Bluebell Stump (Wolverton Blue 2) - SOLD

Wednesday's short painting session in Wolverton Wood gave me enough material (on the canvas and in my head) to refine the image in the studio yesterday.

Bluebell Stump (Wolverton Blue 2)

Oil on natural linen canvas, 30 x 40 cm

£120 SOLD

Bluebelling

... in progress ...

... and mostly finished.

It was a beautiful day for seeking out and painting bluebells. I took a couple of hours out and visited Wolverton Woods. I will probably do a litte bit more to it tomorrow during my Open Studio...

Next blog post:
finished and titled

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

Harriden's Blue

It's spring, and the bluebells are coming out. Time to go painting...

This was painted,on Wednesday, on the edge of Harriden's Great Copse, a hunting wood with a public footpath through it. Despite the fact that Wednesday was far and away the best day of the week, it was cold out there. Sitting in the shade didn't help. I did as much as I could and finished the painting from memory in the studio.

Carnation (commission)

Acrylic, 30 x 30 cm

This was a commision, painted towards the end of last year. It was to given as a gift. The gift was recieved and so I can now show it to you.

More Carnations

Two stylised 15 x 15 cm acrylics.

Urban Poppies

It was something of a surprise to encounter poppies growing through the block paving on the edge of the Sainsbury's roundabout in Newbury last week. It was a striking image, though, and I endeavoured to get a photograph, but the camera on my tablet camera wasn't quite up to the job. Nonetheless, I got  enough information to allow me to put this together.

It's painted with the Chinese knives again, with last minute assistance from a rigger brush.

Acrylic on canvas-covered board, 12 x 10".

Poppy Pillar

This was painted yesterday, during the time that my studio was open (I painted the sides of the box canvas in flat, black acrylic, and made a design sketch on the canvas itself, on Saturday). I photographed it this morning because the light was so much better.

I decided to try a vertical format, and selected a few poppy heads, from my source photographs, that I thought would work. I quite like the central poppy stalk' curve - apat from where it goes (too neatly) around the lowest flower head. Hmm. I may yet change that...

Poppy Pillar
Oil on box canvas, 100 x 30 cm

Frobury Blue

This is a plein air painting from yesterday that I did a little extra work on this morning, mainly to restate the contrasts between the darks and the lights.

Unusually, I had company on this painting expedition. My friend, Rose, joined me for both the walk and the paint. She worked in acrylics while I stuck to my favoured plein air medium of oils. We were specifically looking for a good display of bluebells and ended up back at the first wood that we passed through, having walked three or four miles to look at an alternative.

It's a good job that we both enjoy walking!

The tall , hollow, tree stump was the focus of both of our paintings. In fact, the bluebells were almost incidental.

Frobury Blue

Oil on canvas, 46 x 55 cm

More bluebells en plein air an be found here: 3 Years of Plein Air Bluebells

Magnolia

A splodgy acrylic ink sky with "hybrid acrylic" Molotow marker vegetation.

Snowdrops Across the River

This year, it seems that my plein-air season (that is, the time of year that I can comfortably paint outdoors) has started early - usually, I try mark it with a bluebell painting. But this year has been good for snowdrops, and these were within such a short walk from my studio that I could carry the finished wet oil painting back without a box.

Oil on Canvas,  30 x 30cm

Molotow Cocktail: Snowdrops and St. Mary's

Snowdrops, 5x7" on linen board

I've been itching to paint the snowdrops all through the half-term holiday. There is a lovely show of the dainty white flowers just behind the building that my studio is in. It's cold out there, though, so I knew it would have to be a quick painting. 

I was going to do a small oil (and I may yet do so), but I have just discovered Molotow paint marker pens, and it occurred to me that I could use them...

Burns Night Flowers

Sepia acrylic ink and watercolour (violet, yellow ochre and Hooker's green)

Backlight (poppy)

This is based on one of my many source photographs of poppies. I had thought that I might not use this image, but it struck me yesterday that the way the sun shone through the petals was rather starkly primary - almost primal. I did most of the colour-mixing, such as it is, on the canvas, which is naturally coloured linen.

Backlight
Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 cm

Diagonal Poppies

Diagonal Poppies
Oil on canvas, 80 x 80 cm,  commission

I've called this Diagonal Poppies because of the composition (the flower heads rise diagonally into the sky as you go from left to right), although it also, effectively, "Cottington's Poppies 5". The image, though it represents a very specific place, is a composite of several source images, and I wanted to make sure that it was a strong image (hence the geometric design) that was distinct from previous treatments of the same subject.

Here are the "in-progress" shots:




The hill in the background is Cottington's Hill, upon which sits our local radio mast, Hannington Mast. The mast is, unsurprisingly, a local landmark, and its inclusion was requested by my client. The daisies were also specified, and are based on the chamomile found in the field from which the view is taken.

• Click here to see other Cottington's Poppies paintings
• Click here to see other Poppy paintings
• Click here to see other paintings sharing the same location

Breezy Poppies

It's a good time of year for painting poppies.

Oil on canvas, 55 x 33 cm
£200 - SOLD

Carnations

Carnations are pretty, inexpensive, and rather difficult to paint! I've had a go in several media in the past, but rarely been happy with the results. Oddly, I don't think I have tried acrylics before.

Carnation Back

Acrylic on canvas, 7 x 7 cm

£10  

contact me

Carnation Close Up 

Acrylic on canvas, 7 x 7 cm

SOLD

Orange Gerbera

Some friends have gone away for a few days and gave us some groceries that they thought might not last - and some flowers, which were much prettier than the potatoes. Any regular reader of this blog will know what usually happens if I am given flowers, second-hand or otherwise.

5 Little Pictures of Gladioli

This is a "housekeeping" post intended to simplify navigation. It is not a new painting.

Five small paintings of gladioli.

All acrylic on canvas, 7 x 7 cm.
£50 for all five or £12 each

Original posts:

       

Daisy Panel

Acrylic on school