Another first for me today!  

I gave my very first Zoom demonstration. It was to Norwich and Norfolk Art Circle. I have no idea how many participants there were as I couldn't see anyone. I have to say it was very strange, working alone in my studio and giving a running commentary to a silent audience, nevertheless, it was well received and I have had a lot of good feed back. 

The original demo was 1 hour 45 mins but I have edited out the chat and unnecessary bits so it is now just an hour long.

Here is the link to my You Tube channel if you'd care to have a look.

https://youtu.be/5AFntqsnZJw

Morston Group

Every year for the past 12 years the Sheringham Art group have hired the village Hall at Morston in Norfolk for me to run a two day workshop for them. In the early days we would have 15 artists attending but due to ill health of many members, numbers have dwindled so this was to be the last year.

High Tide, Morston

I always start off with a demo to get people in the mood, I try to get people working on the quayside to paint but most prefer to remain in the Hall. I managed to get down there for a bit myself first and it was a beautiful high tide.

Low Tide, Morston

I have enjoyed teaching and getting to know this group and will miss them. I have decided to hire the hall myself for the same period next year and to invite artists to join me with the emphasis on Plein Air

30 in 30 Day 28

Cloud Study 10" x 12" oil on canvas board

Sometimes its useful and time well spent doing a few cloud studies. This enables you to experiment with colours and techniques without the worry of spoiling a painting.
In this study I used Cobalt Blue, Mussini Bluish Greys 1 & 2, Cadmium Red, Titanium White and Cadmium Yellow.
The Blue area was painted first using Cobalt and a touch of Blue Grey 1. The background cloud was a mixture of Cobalt, Blue Grey 2 and a touch of red. It was lightened at the edges with Blue Grey 1. The lightest area is a mix of white with Yellow and red added to warm it up and finally the darkest cloud was scumbled over with Blue Grey 2 and Cobalt Blue and Cad Red

30 in 30 Day 19

Late Summer, Pin Mill 12" x 12" oil on canvas board

 

This was painted over an older painting that had been sanded down.

The cloud shapes were painted first using Bluish Grey and Old Holland Blue Grey. The blue of the sky was painted with the Old Holland Blue Grey with a small amount of Brown Grey mixed in with it Titanium White was added towards the horizon.

Take care to leave a space between the blue of the sky and the dark of the clouds as you do not want to pick up any of the dark paint , it would mix in with the blue of the sky and muddy it, you want to keep the blue clean. The gap that was left is now painted using warm light yellow brown grey to tint Titanium white this is applied quite thickly. Using a small number to flat brush now blend the two colours together. Taking the white into the grey and vice versa you will probably need to use your finger for the softer blending

The foreground was painted with bluish grey and the walkway, Yellow Ochre was added to make the darker green.

Blue Gray was used for the highlights, the lightest area being at the back of the barge to give good counterchange.  

The lighter green was Blue Grey and Yellow Ochre

The dark of the barge is Ultramarine and Cadmium Red with the smallest amount of Yellow Ochre to stop it looking purple.

The mast was painted in with the use of a piece of card. Run the card through the dark mix make sure there isn't too much paint or it will smudge and carefully apply the card to the painting and give a small downward movement and then lift off. The same method is used for the rigging; make sure the card is the right length.  It is useful to have several pieces of card of different lengths available to you.

There was on the day a lot of reflection on the mud but I kept the light areas and a few flicks of light to the center of the picture and the foreground remains dark to focus attention around the barge.