Last Autumn Leaves

6x8" oil on canvas board. On sale, $25! Available here

Well, perhaps not the very last, but with the winds we're getting lately, they won't last much longer! I painted this one on location, and VERY fast, as I was sure it was going to start raining while I worked... luckily it stayed dry. I'm going to have to start carrying my fingerless gloves again though... my hands got pretty cold!

Golden Sunset

6x6" acrylic on canvas board. On sale, $22! Available here

A sunset study for the weekly challenge- this is one of the trickier ones I've had to do, capturing the soft pinks and yellows proved much more complex than I expected! I usually do more dramatic, contrast-y sunsets and this was very gentle in comparison.

Misty October

10x12" Acrylic on Canvas Board. On sale, $50! Available here

Have you ever been plein-air painting and had the weather change completely as you worked? That's what happened in this piece. I settled on the view becuase the clear, crisp autumnal colours were really exciting me. And halfway through, the mist rolled in, thick and grey! I had to choose between painting from memory or "chasing the weather" and I went with the latter... I'm so glad I did! The soft, muted colours really appeal to me.

Bookstore Alley

6x8" oil on canvas board. On sale, $25! Available here

I don't know what this alley is called, but I do remember that there were several bookstores along it! Including one second-hand one I could have spent hours browsing. I'm trying to do more urban landscapes recently, they're an excellent challenge; in this case the hardest part was getting those bicycles right, leaning against the railings. A small detail, but it doesn't look like Cambridge without them!

Gourd Gang

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. On sale, $22! Available here

I'm having a much better time painting gourds than I did last year! The variety of colours, shapes and textures had me quite overwhelmed last time, but this year I'm feeling more confident. Here's a painting of a few of my favourites, posing nicely.

Autumn in High-Key

6x6" acrylic on canvas board. On sale- $22! Available here

Following on from the last painting I posted, here's the high-key study! I really struggled with the leaves while painting this, they seemed to be changing position. I realised as I was deconstructing the arrangement they'd been curling up as I painted... no wonder I was confused!

Autumn in Low-Key

6x6" acrylic on canvas board. On sale- $22! Available here

After reading a new book on painting, I decided that I need to dedicate some time to studying tonal keys. I tend to paint tone exactly as I see it, and have never really 'taken control' of it; learning to tweak values to create a particular mood will really help me to progress to a new level.

I decided to do two studies of an arrangement, one low key and the other high, to see if I understood the concept properly. Here's the low key, with dominant darks. I love the dramatic feeling this has, the way that the light shines off the leaves, and the dark background accentuating the rich, saturated colour.

October Orange

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. On sale- $22! Available here

If there's one colour I associate with autumn, it's that rich orange of pumpkins and leaves... I'm having great fun painting with it! Here's a little arrangement I put together as an exercise in low-key painting; I love the way the dark background really accentuates the vibrant colours.

Froggy Friend

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. On sale; $22! Available here

This was one of those occasions where I saw something and just couldn't resist painting it, even though it's not my usual fare and I have no idea what other people will think of it! This little toy frog seems so cute to me; I was drawn in by the interesting curved shape and the bright, bright green colour- I do love a vibrant green.

The biggest challenge here was trying to capture how the shadow is tinted green by the bouncing light; it was difficult not to totally lose the bottom edge of the frog while remaining true to that effect.

Munchkin Pumpkin

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. On sale; $22! Available here

Autumn is really here, and it's pumpkin season! Here's a mini one, which the supermarket labelled a "munchkin pumpkin." I kept the background fairly simple- I'm still experimenting with back-lighting in my still lives, and I feel it really worked here.

Cambridge Architecture II

5x7" oil on canvas board. On sale, $22! Available here

Another study of architectural detail from my trip to Cambridge! While walking along a street I looked up to see this stone carving underneath a window; I thought it was worth a painting all on its own. I believe it's part of Trinity College. Incredible to think how much time, effort and craftsmanship went into these great buildings... One of the best bits of being an artist is that you're naturally tuned in to your surroundings, looking for subjects, and you spot all these little details!

The Phone Box

6x8" acrylic on canvas board. On sale, $25! Available here

A little study of Highgate, based on a photo I took there recently. I really liked the lighting! And I quite enjoy painting phone boxes; it must be the bright colour and the interesting patterns of light and dark seen through the windows. The parked cars were the biggest challenge here; figuring out how to simplify the reflections of trees in their windscreens took me ages.

Wonky Marrow III

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. On sale, $22! Available here

And here's the wonky marrow under blue-filtered light! I tried to keep the composition very similar to the first painting so you can see the difference between them. I really like the almost underwater-like feeling in this painting. I particularly liked capturing how the light shines under the marrow in places.

Wonky Marrow II

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. On sale, $22! Available here

Wonky marrow study for the Different Light challenge. I did Daylight, then moved to a different part of the house to play with stronger lighting.

I had to improvise a bit here, as I only have one light and it's very specific about the bulbs it'll take. I stuck two rulers to the side of my desk, suspended a sheet of orange coloured paper between them, and shone my spotlight through it so that the paper acted as a filter. It was like working in a darkroom under red light as I was painting, which I found strangely calming, I quite enjoyed it. I'm happy with the result too! I've added a comparison to III so you can see the different lights in action.

Wonky Marrow I

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. On sale- $22! Available here

The other day while walking the dog, we came across a box of marrows outside a neigbour's house, under a sign saying "help yourself" so... why turn down a free painting subject! It's the wonkiest marrow I've ever seen and that just makes me all the more fond of it. I decided to do a little series of paintings of it under different lights for the DPW challenge... here it is under afternoon light from a window.

Feeling Crabby?

5x7" acrylic on canvas. On Sale, $22! Available here

Here's a fun little painting! We bought this whole Cromer crab for dinner one night, and I snapped a bunch of photos before we ate it. The shapes and colours are fascinating- in fact, I kept the shell to sketch from. I wanted to try and give this guy a little personality and I hope I've succeeded!

Pepper and Leaves

4x4" acrylic on watercolour paper. ON SALE, $15! Available here

Here's a pepper study, with a patterned fabric in the background. I do love this fabric, and really ought to use it more! It's tough, but very rewarding to capture. Peppers are always a good challenge too; they're quite bumpy and strangely shaped, which can throw up some funny shading and really do my head in. But they taste great, so that makes them worth painting, doesn't it!

October Sale is NOW ON!

Yep! Many paintings at my DPW gallery are now half-price! Do come and check it out. The sale will last until the end of the month.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/j-m-needham-6400/artwork