#30days20 A Flower Challenge

I'm still keeping up with the flower painting challenge set by Roos Schuring. I feel also that I am making progress, I certainly feel more confident when I start the painting.

No. 10 of 20

Single white daffodil  8"x 6"

Believe it or not white is one of the hardest things I find to paint, there are so many subtle colours if you look really hard. I used a pallet knife to create more interest in the background. It was painted over an old painting which has given more texture to the painting.

No. 11 of 20

White Tulips  12"x 12"

Still playing with white flowers I moved onto the tulips, I was more pleased with this. I love this little jug that I bought at a street market in France. I think now I am getting to grips with backgrounds too.

No. 12 of 20

WIP

Frank brought a load of tulips back from work, they were nearly past their best so I had to work quickly on this. I spent three hours getting the form and colour of the tulips down but now need to work on the back and foreground. I have put it to one side for now and hope to return to it with fresh eyes and enthusiasm.

No. 13 of 20

Red Parrot Tulips  12"x 12"

These beauties were fully blown and begging to be painted. Boy, did I enjoy this, I think it shows too. I completed it in just over an hour. I was concentrating more on the flower than the background, In hindsight , it could have been more considered. I still love it though

No. 14 of 20

Pheasant Eye & Bluebells  14"x10"

Another quickie, I set myself a strict time limit to avoid any fiddling. Painted over an old painting, I used dark glazes in the background to throw out the brilliance of the flower. I used large brushes for most of the picture to help keep it simple. I am particularly pleased with the glass. Old Holland Violet Grey was the perfect colour to use for the Bluebells, I used it again in the shadows of the narcissus. This was completed in less than an hour, I could have carried on but I'm pleased I didn't.

Portugal

I have been rather neglectful of my blog of late. Life has a way of filling your days, just when you hope to start taking things a bit easier.
I intend filling a few gaps of my activities over the next few posts.
so, to start.

Way back in April I was lucky enough to travel to Portugal as the guest of David Bachmann with 11 fellow artists. The weather was very kind to us and we went out every day to various locations in the Algarve.

From left around the table, Tony Dakin, David Pilgrim, Karl Terry, John Stillman, Andrew Roberts, David Bachmann, Me, Haidee-Jo Summers, Valerie Poirlot, Tim King and (still painting) Michael Richardson

Morning Light 8" x 10"

Ponte do Piedade

We were quite high up painting this but it gave a great perspective with the tiny figures

Lagos - It did rain whilst painting this but we all persevered in true plein air spirit

            As you can see there were lots of stacks in the water which I found fascinating to paint.

Arrifana

 

Praia da Cordoama

Praia da Cordoama 

 

We were very lucky to have an exceptional cook for the week. Li prepared some wonderful meals. One day on getting back to the villa, she had just prepped the fish for the evening meal. Two enormous sea bass. I asked how long before she put them in the oven - we were given 40 minutes - easels were up and brushes flew and this was the end result

Supper 8" x 10"

Li loved it so much I gave it to her. I haven't painted fish much before but now I always eye up the fish counter when I walk by looking for a likely subject.

It was a great week in great company. The work produced was astounding, not only in volume but in quality as well. We decided as a group to exhibit our work and have now booked a venue in London for 2018 - watch this space!!  We will shortly have our own web site britishpleinairpainters.co.uk

Oil Demo at Castor

Sunset Over Moulton 14" x 18" oil painting on board

Last night I headed over Peterborough way to Castor art group. I have been a couple of times in the past so there were a lot of familiar faces to greet me. They are a great group to demonstrate to as there is lots of feedback, questions and  - the obligatory banter.
I decided to replicate a painting I did during my 30 days of painting in January. The original of this was 10" x 10" so 14 x 18 was a bit of a challenge, for a start the proportions had changed completely.
Even for an experienced painter it can be a bit nerve racking painting such a big picture in front of a crowd - you just never know if it will work. Of course there are probably demonstrators that paint the same thing all the time but to be honest - I couldn't do that. In my mind all freshness would be lost and it would be boring.
As luck would happen - this one worked, I was quite pleased with the reaction when I popped the painting in the frame at the end.