Showing posts with label sky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sky. Show all posts

Tuesday, 31 January 2017

Thirty Paintings

30 Paintings in 30 Days



Well in spite of a few set backs in my health and care for my Father - I did it!!
These paintings plus another 200+ paintings and illustrations will be published in my forthcoming book Paintings Skies in Oils published by Crowood Press later on this year.
I will let you know more details when I have them.
Thank you to those that have followed and commented throughout this month. Your encouragement and support means a lot.

Thank you to Leslie Saeta for throwing out the challenge again. Over 1000 artists took part and you can see all their paintings at https://www.saetastudio.com/30-in-30-blog

Back to the computer now, I still have more to write for the book.

Monday, 30 January 2017

30 in 30 Day 30

                                       Sunset at West Beckham 14" x 18" oil on canvas


My final painting for the 30 in 30 challenge. I think I have learned a lot about colour mixing for skies which is as well because - I have been asked by Crowood Press to write a book on painting skies in oils. I wasn't sure at first but having spoken to a few artists that have been published I decided to go for it.
Most of the last 30 paintings will be  featured in the book along with step by step demonstrations. In all there will be over 200 illustrations and I am delighted to say that some of my favourite artists have contributed to book and I will be featuring work by Roos Shuring, David Simons, Mary Gilkerson, Mari French, Louise Balaam, Peter Barker, Brian Ryder and John Stillman.
I still have a few thousand words to write but I am getting there and hope to send the draft off to the publishers next month.
No doubt I will let you know when it goes to print

Sunday, 22 January 2017

30 in 30 Day 22

Mare's Tails, Happisburgh. 8" x 10" oil on linen covered card

This beach on the North Norfolk coast is actually pronounced 'Hazeboro' . yes, I know - go figure.
Anyway, it makes a good subject. The wispy 'mare's tails' were blowing towards me and reflecting in the sand.
I dipped into my cache of paints and pulled out an old favourite Unbleached Titanium. This I used for mixing the sand colours and found it to be a good mixer with Kings Blue Deep for the sky colour. It was also with white for the clouds, especially with Permanent Rose for the cloud shadows.

Saturday, 21 January 2017

30 in 30 Day 21

Sun Setting on Moulton Mill 12" x 10" oil on cotton covered board

Yes, it really was that dramatic!!
We have the tallest windmill in the UK by our house. The chestnut to the left is in our garden. From my kitchen window I can see the mill which acts as my own personal weather vein. At the moment the top of the mill doesn't turn as the tail fin has had to be removed for repairs. We had just had a terrific storm and the sun came out illuminating the mill and emphasising the dark of the passing clouds. I liked the reflection of the mill in the wet ground.

Thursday, 19 January 2017

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.

Sunday, 15 January 2017

30 in 30 Day 15

Suns Rays, Moulton 12" x 12" oil on canvas board


This was one of those skies that you couldn’t stop looking at. It changed all the time and with my camera I was able to catch it at its best.
To make this painting work a really dark sky was needed. Old Holland Blue was chosen for it’s deep rich colour. The cloud cast shadows making the suns rays radiated out in to the sky in a fan like pattern

Saturday, 14 January 2017

30 in 30 Day 14

After the Spring Tide, Blakeney 12" x 12" oil on canvas board

The sky was an incredibly deep blue at Blakeney on this day. Usually when I use Ultramarine, I tend to knock it back a bit with either Yellow Ochre or a touch of red. In this instance I just used Michael Harding's Warm Light Yellow to lighten the blue.
 The same yellow was also used for the clouds as pure white would have been too cold. The pattern of the deep puddles left by the high tide were the perfect shapes for this composition. It definitely a scene waiting to be painted.

Friday, 13 January 2017

30 in 30 Day 13

Hidden Sun 12" x12" oil on canvas board

Another little back lane, only 1/2 mile from our house. The sun had just slipped behind the low clouds. The puddle in the lane just picked up the reflection of the clouds which were turning a wonderful golden orange.

Thursday, 12 January 2017

30 in 30 Day 12

Puddles on the Back Lane 12" x 12" oil on canvas board

There are a lot of little lanes around our village. This one is a favourite with dog walkers as it is little used. Maintenance is not great hence the grass down the middle and the deep potholes. The dykes along side can get pretty full after a heavy rain (very popular with water loving dogs!)
It does make a good subject, especially if you are after painting skies.

Wednesday, 11 January 2017

30 in 30 , Day 11

Cloud Reflections, Cromer 10" x 12" oil on board

I painted this from a photo reference taken last year. Memories of summer and things to come.
I loved the strong light on the distant sandy beach which gave a strong contrast to the dark shadowed cliffs

Monday, 9 January 2017

30 in 30 Day 9

Moulton Sunrise 10" x 12" oil on board

Up with the sparrows this morning to get this one done. I enjoyed the challenge of mixing the colours and blending them. Not a technique I normally use, I learnt a lot from this one and will have another go at a similar subject soon.

Sunday, 8 January 2017

30 in 30 day 8

Broken Sunset Vapor Trails 8" x 10" oil on board £90

There is still some work to be done in the foreground of this painting. I loved the colour of the vapour trails left by the passing aircraft, the purpley blue looked magnificent against the orange of the setting sun 

Friday, 6 January 2017

30 in 30 Day 6

Sunset Over the Fens 10" x 12" oil on board

PHEW! Struggled with this one!! I do like a challenge   😝

Thursday, 5 January 2017

Day 5 of 30 in 30

Orange Sunset 8" x 10" oil on linen panel


Been playing with colour today and also trying to capture the feeling of intense light as the sun sank quickly through the sky

Tuesday, 3 January 2017

30 in 30 Day 3



Back Lit Clouds, Pin Mill 8" x 10" oil on cotton covered board

From a photo reference taken last year. The clouds were perfect for painting and I did several studies while I was there but needed more time to capture their form properly so worked this on up in the studio today. It may well become a larger painting at some point as I enjoyed the challenge of capturing the feel of the day. This picture took about 1 1/2 hours to complete.

Friday, 8 July 2016

Acrylic demo at King's Lynn






Old Hunstanton From Holme 10" x 14" acrylic


 An enjoyable day at King's Lynn where 20+ plus enthusiastic artists attended my acrylic workshop.

I started the day with a demonstration taken from a watercolour I'd done earlier of Old Hunstanton.
I handed out photocopies of the painting for the group to paint their own version based on my demo.
I don't like to do a 'paint along' as everyone works at their own speed and also I find it discourages people from doing their own thing with the painting.

In the afternoon I gave another demonstration of how I tackle a sky

Blakeney Marshes 18" x 14" acrylic demo