glorious spring weather.  So warm it felt like summer, I'd forgotten what it's like painting in the heat! Not complaining though.

Quite a complex subject so kept it loose without succumbing to too much detail. Its a great area to paint, so much fodder! 
The bridge was tricky as it was medium light tone but it was contra jour so it was silhouetted and darker than you think. I kept telling myself paint what you see not what you think it looks like!
I was painting with artist buddy Sarah Manolescue she did the same scene but so different, - portrait format ...always fun to see how others interpret the same subject.
It was buzzing around the Thames, with buskers and boaters and people in enjoying the weather, so lovely to have a job outside when it's like this :-)

Spot my easel and Sarah painting near the busker! Plus it felt like we had an audience - so busy!

New English Art Club 2018

'Silver Birch in Snow'  8x10"

I have just found out that this painting has been selected for the New English Art Club annual exhibition. I am so pleased as it's a really competitive show to get into and this is the first time I have done it!! 

The exhibition runs: 15-23rd June at The Mall Galleries, London

Some stats: 1500 paintings were entered online & 104 have got in, that's less than 10% 
I had 4 selected which got through the first round:

It's hard to know why the 'Silver Birch in Snow' painting got through and the others didn't get chosen. 
I also went to the best framers I could, they are called 'The Artistic Framing Co' in Hampshire UK. Hand painted frames with silver or gold gilding, not cheap but decided I wanted to give the paintings my best chance!

I have just looked back at the timings of this painting back in mid December. It was one where I walked around a lot trying to find that 'perfect view' but came back to the first view I'd seen! Therefore had very little time before the sun went behind the tree line. The painting only took me 40 minutes!! Funny how your perceptions of making a 'great painting' takes time but especially in plein air sometimes it's quite the opposite.

#323 'Sunrise over Albert Bridge' 11x14"

I saw this scene last week on the Thames, it was quite magical!  But I couldn't paint in plein air as the sun was too bright off the water - I couldn't see the subject!
I did start a painting see below but when I went to work on it in the studio realised I was trying to get too big a picture in so I honed into the bit I really liked, not worrying that I cut off some of the bridge, just making sure the composition worked. 

Also using  a bigger board size than normal, which I enjoyed and worked well for the subject. I used larger brushes for as long as I could mapping in the darks. I graduated the tones from very dark of the boats, making it light as I went to the bridge, trees, background buildings... this gives a sense of space. Also as I lightened mixing the orange sky colour with the dark colour gives a feeling of light saturation - see the tall tower next to the dark bridge strutts.
The 'wires' on the bridge I put a main thicker one in first before the sky and other others after. Being bold with the strokes but a light touch as well - I use a Rosemary & Co Rigger. Where the sun was shining you couldn't see the wires so I didn't paint them in.
The boats needed surprisingly little painting, I put the main shapes to start in a thinned dark and then picked up the light on the top using a mid grey and nearer the sun a warm colour.
I'm really pleased with how this one has turned out.