#335 'The South Downs' 30x50cm

I went back to the same area as last weeks painting. I wanted to do it again and really study the tonal values and colours. I am pleased with how it turned out.

I will be using this painting for an article I am writing to go into The Artist Magazine. The title of the piece is 'Colour & Aerial Perspective', it will be in the January 2019 edition. I have subscribed to the Artist Magazine on and off since way back in the 80's & 90's so I I am very pleased to fulfil a wish of writing and being in the Magazine :-) 

Back to the subject:
I really like this area to paint, The Trundle, South Downs and have done quite a few now so I want to push myself and try a bigger painting. I brought a 120cmx50cm canvas, it arrived and its huge!! I was tempted to go outside and try it, but I am not set up for such a big support on my easel. So I will prepare as much as I can with drawings and plein air studies and have ago in the studio and let you know how it works out!

I was standing right next to a bush covered in white flowers, there were bugs galore - spot the bee flying past in the photo!

#282 'Bosham Channel' 8x18"

A gorgeous morning ones of those days when everything works out and even the painting! 
I went with painting friend Sarah Manolescue, the sun was low and contra jour with great sparkling light on the water.
These are the first stages see pic below:

I put in the light on the water and the sky first, as they would change the quickest. 
The sun on the water was so bright I looked up to try and observe whats there and looking back at the board and my eyes were dazzled and couldn't see the board surface or palette of colours! So when the sun went in it was good to see how it was looking :-)

The distant horizon line of land I put in quickly and roughly not too much detail. Just suggesting shapes especially the witches hat of Bosham Church.
The channel marker posts I tried to do in one sweep down of the brush, no fussing!
I enjoyed the bigger board size and used bigger brushes especially on the sky. 
The board - wood block, (see pic below) is different to my usual ones and gave a nice finish - it really makes a difference what surface you paint on to the end result.

#258 'Dusk, Beer Fishing Boats' 15x45cm

I had started this on Beer beach a couple of weeks ago, but it was the end of the day and I was pooped after painting since dawn, so I decided to leave it finish to the studio. I'm glad I did because it was a challenge! 

The boats were the easiest bits and fun to paint. The sea and sky ... Because it was dusk there wasn't much light shining on the boats so they were silhouetted against the sea and getting the tonal value right was hard. And the sky being a small strip needed to get the colour intensity and tone right - 4 attempts later!
I painted the boats with a short flat brush - Rosemary & Co 'Ultimate' range and then painted the sea in a bigger size of this brush it didn't look right too uniformed in the strokes, scarped it off and re did it with a large round brush. Better!
The foreground stones of the beach also tricky as I don't want to make it too blocky and strong as its not the feature of the painting, but it was dark because of the time of day.

A good learning painting which is harder to do when painting outdoors as the time is limited and you are just focusing to get the painting down.

Been preparing 40 board (see pic below) for a trip to Dorset - I wont be using all 40 boards! Having a week in a caravan in November & hoping it's not a mistake! But looking forward to painting the Dorset coast.

#249 'Dawn Fishing Trip' 15x40cm

I really like the shapes of the boats and the morning activity when the fisherman are loading up ready for day on the water.
It needed fast painting as there was little time between the sun coming up and the boats disappearing over the edge of shingle. They are pushed by the tractor down the 5 meter drop into the sea, and when they ome back they are winched the steep slope back onto the brow of the beach. 
I had barely got the main shape of the left red one and it had gone and then the navy blue one the other side! It's good to do quick studies as you dont have time for procrastinating just totally focused and laying paint down.

#212 'The Trundle, West Sussex 15x40cm

Beautiful morning today, with a warm light and fluffy clouds.  I planned what I wanted to paint before I got there, as this is the third painting of this view recently. I felt I hadn't really got to grips with this swoop of this hill but I'm pleased with this one. 

Using a panoramic board I could really accentuate the space and distance. I mixed a variety of greens before I started. A new colour I'm using is Naples yellow, it isn't very strong but great for nudging a colour to warm and lightening the tonal value as well. 
The grass area at the top was quite light in tone and I like the lines going around the hilside they help guide the into the painting.       I enojyed painting this!

#160 'Newlands Corner' 8x20"

I started this last weekend. But when I got back to the studio I found I couldn't finish because I didn't have enough information, it was the fist time I had visited and it was misty with the sunrise. 

So I went back and did two drawings of the subject. I must haven chosen the coldest day of the year to do it! With wind chill -7 so bitter my teeth were chattering and I couldn't draw for shaking! But I was able to finsih it today, and I'm pleased with the outcome :-)

I met some friendly photographers when I was painting that day, one of whom, Sarah took some lovely photos while I was painting, here are a couple of them.

#156 'Tower House, Portsmouth Harbour' 8x20"

Painted this a couple of days ago in the city I used to live in. It was a good spot on top of the Round Tower (a fort built from the 1490's) being eye level with the big boats going in and out. I also heard a honking it was swan flapping by right near my head!

I chose to do this as a panoramic because the sky and light was wonderful and the sweep of the harbour a good combo. But it was quite hard to make the composition work with the the Tower House building in the foreground. 
By the time I had finished the outside session, I was unsure as to whether it was going to work out. 

When I returned back to the studio I couldn't bare the sea I had painted so wiped it all off and nearly wiped off the rest too but was pleased I didn't! 
Sometimes paintings work from the start and others don't! For example a painting I did last week but didn't post I worked when I got home but it didn't come together and was ditched.  Thankfully this one came together, yay! 

I drew this same scene back in 2003, I made the drawing outside but never did a painting from it until now. Might do another one in this more square format but on a different day and different weather.....

For Christmas this year my husband Nick, designed and made me a Open Box M pochade converter for panoramic boards like this one. Previously I have been taping the boards onto my pochade with brown tape! Because the Open Box M grips the painting on the sides, this one grips top and bottom.  I used it for the first time to do this painting and it worked beautifully, thank you Nick!

#148 'Frosty Morning, Surrey Hills' 8x19.5"

I painted most of this last Tuesday outside in a very cold field and then I was struck with a nasty bout of lurgie :-( feeling much better now and raring to paint again!

A bigger board which allowed for a bigger scale and freer brush marks. The colours were mainly different tones of orange and blue (complementaries.) I mirrored some of the cool blue sky colour in the frosty ground below.

I arrived 40 minutes before the sun came up but I could do with having longer as when the sun comes over the horizon it changes the colours and tones massively. The photo below shows where I got up to before I had to abandon.

Finishing in the studio is always a little tricky as you want to continue with the essence of what you captured outside but to make it feel finished and complete. I was careful not to overwork the dark tree line keep it fresh and loose. The suns head popping up helps with the composition.

I will go back to this spot again :-)

#143 'South Parade Pier, Southsea' 6x15.5"

I used to see this view every day as lived across the road and it's where I walked my dog and ran along the seafront. I lived in Southsea (Hampshire) for 11 years, so I am familiar with the pier. I have painted it a few times but never en plein air. 

Being a sunrise, time was short again so I didn't draw it out just blocked in the shapes and tones. It was nice not to painstakingly get each section of the pier drawn 'correctly' before I painted it, which I have done previously in my studio. It didn't take long to cover the board and on my first layer of the sky I didn't make the colours intense enough. It's difficult to get the balance between intense/saturated and light tone i.e. Not too wishy washy! I kept remixing to make sure it was bright but light enough. 
I also love the iridescent look that occasionally happens with the light on the sea. I wasn't sure how I would manage that.  But I did! Pale blue with the orange patches lightly over the top.
The man and dog did walk up the beach, plus the fishing boat puttering along the coastline, good to get some life into it as well.

When my husband saw this one he said fantastic! That's high praise as he's not one to gush :-)

#139 'Mist on Lake Windermere' 6x15.5"

A beautiful and still morning on Lake Windermere. It was frosty, zero degrees and very cold hands and feet, but I didn't really notice until I finished as I really enjoyed painting this scene of soft light and pastel colours. 
Initially I was waiting for the mist to clear to paint what was behind it and then I decided to embrace it! 
The yacht was moving 360 degrees about every 20 minutes so I caught it at this point thinking it was a less obvious view than to side on. The boats on the left were tourist pleasure cruises, and they were warming up ready to leave so it felt a little pressured not knowing when they would go! 
I included the jetty to help with composition as the diagonal line of it leads you into the painting and breaks up the horizontal bands - same with the mast of the boat.
This is when a panoramic format works well and I'm really happy with the final painting :-)
I would love to hear your comments on what you think of it....

#132 'Charmouth Beach, Dorset' 6x15.5"

Charmouth is just a couple of miles from Lyme Regis, the cliff in the middle distance is called Golden Cap and is the highest point on the South Coast, it's completely flat on the top.
I watched an inspiring plein air painting DVD by Richard Pikesley and he was painting on this very same spot! 
Love this sort of coastline and could paint here every day. Just the changing weathers, light and tides :-)
P.s. My painting is photographed on the easel because a narrow panoramic format doesn't work so well on the blog - it's too small.

#128 'Surrey Hills' 6x15.5"

Lovely light on the morning hills, really blue and pale. I used a new wood panel by Gerstaeker called Tintoretto, I had prepared it with three layers of acrylic gesso, and it was really nice to work on, the paint glided but didn't sink into it. No need to frame either as its a box style.
I was careful to get the tone right of the hills as they weren't much darker than the sky. I used a new colour - Cadmiun Orange. Quite potent use very little of it, mixed with Lemon yellow for the sky line plus I then used the mixed orange into most of the other colours this helps with the harmony and giving it a warm feel. It was fun to paint on the panoramic style I recommend having ago if you haven't tried it.

I went to London yesterday and did a plein air next to the Thames, it was raining and I choose a tricky subject, it needs work so will post soon.

Thankfully my dog Matte has turned the corner and is better although his sight hasn't come back yet. But he's well enough for me to get out painting again :-) and thank you for your good wishes for him.

#111 'Evening Light Vik, Iceland' 5x10"

We drove around for a while trying to find a new view of the area. We went up the coast quite a few miles and found this deserted beach to paint on. It was nearly 7pm and I had a 20 minute weather window of sky and light, then the grey clouds came over. But doing a small painting I quickly got the sky in and the painting only took 50 minutes.
Painting on a beach that goes on for miles and miles with no one else on it has a good feeling to it.
Pat commented on one of my Vik paintings that it looks as though I'm enjoying doing these. I can't tell you how much! Absolutely sucking it up and making the most of our time here :-)

#99 'Beach Huts, Hayling Island' 4x15.5"

A hot day standing directly looking into the sun but worth it! Really enjoyed painting these beach huts, and on the panormic format. A lot of the beach huts were in shadow so I had to hold back with using saturated colours but still managed to get some turquoise and pinks in :-)
The board is not one I have used before it's a two inches deep wooden panel by Gerstaeker, I have only seen them on the Great Art website. I have just ordered more as it was fun to work on, and no need to frame.
The position I choose to paint was in a car park, useful as I didn't have to walk with my gear but as you can see from the pic below I had trouble with cars parking in my view! I must have asked at least 8 cars to move to another spot most people were very happy to oblige.
I was brought up on Hayling Island (in Hampshire) and only left when I was 30, so lots of memories driving around and painting it!

#49 'Bramshott Common' 4x9.5"

I was out early painting this scene, it's one I see when I walk my dog. I did a sketch of it a while ago.

I was hesitant when I first arrived this morning as the scene was quite subdued with muted colours and no direct sunlight. See the photo below.  I decided to still paint it but intensify the colours that were there. I really like the shape of the silhouetted pine trees so made them a bit bigger than they were.The sky was nothingy so I put a warm apricot - a colour from some trees and put it behind the pines this also emphasised them (the camera didn't pick up this colour very well.) 

I am pleased with the final result especially considering what I was looking at!

#40 'Emsworth Harbour' 4x9.5"

I stood on the mud flats as close to the water as I dared. I checked the tide times and  knew I had a good 2 hour window before the water would be lapping at my ankles. 

It was bitterly cold again but I was dressed for it with ski trousers and thermals, hand and feet warmers tucked into my shoes and fingerless gloves. 

This board I had been saving for an occasion, it was one I'd made out of ply and muslin, a perfect panoramic shape for capturing the sweep of the tidal water.

I painted the little boats in first, see the pic below and then the mud flats, there wasn't much sunlight so hardly any shadows, when a peep of sun came I put in the water. 

I enjoyed the experience and although bitterly cold and exhausting it feels worthwhile!