Blue Twist (Wolverton Blue 3)

Blue Twist (Wolverton Blue 3), oil on linen, 46 x 38 cm

Last Friday, I revisited Wolverton Woods to catch the end of the bluebells. I was attracted by the fantastic contortions of the large beech tree that became the focus of this painting.

Blue Twist
oil on canvas, 46 x 38 cm

£160

Devil's Den, or, The Resting Place - SOLD

Devil's Den, oil on linen canvas, 46 x 38 cm

The Devil's Den is a reconstructed (c. 1921) dolmen (neolithic) near Marlborough in Wiltshire. As far as I can tell, it is the closest such monument to where I live (there seems to be a shortage of suitable stone in Hampshire; certainly the chalk and flint in the immediate vicinity would make very poor building material). Dolmens, which look like stone tables, are actually the structural remains of burial chambers that were once covered in earth. Most have three or more uprights; this has two, but one of them rests on a third, recumbent stone. The stones are sarsens, which are blocks of sandstone created by glacial flow. They are plentiful in that area (which is not far from Avebury and Stonehenge).

I have visited the Devil's Den before, with sketching equipment, but this time I took my painting gear. It was a gloriously, unseasonably, hot and sunny day. I spent maybe two and a half hours on site and completed the picture in the studio, where I empasised the darks (which have a tendency to get lost on site) and the reflected colour on the stones.

Included in the group exhibition, Traces of Prehistory (Artikinesis).

Devil's Den

oil on linen canvas, 46 x 38 cm

£160 - SOLD

Kernow Blue

It's not often that I get to go to Cornwall during the bluebell season, but this weekend, I was in Cornwall and I did go down to the woods to paint. Again, though, I was too early for the full blue-carpet effect, but this did allow for wood anemones and - in the distance - wild garlic to peep through.

Oil on canvas, 38 x 46 cm

Wolverton Blue

The plein air season has begun! And what better way to mark it than with a bluebell wood. This one is Brock Copse near Wolverton.

Sitting in a Poppy Field / Basingstoke Poppies

On Saturday, I drove to Basingstoke. This is neither very exciting (although I did buy art materials) nor very far (less than ten miles), but I did spot a very pretty field very close to the town they (apparently) call "doughnut city." A very pretty field with lots and lots of poppies. And a handy layby nearby to park in...

Gull Rock - SOLD

Gull Rock is off the beach at Portreath, Cornwall. This painting is based on photographs that I took there on Sunday, when the weather was mostly dry and the sea (the Atlantic) was entirely rough. Every now and then, there was a hint of sunlight - not enough to brighten the sky, but enough to brighten the colours of the land and sea a little.

Oil on canvas, 46 x 38 cm
SOLD

Greenham Reflection: Spotted Bullock

Greenham Common is particularly wet at the moment. There are a number of ponds, pools and (possibly) lakes (I'm not sure how big a body of water has to be before it is called a lake) that are always there. There are also a lot of big puddles that occasionally dry up - if we have a hot, dry summer.

Skyline 2: green field, May

This is bigger and less yellow than the first Skyline painting, and the trees are both barer and clearer. It's also from a different viewpoint - further along the path, higher up the hill, and closer to the trees.