Wild one.

Wild at Heart   Oils on canvas board   12 x 10 inches   SOLD

A wild garden in summer.  Soft and gentle in the sun.

Studio Musings...

My painting day outside in the sun.

The first attempt at this scene was a total wipe out.  

When I returned to my studio I took another look at my rubbed down painting.

It might be saved if I put aside all memory of the earlier disaster.

I abstracted the work and pushed the oils around.

A few highlights and colour spots gave a lighter feeling.

Time to walk away...

Keeping warm.

Sunshine   Oils on canvas board   5 x 7 inches   £ 48   $ 65

A cheery spot in the orchard...wild Rudbeckias and Asters in the sun.

Studio Musings...

I was not having a very good day painting outside.

My first piece of work ended as a scrape down so I moved on.

Walking back to the house I passed the little orchard and stopped to admire the flowers planted amongst the apple trees.   I couldn't resist another try and this is it.

Time for a cup of tea.

Wild at Heart.

August Afternoon   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper  5 x 7 inches   SOLD

3pm in a wild garden.  The last of the Rosebay Willowherb.

Studio Musings...

The scene looks calm and serene.   In reality...there is a battle going on.

Painting is often a battle for me to put down what I really want to see.

Shall I put the trees in?  Shall I leave them out?  

They went in and out many times before I finally scraped them off.

I remember reading somewhere that a painting can sometimes be better

 if half of it is removed leaving the remaining parts room to breathe.

I think it is true in this piece.  Less cluttered. 

Back tracking.

Back Garden   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper  5 x 7 inches   £ 36   $ 50

Sunlight across the back garden behind the studio.

Studio Musings...

Another plein air afternoon.  Another challenge.

 I walked down the lane next to our home and looked through a gap in the hedge.

  The sun was streaking across the grass and lighting up the tree behind the timber building.

The sketch appears calm and serene but the occasion was a fight with the wind.

My painting blew off the easel twice.  No time for messing...pack up and leave.

The joys and trials of plein air.  My studio is an easier place to work.

Wild by nature.

Wild Garden with Rosebay   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper  5 x 7 inches  £ 36   $ 50  

Plein air study of our wild meadow.  A sunny morning.

Studio Musings...

Loose and quick study to give a sense of place.

Using a one inch brush from start to finish this painting came together without fuss.

The Rosebay Willowherb adds a touch of colour to the greens of summer.

Fruity place.

Apple Orchard   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper  7 x 5 inches   £ 36  $ 50

Abstracted orchard with a lone apple tree.  Yellow green apples.

Studio Musings...

A lovely morning for a plein air study. 

 Starting off I tried to capture the apple tree as it looks in the orchard.

After several scrape downs I decided to go for an absract point of view.

It all seemed to come together quickly so I packed up my things and left.

Mixed up.

Tangle Trees  Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   7 x 4 inches   £ 36   $ 50

Light streams through the trees in the copse.  Birches and Hazels.

Studio Musings...

The third tree study.  Keeping it simple without too much detail.

Just shapes and light on the tree trunks.

Sunlight.

Birch Copse   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   4 x 3 inches   £ 40   $ 55

Sunlight on Silver Birch trunks in my garden.

Studio Musings...

My morning painting in the late summer sun.

  Everywhere I turned there was something to interest me.

My new travel easel is just right for wheeling around.  Neat and compact.

Fresh air.

Summer Fields   Oils on canvas board  8 x 10 inches  

A 'plein air' study of harvested fields around Old Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire.

Studio Musings...

My loose sketch was one of three on site oil studies last Saturday.

It was a very windy day and my painting equipment was blowing about making the job less enjoyable.  I was using my folding wooden box easel and setting it up in the field took ages.

Eventually I settled to painting complete with dust and grit.  Not an ideal day.

That evening I began thinking about replacing my heavy box with a lighter option.

With a little 'joinery' to fasten a small box easel to a telescope tripod (stored away in the roof), and using other things from home, I now have a new re-cycled kit.  

Here is a photo...it will be going out today for a first trial.

Long Walk.

Far Out   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   8 x 11 inches   

East coast ebb tide walking.  

Studio musings...

A long walk awaits...the tide goes a long way out in Lincolnshire.

The view is far and wide.  A tapestry to delight my eye.

 I have tried to give an abstract impression of the day.  A feeling of space.

This study is textured with luscious oils and reminds me of the sandbanks and sun streaks.

 Scraping the foreground back and down depicts standing pools of water and mud.

I like the way the paper holds paint in the small dimples on the surface.

Misty.

Late Summer Lake   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   4 x 6 inches  £ 36  $ 50

(In white painted wood frame...£ 95)

Studio Musings...

A late evening painting before locking the studio door.

Painted in a loose way with a flat one inch brush to give a relaxed feeling.

The shapes are suggestions of trees and shrubs beside the lake.

A flourish or two of paint in the foreground highlights the still water.

Strolling.

High Peak Trails   Oils on board  5 x 8 inches   £ 60   $ 80

Sunlit trails near Gradbach in High Peak, Derbyshire.

Studio Musings...

The weather at the end of September was fresh and changeable.

Sudden showers followed by sun streaking over the grass to lighten the scene.

This painting was abstracted to give an impression of the day.

Mirrors.

Reflecting   Oils on canvas board   5 x 7 inches   £ 58   $ 75

Pools and reflections...the coast shines.

Studio Musings...

The third piece with a dark underpainting.  

I like adding a top layer like this to give the effect of standing water.

There are luscious streaks of oil after I sculpted the paint with my brush.

Pulling the paint down gives an impression of a wet shore.

Lighting up.

Skylight   Oils on canvas board   5 x 7 inches   £ 58   $ 75

Golden lights along the coast before dusk.

Studio Musings...

I am in a golden mood.   The sky is full of light.

A final quick flourish with the same oil colour is brushed over the painting.

That's it.

Golden.

Nightwatch   oils on canvas board   5 x 7 inches   £ 58   $ 75

Colour and shapes as nightfall comes.  A golden glow over the coastline.

Studio Musings...

Playing fast and loose...in a painterly way.

Another quick study with a dark underpainting.  

Purely imaginative, the scene is from remembered sunsets.

Dancing.

Dancing on the Edge  Oils on canvas board   5 x 7 inches   £ 58  $ 75

Small waves at the edge of the shore as the tide turns.

Studio Musings...

An underpainting sets the scene and when dry

 the second working adds the main story.

I scrubbed the underpainting onto the canvas board leaving

 marks and streaks to give an impression of texture.

Then I added more raised texture to depict small waves tossed with sand and foam.

Twilight.

Evening at Cragside   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   5 x 5 inches   £ 38   $ 50

Mood and atmosphere.  Evening light.

Studio Musings...

A fifteen minute study from memories of this Northumberland place.

End of day sketches are relaxed and simple.  

Pure enjoyment.

Texture.

Shoreline   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   4 x 6 inches   £ 38   $ 50

An impression of sand and sea.

Studio Musings...

A painting can be just a tiny part of the landscape.

A few marks and gestures can tell a story.

Sculpted.

Aspects   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   4 x 6 inches   £ 38   $ 50

The shapes and forms of sea and sand.

Studio Musings...

This study arrived by accident.

  I was having a hard time with the seascape and considered rejecting the piece.

Determination took over and I laid on more paint, sculpted the shapes first with a brush and then with a knife.  The oils blended as I worked giving me this abstract.

Growing wild.

Wild Rudbeckias   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   4.5 x 5.5 inches   £ 38   $ 50

Dancing in the wild, these cheerful daisies brighten the day.

Studio Musings...

A partner to yesterday's painting, this vertical format seems to give the subject vitality.

Party time.

Dancing Rudbeckias   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   4.5 x 5.5 inches   SOLD

An impression of these cheerful flowers in my wild garden.

Studio Musings...

I planned to paint these daisy flowers realistically but my

imagination took over and I found myself pushing the oils in a sculpted way.

Sunrise.

Impressions   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   4 x 6 inches   £ 38   $ 50

Abstracted vision of sunrise over the ebb tide.

Studio musings...

A small study about mark making, scraping back and imagination.

It is always fun to paint these little pieces.  Quickly put down and left.

No fussing.

A kind of place.

Barmy Evening   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   6 x 6 inches   £ 53   $ 70

A warm, gentle evening along the coast.

Studio Musings...

Ten minute study.  

Fast, loose and a few brush strokes tell the tale.

I used Burnt Umber, Prussian Blue, Permanent Rose, 

Lemon Yellow and Titanium White for this 'end of day' piece.

A scrubbing on with the oils gives a rocky appearance

 and the sky is given similar gestural marks to denote evening clouds.

Sky colour is brought down for a suggestion of water.

I like the final flourish of white for the foam as a contrast.

Amethyst.

Lake and Light   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   8 x 8 inches   £ 76   $ 100

An atmospheric memory of a Northumberland lake.

Studio Musings...

This study is a fond reminder of a weekend in Northumberland.

I chose these colours to add mystery and atmosphere as I imagined the scene.

There is no real detail...just a suggestion of trees and surrounding vegetation.

The lake has a milky appearance and pulling down the brush gives some depth.

Peace and quiet.

Ebb Shore   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   5 x 5  inches   £ 45   $ 60

The East Coast shore at ebb tide.

Studio Musings...

I love these colours.  So gentle and perfect for the Lincolnshire coast.

This small study was painted quickly...about 15 minutes with a one inch brush.

There was no fussing, I laid on the oils and pushed them about a little in the foreground.

A final flourish with my brush depicts foam at the water's edge.

Enough said...walk away.

Ebb show.

Norfolk Sunset   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   £ 18  $24

ACEO...2.5 x 3.5 inches

A layered look for the ebbing tide at sundown.

Studio Musings...

Abstraction and another tiny study of the coast at sunset.

I like the rough texture of the paint to depict the foam at water's edge.

Closing time.

Night beckons   Oils on gessoed 140lb paper   £ 18   $ 24

ACEO...2.5 x 3.5 inches

The night clouds draw across the setting sun.

Studio Musings...

I love the way clouds add drama to the sky.

  These clouds look threatening but they are only a sign of night coming.