The Fountains At Night

6x6" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

There are several little fountains in the town centre- a group of little jets of water, springing up from the pavement. At night they're lit by coloured spotlights, giving them a beautiful glow, and they reflect wonderfully on the wet ground. This was a real challenge to paint and I'd like to return to the subject at some point, maybe on a larger scale so I can show them in more detail!

The Town Centre At Christmas

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available Here

This is another of our town's Christmas trees, this one is on a main shopping street. I had to exaggerate the height of the buildings to make the composition balanced, because it really towers over everything otherwise!

Christmas Lights

6x8" acrylic on canvas board, $45. Available Here

Several of the main roads in town have been decked out with colour-changing canopy lights- they look fantastic! I really enjoyed wandering around and seeing all the decorations against the dark sky- I don't usually go out in the evening so it was a lot of fun! There was a great atmosphere in town, too- lots of people out shopping, or stopping in a sheltered spot for a chat.

Christmas Tree, Broadway Gardens

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

I've really been enjoying painting night scenes lately, so expect quite a few! They're extra fun at Christmas, with all of the festive lights. Here's one of the big trees decorating our town centre- the building you see behind it is the old town hall.

Pointsettia

6x8" acrylic on canvas board. $45. Available here

Pointsettia plants make such fun subjects- but the bold reds can be challenging. Trying to lighten and darken the colours without losing vibrancy teaches you a lot about colour mixing!

Christmas Shoppers

4x5" acrylic on canvas board. $30. Available here

I felt like trying a different subject, so here's something you don't see very often from me- a sort of 'street scene' with figures! Here, Christmas shoppers head out into the rainy evening with their bags. You can see the shopping centre's entrance decorated with icicle lights in the background.

Ornament

4x6" acrylic on canvas board, $35. Available here

Something a little seasonal! I snapped a couple of photos of the ornaments on our Christmas tree, lit up by the multicoloured lights. Great practice at painting reflected light! I really enjoy the bright, warm colours as well, such a contrast to the greys and browns of the landscape outside...

Sea Sparkle, Molunat

5x4" acrylic on canvas, $30. Available here

Trying to capture that light-on-water effect! Yet another Montenegro painting inspired by Virtual Paintout. I think I'll paint a few more and then decide which ones to submit to the VP blog.

Location Link

Little Boat in Kotor, Montenegro

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here 

Another "Virtual Paintout" in Montenegro- I really enjoyed painting these little boats, there are so many of them scattered along the waterfront and they're all calling to me, so I may do more little studies of them in future. I'm particularly proud of the composition on this one, though. And it doubles as an entry for the Mountains challenge on DPW!

Location Link

Hampstead Rain

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

I took this photo back in summer, during a visit to the Hampstead Affordable Art Fair. I have been wanting to paint it for a while, but intimidated by the reflected light on the paving- I don't think I did badly here, though! This is a view I remember pretty well from my childhood, complete with people sheltering from the drizzle under trees...

Late Autumn Light

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

The weather in England is so inconsistent from year to year that you never know how long the yellows and oranges of Autumn will linger. The other morning I took a walk through some favourite painting spots of mine and found this beautiful view, with the light spilling through the gap between house and trees. Sadly I hadn't brought my painting gear, so I took a photo to work from. It's been raining almost constantly ever since I got home from that walk, and I'm starting to think I won't have many more chances to capture Autumn before it vanishes.

Brocket Estate Footpath

4x5" acrylic on canvas board. $30. Available here

A little study of one of the public footpaths that leads through the Brocket Estate, between a bunch of golf courses. My dad, uncle and I went for a walk here a week or two ago, and the autumn colours were in full force. 

Anatomy of a Dragon(fruit)

6x8" acrylic on canvas board. $45. Available here

An arrangement of dragonfruit and pomegranate, cut open to show their interesting insides. I really like how the black and white patterned fabric works with the spotted dragonfruit, and the strong pinks and reds.

Carnations in Autumn

6x8" acrylic on canvas board. $45. Available here

This is the little flower arrangement that's currently sitting on our piano- a bunch of fiery carnations. The colours seem so appropriate for the season!

The Cultivo Lounge

6x8" acrylic on canvas board. SOLD

A view of the bar at the Cultivo Lounge, a local pub/restaraunt, done on location. I don't often paint interiors, so this was quite a challenge, but I'm quite happy with how it came out. 

Late Autumn Walk

6x8" acrylic on canvas board. $45 Available here

Painted en plein air in late October- the paths of our local nature reserve are covered with spectacularly yellow and orange autumn leaves, and they look beautiful.

I recently realised I've been posting daily paintings (albeit not always daily) for a full year now, as of this month. How time has flown. I've achieved more than I ever imagined I would when I began this journey, and I can't wait to see where I am a year from now... Hopefully I'll still enjoy capturing views like this every bit as much as I do now.

Pomegranates

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

A little study of pomegranates, one of my favourite things to paint- I love the strong colours and the interesting texture of the insides.

Reflecting Red Fabric

6x8" acrylic on canvas board. $45. Available here

Here's another study of that copper jug, playing with yet another patterned fabric!

Copper, Oranges and Leaves

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

I love this leaf-patterned fabric, it adds so much interest to the arrangement. This is the smaller of my two copper jugs, much shorter and slimmer. It sits nicely alongside the orange wedges.

If you look closely you'll notice I'd already started eating one of the slices. Sometimes temptation is too much when setting up a composition.

Piled High

4x4" acrylic on canvas board. $25. Available here

A little baby painting today! I bought this little tapas dish in a homewares shop a couple days ago, I love the reddish-brown colour. It looks great when piled high with colourful fruit and veg- in this case, orange wedges, grapes and mange tout.

Copper

8x10" acrylic on canvas board. $65. Available here

I bought this little jug in a charity shop a while back. I love trying to capture all of the colours and lights reflected in the copper surface. It has a great silhouette as well! I'm surprised I haven't used it more often in paintings.

The Green Jug

6x8" acrylic on canvas board. $45. Available here

I bought this squat green jug ages ago in a charity shop but I don't think I've ever painted it! Well. Now I have. I used another of my Hobbycraft fabric squares in the background here- a cool-coloured floral one. I think the lighter blues and purples complement the greens and oranges quite nicely.

Purple Vase With Oranges

 6x8" acrylic on canvas board. $45. Available here

I've only painted this vase once before and I thought it was time to use it again. It's a very dark purple, and its glossy surface reflects everything around it wonderfully. I also used some nice patterned fabric in this one. My parents bought me some packs of Hobbycraft Fat Quarters for my birthday so I could use them for backdrops- I used to use wrapping paper, but it tears and wrinkles so easily. The fabric is much tougher, and I have so many patterns to play with now! I may end up doing another series similar to my Clementines one from last year...

Blue Jar With Oranges and Grapes

 5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

I cut the orange half from yesterday's painting into chunks and made this little composition centred around my little brown and blue jug. It feels good to be doing these little still life paintings again.

Orange on a Striped Napkin

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

It's been so long, but I think I'm starting to get back into traditional painting. Here's one I did today featuring an orange and some mange tout on a striped blue and white napkin. We're reaching still life season here in England, because it's getting cold and rainy. Though of course I'll still try to make it outside a few more times for plein air before the end of the year!

Canal, Nocturne

8x6" acrylic on canvas board. SOLD

Look at that, a painting! I won't say my art block has lifted but I've got a couple little canvases I'm happy with. This is a scene of the canal in Yorkshire I've painted several times before- this is it at night, lit by the moon. I took a wander up late in the evening and it was very peaceful- I did a plein air study, realised it was getting dark, packed up and turned around to see this view. Luckily I took some photos so I could paint it later.

This piece is really about exploring the light and subtle colour of the scene, rather than capturing detail. There are some nice visible brushstrokes in the light areas, especially in the sky.

Freiston Shore Sky

6x8" acrylic on canvas board. $45. Available here

Here's another skyscape, a little brighter this time, and in acrylics. Looking over reclaimed land at Freiston Shore, Lincolnshire.

Yorkshire Storm

6x8" oil on canvas board. $45 Available here

More stormclouds in an attempt to break the painting block! Grey is such an interesting colour to paint, so many subtle hue shifts.

Shades of Pink

4x5" oil on canvas board. $30. Available here

I've been feeling a little burned out with my daily paintings recently- they just aren't coming out the way I want them to. So I've been taking a break to focus on other stuff. In the meantime, here's an older still life I never posted.

Hopefully I'll get back into the flow soon and have some new landscapes to post!

Grey Skies

5x7" oil on canvas board. SOLD

After the string of hot days we've had lately I've been longing for a stormy grey sky like this.

Summer Cloud Study

5x7" oil on canvas board. $40. Available here

Following on from my last two paintings... This time, the focus is purely on the clouds. I tried a vertical compostion which I think works quite well for this skyscape.

Gently Drifting

5x7" oil on canvas board. $40. Available here

Another cloud study from my trip over the weekend. This one has a very peaceful feeling I think. I really enjoyed capturing all the subtle shades of light and shadow.

Sky Over The Fens

5x7" oil on canvas board. $40. Available here

I went to see my uncle in Lincolnshire over the weekend. The land there is very flat, and the sky dominates; the weather played its part for me as well, the clouds were nothing short of spectacular. Expect quite a few paintings of them over the next few days!

Red Apple Study

4x4" acrylic on canvas board. $25. Available here

I dropped my work off at the gallery today, so although it's not that late yet (for me, anyway) I'm a little sleepy. Train journeys always have that effect on me. So here's a painting from last week, an apple in a china dish- the same subject as one of my first ever daily paintings, though this apple has a wedge taken out of it. It's been a while since I used acrylic and it took me a while to get the colours mixing the way I wanted, but I'm happy with the result.

Quiet Woodland Path Study

6x8" oil on canvas board, $45. Available here

This is my most recent plein air study- so named because not a single person passed me by as I sat and painted this. This particular path is almost always empty, despite being very close to a residential street- you can hear faint traffic, chatter, water from the nearby stream, and the rustles and crackles of the trees around you, but no one will disturb you here, even on a sunny summer weekend.

Sunlit Trees Across The River

7x10" acrylic on canvas paper. $60. Available here

Here's another acrylic- the yellow is not *quite* that bright in real life, my scanner just hates yellows. This one is looking across a small stream, to a field bordered by trees. I love the shape of this cluster, and I had fun painting them. I really like the way the 'sky holes' came out, where you can see spots of bright blue through the foliage. I really love the contrast of the yellow grass against the purple flowers in the foreground.

At The Allotments

7x10" acrylic on paper. $60. Available here

I wanted to do something a bit different today, so I pulled out my acrylics and some canvas-textured paper, and set to work. This is a scene I saw at the allotments on a walk a couple days ago. I love the variety of colours and textures in the plants, the light shining through the greenhouse, and the shadows of tall plants falling across the man's back. I don't often include figures in my landscapes but I feel it fits this scene well. Everyone is out and about, enjoying the pleasant weather while it lasts.

Dappled Light Study

6x8" oil on canvas board. $45 Available here 

One of today's two plein air studies, this one focusing on dappled light falling on the path. It was about three thirty in the afternoon when I started this one, and very warm, but there was a pleasant cool breeze that stopped it from being uncomfortable. I wish the ground had been flatter, though- my walkstool was very wobbly and more than a few times I thought it was going to tip over as I shifted...

Forest Floor Study

6x8" oil on canvas board. $45. Available here

Another plein air study- this was done on the same day as 'An Overgrown Path.' I decided to move off the path a little and sit in the shade among the trees, to shelter from the rain. The scene was quite dark, but I was struck by these tree trunks with the light behind them, and the oranges and yellows of the fallen leaves on the ground.

Another Sunlit Path

6x8" oil on canvas board. $45. Available here

Here's another recent plein air, and more studying trees and sunlight. I'm almost done with a large version (20x24") in a vertical format. I don't think I'll ever get bored of views like this.

Little Red Shed

 6x8" oil on canvas board. $45. Available here

Another plein air. I don't often do landscapes without a visible sky but I think it really works here, I love the composition. And I had great fun adding variation to the grass in the foreground. I'm not sure what this shed is, it's in a little private orchard- all I can make out when I get close to it is a bunch of graffiti on the side. It makes a great subject though. I think I'll probably return to it in future.

Meadow Trees Plein Air

 6x8" oil on canvas board. $45 Available here

Another recent plein air. This one was done in a meadow, looking towards the trees that grow alongside a little stream. It was a cooler, overcast day, and the dark trees against the pale sky made for great contrast.

Sun Through Trees Study

6x8" oil on canvas board. $22. Available here

A plein air study. I love capturing the way light filters through trees, and the
shapes of shadows falling across the path. Shishkin was a master of this type of scene. Our local nature reserves and woods aren't quite as dramatic as the majestic pine forests he painted, but I try to make the most of them all the same!

Submitted to the Daily Paintworks "Forest Challenge"

Pine Trees Study

6x8" oil on canvas board. $45. Available here

This is a plein air study which I used to create a much larger (20x24") painting. The large version will be in the Brick Lane Gallery's "Landscape: Rural vs Urban" exhibition in London in August. It's the first time I've completed a painting of that size. It helped massively having this little one to work from- the photo flattened the scene and the plein air study helped me to stay true to the values and atmosphere.

Green Pepper

 4x5" acrylic on canvas. $30. Available here

I'm feeling pretty tired, so I'll save my announcement for another day- here's a slightly older still life I never uploaded. I really enjoy painting peppers when they've been cut open. They form such interesting shapes and shadows.

Bright Sky Over the Lake

5x7" oil on canvas board. $40. Available here

I've been working on a lot of larger pieces lately so last night, I sat down and did some small studies, just for a break. But I'm already looking at this one thinking it would be good on a bigger canvas... I really love painting water, and mountains affected by atmospheric perspective.

Fields in Summer

5x7" oil on canvas board. $20. Available here

Another one from the journey up to Yorkshire. I really like painting fields, capturing the different lines, curves and colours of them. Luckily it's hard to drive anywhere in this country without passing a few!

Three Trees

5x7" oil on canvas board. $40. Available here

This was a scene I saw out of the car window on the drive up to Yorkshire- I really liked these trees, silhouetted against the puffy white clouds.

River Ivel Reeds

6x8" oil on canvas board. SOLD

This is a plein air study of the River Ivel from earlier this month. What really interested me about this scene was the fact that the long reeds growing on the surface of the water were being swept along by the current, creating green streaks aross the river's surface and breaking up the reflection of the blue sky.