'Jo' preliminary drawing

Pencil drawing

12" x 8'

I recently began a painting of Jo (another of my class members), but decided to abandon the painting in favour of a preliminary drawing instead. The painting wasn't achieving enough of a likeness and I felt I wasn't getting anywhere fast! So in order to fathom what was eluding me in the painting, I made an exploratory drawing. Preliminary drawings are always a valuable way of making discoveries and extracting information about your subject. I'm reasonably happy with this outcome, having moved closer to an accurate likeness and also managing to express a little of her individuality. I will now return to the painting and try to push it in the right direction!  

'Young Amaryllis, Brass Pot and Radish'

'Young Amaryllis'

12" x 8"

oil on board

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I don't know whether you know about the growth cycle of an Amaryllis but once you get them out of their little box and start watering them they're away! Their growth is that rapid you can literally watch them grow! I started this painting Saturday and by the time I had finished it on Sunday, the leaves had grown right off the canvas! I found balancing the two contrasting greens interesting...the organic green of the plant against the synthetic green of the pot. It gave me an opportunity to check out my very old tube of emerald green which has rarely seen the light of day (I'm not a fan of tube green as my class members will be very quick to tell you). But I am pleased to say that I found the paint to be still usable and...a perfect base colour for the green of the pot. In its defence, tube green does have its place but should, in my view, only ever be used within a mix and never straight from the tube.  

Eggs at Lunchtime

'Eggs at Lunchtime'

oil on board

8" x 12"

SOLD

I seem to have a 'food' theme going on at the moment! This was lunch today or should I say the remains of it. I do love egg shells so when I saw them left on my plate I was inspired to paint them! This painting took about two hours. There's no fear of overworking it now as it's all been cleared up and washed up! 

Pepper with Lemons

'Pepper with Lemons'

oil on board

8" x 12"

SOLD

Sorry this painting has been a long time coming. I managed to finish it Tuesday but was too late to photograph it. Then Wednesday I was teaching in the morning and wasn't feeling too brilliant when I went in. By the time I returned home I was feeling like rubbish so didn't do much of anything that afternoon. I think it was probably a mild virus which today...hooray!...seems to be going. Tomorrow I'm in Gallery at St Martin's all day invigilating our exhibition (last day Saturday). Look forward to seeing you if you can pop in.

'The Road to Stow'

oil on board

8" x 12"

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The subject of this painting is a road I walk down frequently. This morning, the rows of trees lining the road along the grass verge were casting wonderful shadows in the sunlight...so I decided it was perfect time to paint it! I took a photo as a reference just in case the sun went in...as if! And I'm glad I did because as I was preparing to return with my materials, the clouds rolled in, the heavens opened and that was that! The phone photo that I had taken wasn't ever so accurate regarding colour and values so I had to improvise and rely on memory. I tried to keep the painting uncomplicated and concentrated on the shapes that I had noticed through the trees which had been created by the sharp contrast of light and dark values. I feel this has given the composition a strong abstract element which is what I tend to look for, especially in landscape. 

'Begonia after the Rain'

oil on canvas board

8" x 12"

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This begonia looked very bedraggled after a huge downpour of rain and looked extremely sorry for itself, but when the sun came out again it perked up straightaway as if taking on a new lease of life...a bit how we all feel this summer! I hope I've captured the brightness of the sun and the optimism of the plant!

"George' almost finished

oil on board

8" x 12"

NFS

Well...I didn't manage to get back to the painting until today (it's just been one of those weeks!) but I made good progress and have brought it very close to completion. I need to re-visit the hand and resolve it a little more and then I think I can call the painting finished. I've really enjoyed making this painting and working with faces again..so expect to see some more very soon!

'Man in the Moonlight'

'Man in the Moonlight'

8" x 12"

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This is my 'Man in the Moonlight'. It is one of my favourite small paintings so far. I introduced phthalo turquoise and prussian blue back into my palette for this one and worked the painting on a burnt sienna ground.  I have to say that the colours in the image aren't quite true to life. In the painting, the tablecloth is warmer with slightly more yellow and the blue in the lamp is a little greener. If you would like to bid for him just click on the link under the image and it will take you straight through to the bidding page on the Daily Paintworks website.

Wonderful lush greens!

'View from my Studio Window'

oil on board

 8" x 12"

When I went into my studio this afternoon I was immediately struck by the wonderful lush greens I saw from the window and decided I had to paint them. The sun at that point was high in the sky and shining directly onto the field so the light stayed pretty much the same for the whole time I was painting. I put a thin ground colour of yellow ochre onto the canvas first which gives the painting a warm glow.