Ice Cream on a Winter's Afternoon' finished

8' x 8"

oil on board

Click to buy

I've finally finished the Ice Cream painting. I resolved all the bits that I mentioned in my previous post plus a couple more. The alterations have improved the painting and made it easier to read so I'm  happy with it now. :) By the way...you can see one of my portraits all beautifully framed up if you click here  The link will send you through to Ashcraft Framing who can always be relied on to do a brilliant job! Have a great bank holiday weekend!

'In the Rain' finished

8" x 8"

oil on board

SOLD

All I needed to do to 'In the Rain' today was to finish the windows in the far building, redraw part of the umbrella and add a detail to the bag on the right and that was that! 
And now in answer to a request from Vic, a fellow blogger, here is an image of my studio in the roof complete with cat of course who, as I have mentioned in previous posts, is my ever faithful companion!

'Peter' finished

'Peter'

8" x 8"

oil on board

SOLD

I'm glad to tell you that all went more or less to plan and I finished 'Peter' this afternoon :) I'm happy that I've managed to retain the lively brushwork and haven't tightened up too much when rendering some of the finer detail. I'm also satisfied that I've captured some of Peter's inner qualities that are reflected in his face which is the thing I strive to achieve when painting a portrait. 'Peter' is No 10 in my 'Collection of Faces' series.

'Wedding Boots' finished

'Wedding Boots'

8" x 8" 

oil on board

SOLD

I managed to finish 'Wedding Boots' just in time to take a photo in the daylight...I know, I know...I'm always racing against the fading light to take a photo, but I so much prefer taking photos of my paintings in daylight rather than artificial light. You'll just have to learn to finish earlier I can hear you saying, but it doesn't seem to work like that...while there's light I work, and most of the time right up to the last minute!

'Dawn' finished

SOLD

This is 'Dawn' finished. I hope you like it Dawn! No painting now until Thursday :-(  I have a teaching day tomorrow...a painting class in the morning with my brilliant Wednesday group who rise to any challenge I throw at them and my regular monthly life drawing session in the afternoon. :) Thursday I will be back in the studio ready to start the next portrait!  

'Tomatoes and Garlic on a Blue Cloth'

'Tomatoes and Garlic on a Blue Cloth'

8" x 8"

oil on board

SOLD

I painted the majority of this piece on Monday and applied the finishing brushstrokes this afternoon.  I like the freshness of the cool blue of the cloth against the bright warm red of the tomatoes. I'm reminded of summer when I look at this painting...and...that spring is just around the corner...can't wait! Here's to a sunny summer this year! :) 

'High Street Shopping - Saturday Afternoon'

'High Street Shopping - Saturday Afternoon'

8" x 8"

oil on board

Click to buy

I finished the painting this morning. This might even be the beginning of a new series. I like the idea of making paintings about ordinary people in ordinary situations and recording everyday life. I just need to gather together enough images to work from. To achieve this one I went out with my sketchbook and camera. I made some drawings and took loads of photos which resulted in only one or two being suitable! Hopefully, I will get better at it!

Paintings with cherries!

'Jug with Lemons and Cherries'

12" x 16"

oil on stretched canvas

This afternoon I've been busy adding cherries to these three paintings! Have a look and see what you think. In the painting above 'Jug with Lemons and Cherries' I'm happy that the composition is now complete both in terms of space and of colour.  

'Green Apple with Jug'

6" x 6"

oil on  board

In 'Green Apple with Jug' the cherry becomes a compelling focal point. And along with the two red leaves, it creates a triangle in space which again leads to a stronger composition. 

'Delicious Biscotti'

8" x 8"

oil on board

Before I added the cherries to 'Delicious Biscotti',  the biscotti looked a little lonely and were crying out for something to sit next to them! However, now I'm glad to say, all is well, and again I feel the composition is complete. 

'Pomegranate and Spoon' becomes 'Pomegranate, Spoon and Knife'!

'Pomegranate, Spoon and Knife'

8" x 8"

oil on board

SOLD

I've never thought that this painting was quite complete so today I added another object, the knife.  It's quite tricky adding another object after a painting is finished without it looking added on or out of place. I applied more paint around the area where the knife was to be placed so as to achieve softer edges. That seemed to do the trick. Now I feel the painting is resolved.

Another self-portrait! (Still not smiling!)

Self-portrait

8" x 8"

oil on board 

I made this for all those of you who thought my last one didn't look like me. This time I concentrated primarily on likeness and let paint application take care of itself. I started it yesterday and wiped it off! Then began again this morning and here it is. I'm happy with the likeness...I hope you agree. When I look at it now in the photograph, I notice that my left shoulder seems to be missing! But no worries I will add it when I've finished posting this!  

Delicious Biscotti!

'Delicious Biscotti'

8" x 8"

oil on board

.

SOLD

So this is the painting I made yesterday afternoon when I ran out of light before I could take a photograph. I was almost working in the dark by the time I'd finished and I had a surprise this morning when I looked at the painting because where I thought I had painted green in the foreground it turned out to be bright yellow! All I had to do though was tone it down and cool it off a bit because I quite liked the yellow. So there you have it...the classic happy accident!

By the way, you can thank my neighbour Jo for this painting as she kindly gave me a present of biscotti on her return from her trip to Italy. They looked so gorgeous in the packet I had to paint them! 

'Flowers in a Mug on a Green Ground'

oil on board

8" x 8"

Click here to buy

I spent an hour on this yesterday and about half an hour today and have just this minute put the finishing touches to it. I've used the same subject on the green ground that I used on my last painting on the red ground. I wanted to show how the ground colour directly influences the outcome. The ground colour in this painting was bright lime green which I think gives it a fresher feel. I let the painting do the talking as I worked on it and found myself re-inventing the colour of the mug, changing it from almost black to a more muted blue. I prefer this version because of its freshness and because it's a looser depiction probably because it was executed in half the time. 

'Flowers in a Cup'

oil on board

8" x 8"

Click here to buy

I made this painting on a red ground. It's one of my favourite colours to work on. Because the red is so bold it insists that the colours painted onto it are also bold. I used a vivid orange over the red on the lower half of the painting which adds vibrancy to the complimentary blue where the orange peeps through. Tomorrow I have a bright green ground to explore! 

First Daily Paintworks challenge

Oil on board

8" x 8"

SOLD

This is my first 'Daily Paintworks Challenge' piece. The Daily Paintworks website sets a different challenge each week and artists are invited to participate. (You don't have to be a member to participate, so anyone out there interested...why not have a go!) This challenge is called 'The Phone Photo Challenge'. It was fun to do and quick to execute. I find that making these small, fast paintings works in a sense, like keeping a sketchbook or visual diary. They record my visual ideas and document my journey as a painter.

Apples and Oranges finished!

'Apples and Oranges on a Dish'

oil on board

8" x 8"

Click here to buy

I didn't post yesterday as I spent the whole day on the computer catching up with emails and correspondence! But the good thing about that was, because it had been 48 hours since the first layers had been applied, the paint had dried to the stage where I was able to scumble the next layer over without disturbing the under layers, which made it easier to do the work that needed to be done to the apples. Now that the painting is finished, I can now return the fruit to its rightful place in the kitchen to be eaten!

'Amaryllis in Bloom'

'Amaryllis in Bloom'

oil on board

8" x 8"

SOLD

This is my beautiful Amaryllis which is in it's third year of flowering! This year I decided to paint it. The blooms are huge and I wanted to do them justice so I filled the canvas with the image in order to portray the 'hugeness'. This resulted in the scale of the flower head being slightly larger than life. I made the painting at the time of flowering and put the finishing touches to it this afternoon. 

'Paintbrush Pot and Paint'

'Paintbrush Pot and Paint'

oil on board

8" x 8"

Click here to buy

I made this painting this afternoon and used a limited palette of burnt sienna, cobalt blue, ultramarine, yellow ochre, titanium white and added a touch of cadmium yellow and red for the brush handles. I'm liking the muted colours that have resulted from the limited palette. I also set a time limit in order to stay 'loose' and almost made it to the finish line in time! I might re-visit the pattern on the pot as I'm not sure it's quite there yet. Over all it's been a good afternoon's work.

Post No.2!!

'Springtime in a Pot'
 oil on board
8"x8"

SOLD

Phew! I've managed another post! So I think I'm up and running now! 

I've linked the blog to the website 'Daily Paintworks' on which I am putting all my new work for sale. You'll see the link to the site on the right hand side of this page or you can link to it by clicking on 'click here to bid' under the image of the above painting .

The flowers in the painting remind me of the sunshine that we haven't seen much of lately! So I thought I would paint them to brighten up the day! Hope you like them too.