Restoration Project

Every now and then I decide to alter my palette as a one-off, to use colours I don't use often. It kind of shakes things up a bit as well as usefully delpeting those odd colours that I'm never really going to use often... or maybe make me reconsider the usefulness of some of those colours.

I chose this subject - found in a barn while walking near Chievely in Berkshire - because of its strong shapes. My collection of odd colours inludes a couple of vibrant oranges and orangey earth tones; here, I used Chrome Orange (hue), Pyrrole Orange and Indian Red. I thought they would work well for the different shades of rust. Continuing the odd colours theme, I picked out Phthalo Blue (red shade - I normally use the green shade) and Yellow Green. White is difficult to do without, so I included it, and there was some Rose Madder Quinacridone left on my palette, too, so that ended up in the picture as well.

Restoration Project

Oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm

£120

Entrance (Chysauster)

I find prehistoric sites entrancing: open to the elements, often in (relatively) remote locations, they are refreshing in their wild freedom yet retain a palpable sense of history. I also rather like painting stones.

This is the entranceway to one of Chysauster's "courtyard" huts. Chysauster, in west Cornwall, is a remarkably well preserved iron age village managed by English Heritage.


My painting was made last week while my studio was open as part of Open Studios West Berkshire and North Hampshire. There's still just over a week of Open Studios left; you'll find my dates and details here.

Entrance (Chysauster)

Oil on canvas, 55 x 46 cm

£190

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

Step Over (Chysauster)

Oil on canvas, 40 x 40 cm (03/05/17)

This is the first painting started and completed in my new studio. It was painted while the studio was "open" for Open Studios West Berkshire and North Hampshire.

It's painted from my photograph of the steps over a Cornish Hedge on the approach to Chysauster, an iron age village in Cornwall.

Cabin Fever

This is my new studio. It arrived just before Christmas (earlier than expected) and was erected professionally by Perfect Cabins. I have painted it, inside and out, with a little help from friends. I have also been practicing my woodwork skills inside. It's a bit smaller than the room I was renting at Swan Street, with less wall space to display work, so storage has been a key requirement. I shall have to be more selective about the display for Open Studios (just over a week to go - I will be ready, but it will be close!).

Landmarks

"Also notable are [Amanda Bates'] trio of small works, hung as a vertical panel: Thatcham's Bluecoat School, Donnigton Caste and Newbury Corn Exchange. The subjects are tightly cropped within the frame, with little context, giving them a palpable presence."
Newbury Weeky News: Lin Wilkinson

Three wooden panels, each 15  x 15 cm, painted over clear gesso so that the wood peeps through the thick oil paint. These three pictures were painted for, and are currently on display as part of, the Artikinesis Springtime exhibition at the West Berkshire Museum, The Wharf, Newbury - but only until Sunday 23 April.

The exhibition also features work by Rosemary Lawrey, Elinor Cooper, Adeliza Mole and Brian R. Marchant.

Thatcham Bluecoats / Newbury Corn Exchange / Donnington Castle

Oil on wooden panel

£50 each

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