Waxwing in Flight

6x6 inches, oil on canvas board. 
SOLD

One of the things I love about Daily Paintworks is the variety of work that you come across while browsing. I have seen many beautiful paintings of birds since joining, and soon found myself wanting to try this subject as well. I used a reference photo from Morguefile. It has the same slightly stylized feel as yesterday's painting. I think it must be the way I work around the fast drying time of acrylic paints. 

St Ives Shadows

7x5 inches, oil on canvas board. SOLD

Here's another St Ives scene. The town is full of little winding streets lined with stone cottages. I really enjoyed trying to capture the feeling of them in this painting. I used a limited palette of White, Burnt Sienna, and Ultramarine.

Smeaton's Pier, St Ives

6x6 inches, oil on canvas board - $40

Place a Bid

Here's my entry for the DPW’s Escape the Snow challenge, a view of St Ives in Cornwall. We went there for a week when I was younger and I absolutely loved it. It's famous for its incredibly clear light, and has become a haven for artists- there's a gallery on almost every street.

White Boat, Portsmouth

6x6 inches, oil on canvas board. $40

Place a Bid

I don't think I've ever painted a boat before! Or at least, never finished a painting of one. I took a bunch of photos on a trip to Portsmouth recently, and while looking through them the other day I spotted this little boat, bright white against the teal water. It looked like an interesting challenge so I gave it a go. I'm quite pleased with the result!

Once again I was testing out a different palette: Cad Red Dark, Phthalo Blue, Viridian, Naples Yellow, Payne's Grey and White. I may have to use this one again, I love the warmth and vibrancy of it.

Reddish Reflections

6x6 inches, oil on canvas board. SOLD

I have had the reference for this painting for a while- a curving river in which the reflections of the pine trees took on a wonderful reddish tint. I decided to try out a different colour palette for this painting: Cad Red Dark, Olive Green, Naples Yellow, Payne's Grey and White. I really like the way it came out. It has an interesting atmosphere... calm, but dark.

Blue Mountains

4x4 inches, oil on canvas board. $25

Place a Bid

Here's a little landscape composition where I was practicing atmospheric perspective. I really like the brushstrokes in the foreground, capturing the different shades of brown in the grass. ​

Dark Tree (Plein Air)

6x8 inches, oil on canvas board - $45
Place a Bid

Here's a recent plein air painting of some trees on a local nature reserve. This dark tree, with its branches hanging low over the path, caught my attention- it was quite striking with the lighter area behind it.

Winter Light

5x7 inches, oil on canvas board. ON HOLD

Here's a snowy scene for this week's DPW challenge- expect more winter landscapes soon too. Here I started with a thin wash of burnt sienna, and then worked into that with white and a brown made from burnt sienna and ultramarine. I love sculpting tree branches out of negative space, layering the strokes to give the impression of light filtering through them. I'm really pleased with how this came out.

Also, I've finally found a perfect spot for photographing my paintings- so no more waiting for them to dry so I can scan them!

One Mile Lake

5x7 inches, acrylic on canvas board

SOLD

I wanted to paint mountains, but sadly there are no mountains near my home, so reference images it was. This is One-Mile Lake in BC, Canada. I think this is what plein air heaven looks like, for me at least! Maybe one day I will get to travel and paint it on location...

I tried a slightly more patient approach to using acrylics for this painting, doing a monochrome value painting and then slowly building up colours on top. It is one of my better attempts at landscape with acrylics, so I suppose I should be patient more often!

Snowy Field Before Sunrise

7x5 inches, oil on canvas board. $20 - £13.49 - €18.33 – C$ 27.76

Place a Bid

This is a little scene where I was trying to convey an early morning atmosphere- where it's light enough to see, but the sun hasn't really risen yet. It's very subtle lighting that I will probably need many attempts at to really master. Most of the brown fields are exposed, but patches of snow remain from the day before.

Partly from a reference image, partly from imagination / memory.

Sunflower Fields

5x7 inches, oil on canvas board.$40

Place a Bid

Here's a view of sunflowers growing in fields. These fields are really striking, with their thick bands of yellow and green. This is a bit of an experiment in style and composition.

On a side note, I did a couple of plein air paintings today- I was absolutely frozen by the time I got home! I finished them up at my desk once I'd got the feeling back in my fingers. They'll be posted on Daily Paintworks once they've dried- probably about two weeks from now. I promised myself I'd do more plein air work in 2016. I'm off to a good start!

Reflections in a Purple Vase

6x6 inches, oil on canvas board. $20 - £13.49 - €18.33 – C$ 27.76

Place a Bid

I'm still waiting for my latest batch of landscapes to dry, so here's a still life instead. I recently bought this purple vase in a charity shop. I liked the way it reflected everything around it, but distorted the perspective, so I decided to surround it with bright colours and paint the arrangement to challenge myself. Part way through, with about ten different elements to work on, it didn't seem such a good idea- but I finished it, and amazingly enough it worked out in the end!

Sunlight Through Trees

7x5 inches, oil on canvas board. $40

Place a Bid

A study of light and shadow on a small country road. I see views like this almost every time we drive somewhere, I love the patterns the sunlight creates as it filters through the trees. I've been wanting to paint this kind of scene for quite a while, and I'm glad I finally got around to it!

Fire in the Sky

6x6 inches, acrylic on canvas board. SOLD

I've been working on some larger oil landscapes recently, so to avoid tightening up too much, I painted a few small acrylic skyscapes from Morguefile photos. Sunsets are so interesting to paint, real explorations of colour and value. It took a while to get the purples right here. I love the bold contrast in this one.

Golden Fields

5x7 inches, oil on canvas board. $40

Here's another landscape. I wanted to do something with a warmer palette after all the grey skies I've been painting recently. I really enjoyed mixing all of the different shades of gold.

Sprouts and Knife

4x4 inches, acrylic on canvas board. $25

Here's another painting of sprouts! I really loved painting these little guys. Here they surround a knife, looking at their reflections in the blade.

Waves, Cornwall

6x6 inches, oil on canvas board.
SOLD

It feels strange uploading such a summery painting in January! But I've been wanting to paint some waves for ages. This is from a photo I took during a holiday in Cornwall. I love the soft green tones in the waves, where the sunlight shines through the water.

Broccoli

6x6 inches, oil on canvas board.   SOLD

Here's a study I did of some broccoli in an interesting little... bowl-saucer type thing. And of course I added in my old friends, cherry tomatoes, because the spots of red really help to accentuate the strong greens.