Cold winds and bleak days

Good morning and welcome to my Monday Blog

The weather is cold and bleak this week but painting goes on.

I think I must be in a Gothic mood, as all things dark and mysterious are

of interest to me.  My palette has been sombre and sultry too.

Jewels of Winter  Oils on canvas board  10 x 12 inches

A moody piece of work about the wild night sky.

Dark clouds scud across the sky with moonlight breaking through.

My black interlude also extended to frames...

I have been experimenting with oils and cold wax medium

over gilt frames.  I mixed the dark with Ivory Black and a touch

of Venetian Red for warmth.  Cold wax medium mixed into the

oils helps to reduce the gloss giving a velvety surface.

'Early'   Oils on canvas board 10 x 12 inches in a hand-painted frame

This painting is about sunrise over meadows and trees.

Abstracted and reduced to marks and colour for atmosphere rather than reality.

'February Fields'   Oils on canvas board 12 x 8 inches in a hand-painted frame.

This piece is about the wet fields around my home.

Puddles and water in the tractor ruts are like mirrors for the sky.

I have a few more in this 'dark mood' which I will post

 when I have a photograph of them.

Last but not least...

I say goodbye to my framer Graham who has made my frames for several years. 

  He has made me some speckled gold frames for some little oil studies.

Thank you Graham and good wishes for your work in Archaeology.

Until next week...

Goodbye and thank you for visiting