Now I am realising why I’m doing these paintings! It’s not just about painting but about organisation and focus. Already paintings 2 and 3 have gone off track. I’ve not kept to the required process….

No.2

Headley Heath Pond

With the above painting I forgot to sketch the composition and premix the paint. I was rushing around and knew I only had an hour so I cut a few corners. The result is fine but next time I must follow the script

No. 3

View over Bocketts Farm from Norbury Park

Well I did follow the script by sketching the composition first, which made a difference. I premixed the paint allowing me to look at the palette of colours before starting to paint. Then I decided to use a palette knife and everything changed. Interesting result but I must return to the process for the next one. (I think)

I’ve decided to undertake a type of challenge where I paint 16 small pictures, in February. I’ve been following some artists who have done similar projects, so it’s not original but I’m hoping to kick start a change in my painting.

Why 16? Well I’ve just prepared eight, 8″x 6″, double sided boards, so a major hurdle has been overcome. The small size means I don’t have to spend ages on each painting, in fact this is a big part of the project.

The other major stumbling block is what to paint? The subject is so often the block to creating work and to overcome this these paintings are all simple landscapes that I know  well, using photos I’ve taken when walking the dog. The thing is not to agonize about the subject but spend time painting.

There is a formula to the paintings, which will help simplify the process and control the outcomes.

1. using 8×6 boards
2. identify between 3 to 5 values
3. identify 5 to 7 main shapes
4. premix the main colours, making a light and dark of each colour
5. Identify and place the Notan of the scene
6. Painting time : between 20 – 60 minutes

Of importance to this project is to discuss the outcomes with an audience. This requires setting up a Private Facebook page, where the paintings can be uploaded and viewed by a select group of artists. Ideally the other artists will participate in a similar project that suits their purpose.

Painting No. 1

Headley Heath

Molly and I went for our morning walk at Headley Heath, near Leatherhead, mid-January on a fine but cold start to the day. I took photos of scenes that inspired me, mainly the suns’ effect on the landscape. It was very muddy in the woods so we tried to keep to the open heath land where the Gorse was just starting to bloom.

We found a pond which was circled by small trees and the Gorse was being lit by the rising sun. I was looking for this specific scene as it included several elements I’ve been looking to include in a composition.

1. water
2. distant vegetation
3. smaller trees that grow in front of the water, at varying distances
4. Strong shadows that really influence the composition

This picture encompasses all these points. The idea is that the trees provide depth by receding towards the horizon but the water can be seen through the trees providing interest. The vegetation in the distance creates warmth.

Morning sun at Headley Heath

Back in October 2017 I wrote about entering the Surrey Countryside Watercolour competition, inspired by the Deepdene Trail. Well I won the Surrey Arts Prize! This was one of two prizes awarded and I have won free membership to Surrey Arts and free entry to their Open Studios in 2019.

As this is a blog about my artistic journey I think its worth noting some of the highlights I enjoyed with this competition.

The prize giving was held at the Bourneside Gallery in Dorking, where the pictures will be displayed for most of February 2018. I took my Mother who has followed my art with interest for some time. I also sold my picture at the prize giving, which was a bonus!

The Judges comments were very encouraging:

Judges Comments
“Very beautifully observed and realised. Very good use of tones. Good use of blues and green. Very nice mix of formal and informal. There is a sense of a narrative going on – ‘where do the steps lead to?’ Makes us want to go and visit.”

Receiving my certificate

The Embattled Tower

I’ve been attending the Surrey Hills Plein Air sessions most Fridays now and have been really enjoying them. Its good to have the discipline of going out, regardless of how cold it is and getting a sketch or painting completed. Also meeting other artists with the same interest is fun.

It’s really difficult drawing outdoors as your brain sucks you in to thinking sizes, shapes and colours are one thing – when you look again and they are quite different. There is a pressure to complete a picture but in truth I rarely do as I normally take on a subject too complicated for a 2 hour session.

Below are two pictures from recent trips;

River Wey @ Farncombe 

The Dolphin, Betchworth

Molly and I decided to try a local National Trust property for the first time – Hatchlands. It has a dog friendly walk of about 4km and as it was a beautiful day it was a great opportunity to take pictures for art inspiration.

I’m trying out new techniques with my watercolours and also looking closer at composition. So the scene I chose needed to have distance, colour range and if possible water. Molly discovered this pond and it was an ideal subject to test these ideas out.

I’ve been concentrating on using watercolours recently and have been working on some landscapes, concentrating on getting trees and water looking balanced.

This scene is where I walk Molly regularly, following the Mole to a flood plain known locally as the Common Meadow. The walk is a large loop round the meadow and is a great place for Molly as she can swim in the river, roll around in the grass and meet other dogs. I also take a few seconds to look out for any bird life on the river and can normally see Kingfishers, Herons, Cormorants, Little Egrets and Little Grebes plus the usual ducks, swans, moorhens and coots. Even a Goosander if I’m lucky.

I’ve been working on a couple of oil paintings of Molesy Lock. They are designed to work together as companion pieces (A4)

The first painting is of a Dutch barge entering the lock from down stream. Its a winter scene but with an opening in the clouds producing sunlight on the water.

The other painting is looking upstream with the lock gates open. Its a Spring day and the sky is clear. The water is still but it was raining earlier in the day. (hence the puddles)

Hascombe is a pretty village south of Guildford in Surrey. It has a church, pond and pub which makes it a great venue for plein air artists. This was the last outing of the year for Surrey Hills Plein Air group and numbers were hit by Christmas duties but it was still a very enjoyable meet.

I decided to set up out of the wind and use watercolours. There was a handy bench and I spread out my equipment and faced in to the sun with this delightful view.

The two hours passed quickly and whilst it was chilly I was not cold and was the last one painting. We met up in the pub and discussed the morning and arty things over a shandy, very enjoyable. I took the painting home and finished off the details and added some deeper values. You get a different perspective when painting plein air and the difference is shown here when compared to the photo above.

I enjoyed the subject and was interested to see what I could produce from the photo in the studio. What would change? I liked the photos composition, with the pond being a large part of the picture and the details in the middle distance. I also wanted to try different colours and widen the view to include the distant tree line.

Looking at the picture now it’s a little lack luster and the water is too grey and intrusive. I think the middle distance works but the whole picture is too busy. So I decided to try an oil painting, removing most of the pond and concentrating on the middle distance.

This has quite different feel about it. I’m not happy with the sky and water colours but I will keep looking at it for a while and make some further changes when it’s dried. Something you can do in oils but not so easily in watercolours.

I really enjoyed the last painting of the Loaf & Jug but feel I need to produce my own original image and composition. I also feel the ‘classic still life’ is a legitimate route but not one I want to really focus on. I felt it lacked spontaneity and did not really reflect a contemporary route.

I really wanted a warm and even humorous picture that was light and used softer tones. The other idea was to move away from the detailed approach to a more loose style, using different brush strokes. Also I had the idea of a painting for a kitchen/diner.

So I set up a breakfast scene, with a freshly boiled egg, (smooth texture, soft colours), toast (rough & warm), salt cellar (transparent & metal), butter (warm & cold??) & honey jar (nice oval shape) all on a tea towel. The composition idea was to move in close, the edges cutting every object and working towards a circular shape. With every object pointing to the next. Pushing the eye around in a circular motion.

Enough talk, here is the finished result. (salt cellar is darker on the original but the shine from the paint is softening it)