Time Flies

So much has happened in the last year and a bit that I couldn't possibly put it all into a blog without writing a book.

A recent trip to bath to see Peter Brown exhibition
L-R Valerie Pirlot, Mo, Maria Rose & Haidee-Jo Summers

First and foremost was the loss of our son, Nathan. A year last November he was diagnosed with stage four cancer. He was so brave and stayed strong and positive until the end. He contracted pneumonia and was unable to fight it off and died at the end of May last year, the day after his wedding anniversary. I am fortunate that his lovely wife and three young daughters live close by . He was so proud of those girls and he lives on through them. I won't go on about how I feel as this isn't the purpose of this blog. All I will say is that, no parent should have to go through the pain of losing a child at any age.

Nathan 1975 - 2019

The last post I made, way back in 2018, was leading up to the British Plein Air Painters exhibition at The Menier Gallery. I can report that this was an overwhelming success. Over 60 paintings were sold and feedback from the public was very positive. I thoroughly enjoyed working with such a brilliant group of artists. We hung the show ourselves and the feeling of camaraderie as we worked together was wonderful

Yours truly in charge of the wine

What a line up!!
L - R Chris Robinson, Roy Connelly, Tim King, Tony Dakin, Haidee-Jo Summers, Adebanji Alade, Micheal Richardson, Disy Simms-Hilditch, Valerie Pirlot, Maria Rose, Mo Teeuw, John Walsom, Andrew Roberts, John Stillman, Karl Terry, Trevor Chamberlain, David Pilgrim, Ben Hope, Adam Ralston, David Curtis, David Bachmann, Peter Brown
missing were Richard Pikesly, Ken Howard and Fred Cuming

So great was the success that I am pleased to announce that there will be another exhibition this year at The Mall Gallery. Plans are already afoot for promotion and we have a great team working on our social media pages and website

Here is our lovely poster designed by Valerie Pirlot

We have a great programme of events planned and several painting days where any artist can turn up and paint along with some of the group members. 

here is a list for your diary.

You will find a list of participating artists on our website britishpleinairpainters.co.uk 

Painting days

Saturday 18 April - MANCHESTER

Wednesday 29 April - SOMERSET BathThursday 14 May - DORSET Mudeford Quay
Saturday 13 June - NORFOLK Morston
Tuesday 11 August - LONDON Richmond

Saturday 30 May - OXFORD

Friday 26 June - SUFFOLK Southwold

Saturday 4 July - LINCOLNSHIRE Stamford

Saturday 25 July - NORTH YORKSHIRE Staithes

Saturday 22 August - EAST SUSSEX Rye

Saturday 12 September - LONDON St James Park

I hope to get to as many as I can and will post pictures here.

I do hope that you will be able to join us, just turn up on the day with all your painting gear and do come and say hello.

Plein Air painting days in London

11th September, Soho Square

As part of an ongoing publicity campaign to advertise our forth coming show Capturing the Moment
Haidee-Jo Summers and I planned a couple of paint out days in London.
The first was in Soho Square on 11th September. I created an event on Facebook and was surprised how quickly word spread. On the day about 50 artists turned up to paint, I was a bit concerned as we hadn't approached anyone for any permits but all was fine.

Felicity House working on a lovely pastel

Haidee and I in the middle.
We finally got to paint an hour before the end,
we'd been very busy talking to all the artists

At the end of the day,
comparing notes and planning to go off to the
nearest pub for a well earned drink and bite to eat

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and said how they were looking forward to the next Paint Out.

10th October St James's Park

The success of the first paint out soon spread and people were eager to do it again . We arranged for people to meet at the Cafe Inn the Park around 10am, we couldn't believe how many turned up. Some artists had got there early and were already painting. We took names but I found out after the event that I didn't get to see everyone and that there must have been a lot more than 100 artists there.

artists gathering at the beginning of the day

Poster and Palett

some artists at work

At the end of the day some of the artists gathered for
a chat and to display their work on the roof of the cafe

All in all it was well worth the organising. The feedback has been amazing. It seems that artists really welcome the opportunity to get together to paint. Even standing side by side in silence whilst absorbed in their work there is the feeling of camaraderie. 

Some of the painters there had never painted outside before and told me just how much they had enjoyed the experience and that they would not have dared to do it on their own.

Looks like I will be organising another paint out again soon. Keep an eye on the web site or sign up for an email at www.britishpleinairpainters.co.uk

Well know author and artist Katherine Tyrell gave us marvellous coverage in her blog,  Making a Mark. Do visit to see more pictures of the day

Portugal 2018

I was delighted to be asked to return and paint in Portugal at the Villa of David Bachmann. This time we a small group of five. Johnny Walsom, Valerie Pirlot, Tim King, David and me.
We arrived in Faro and went straight to our first location which was Praia dos Tres Castelos, just West of the Praia da Rocha town beach.

Against the Light, Praia dos Tres Castelos

The next painting spot was at Ferragudo, I had a failed attempt at the harbour and moved on to paint a quickie from the car park

6" x 8"

After a rather splendid lunch , Valerie and I went round the corner to the beach area where we were both drawn to a little group of fishermen by the huts , so we settled to paint them.

Fishermen at Ferragudo

There wasn't enough time for a second large painting so I settled for another little quicky

6" x 8" Ferragudo Beach

The next day was wet and windy so, Valerie, Johnny and I went off to the fish market to select subjects for a still life. It was hard to explain to the very helpful lady that we did not want our fish gutting but it was worth the effort

Durada 8" x 10"

Sardines 8" x 10"

The next day was much better so we went to Praia Dona Anaon

Praia da Dona AnaOn

Praia de Camillo

Valerie, Johnny and I climbed down loads of steps to get to the vantage point but it was worth the effort.The next day was departure day and rainy again so I picked some lemons from the garden and painted those before I had to pack and leave.

Day 27 of 30

Morning sun, Sommieres

Felicity and I arrived at our hotel Last night. We are knocked out by the place. It is very bohemian and quirky. We spent the morning exploring Sommieres, an old medieval town. There are paintings to be done everywhere you look. I settled on this view first and then went down by the river

Autumn Leaves on the River