more oak trees

Well for the time being Im still going to continue this blog.I know I change my mind like the wind but there you go. Managed to get out to paint today...at last. But still freezing fog. Continued with my series on the Oak trees . I wasnt going to do them today but was persuaded by a friend. Anyway below is the result. Didnt come without pain today..I forgot my hat and gloves and boy was it cold!

Oaks in the fog  12 x 16

xmas paintings.

Well as expected Ive not managed to get out alot over xmas. I also got frustrated so much that I didnt get much chance to paint in the snow. Maybe Im one of the few people that wishes it would come back! Im not back at work now until the 4th of January so hopefully I will have some opportunities to paint.Ive posted the last two of my efforts . Ive been doing this blog for almost a year now and am seriously considering not doing it anymore. I only started it to record my painting a day project which I failed and cant see much point in continuing with it. Happy New Year to all

Snowy track by Wittersham Road Station 12 x 16

Field gate, winter 16 x 12

from life or photo?

This week Ive done very little painting but thought Id post this blog whilst waiting for my van to defrost before venturing out in snow..yippee I love the snow :-) !!

The reason for the title of this post is probably quite obvious. I dont think there are rights or wrongs or goods or bads about how and where people choose to paint. Many of us love painting outside whilst others hate it and cant see the point of standing out in the cold. For my part its just my preference to be outside and to respond as quick as possible to what I see. Yesterday was a prime example. I have a great little 6 x 8 pochade box which was a gift from my friend Mr Rafferty and I carry it everywhere in my truck hoping I might snatch abit of time here and there to paint. Yesterday was so frustrating as the snow started and I was surrounded by so many potential paintings, but too busy to stop.. At the very end of the day nearing home the view of the Rother stopped me in my tracks and I thought even though there was only 15 to 20 minutes light left I would try and get something down. 6x8s are so small so keeping it simple you can do a quick sketch in not much time. Worst of all as quick as I tried to paint I was losing the light and by the last few minutes I really couldnt see what colours I was mixing. I really enjoy the excitement off it , but you never know what youve got until you get back. Ive posted my effort below which took no more than 20 minutes. The colours are perhaps a bit lairy and it is only a sketch, but my question is...would I ever paint anything like it in a studio ? .. I think not. Ive also posted a photograph of the general scene before I started. Im sure if Id only used the photo of the scene for reference |I would have ended up with a laboured copy..who knows..maybe I should give it a go and find out. Anyway thats enough waffling Im going painting.

Photo of The Rother at sun set before I started

My quick oil sketch 6 x 8

Trees

Today was the first time Ive managed to get out painting since I returned from Venice on Saturday. I worked until lunch time and then took the afternoon off to paint at my present favourite spot in Peasmarsh. Ive painted the same scene once before this Autumn and now have decided to try and paint here once a month for a year as an experiment to see how the scene changes. Whilst painting I thought my god this looks just like the last one I did, but having got it home and compared the two it looks completely different. There is definately a cooler more wintery feel to this one and no where near as much colour as the Autumn one. Ill post both to show the comparison . Think the autumninal one was much better, but interested to see what the scene looks like through the seasons. I was also lucky today to be joined by Rowan Crew. I wish Id taken a picture of his painting. Quite different with a much higher horizon, but very nice:-) ..next excursion Sunday :-)

Winter Oaks Peasmarsh  12 x 16 ( Todays effort)





Autumn Oaks Peasmarsh 12 x 16 ( My first effort and favourite of the two)

Venice

Just got back from 5 days in Venice. It was a last minute trip and I joined my friends David Bachmann, Roy Connelly and Paul Rafferty. Ive never been to Venice before but loved it..what a city! It deserves its reputation and has to be one of the most beautiful citys in the world, no wonder its been painted so much! On the downside the weather wasnt great and we had the Aqua Alta to contend with on 3 morning..apparently the highest in 4 years at 1.3m. So there was alot of wading to do. That wasnt to bad and it was really dramatic to see the city flooded. However the stench was disgusting and i literally threw up twice. One other highlight of the trip was satying in Ken Howards studio for a couple of days, which was surreal. I painted a couple of interiors but didnt do it justice. We literally worked from dawn to dark ( not dusk) and doing nocturnes was great fun and something I want to explore further. I ended up doing 23 paintings in 5 days as well as scraping of 3 others..not snapping any more :-) Paul did 28! ....

I also had the flight cancelled which caused alot of grief yesterday but enjoyed flying home club class. Below Ive posted a few from the trip

Salute nocturne 1  8 x 6

San Georgio nocturne 6 x 8

Salute nocturne 2 8 x 6





Fish Market 10pm





The interrupted proposal 8 x 10

Misty Afternoon on the Grand Canal 8 x 10

Winter Afternoon Sun St Marks Square 12 x 16





Sculptural colomn study fishmarket 10 x 8




 

Venetian horse study 12 x 12

Grand Canal from same spot as Monet and Ken Howard  8 x 10

Gondola Study 10 x 8

Salute door 16 x 12

The Grand Canal from Acadamia Bridge 12 x 16

Ken Howards studio 10pm  12 x 16

Salute 10,30pm   16 x 12

Under the arches St Marks Square 10 x 8