Sweeping Clouds Study

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

I think everyone knows that I love painting skies by now. Here's a little study with lots of clouds, trying to capture their movement.

Bright Sunset

5x7" oil on canvas board. SOLD

Here's a sunset study. The colours were warm and vibrant and the light was incredible; I did my best to capture it here. I used a real-bristle brush for a lot of this rather than my usual synthetic brushes, and it has given the painting a bit more texture.

Beauty Routines

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

My eyes sting and water terribly if I put anything near them, so I never use makeup. Still, I try it out every year or so, just to see if anything's changed. So I have all this stuff sitting around, hardly ever used. It makes a pretty interesting subject to paint.

Leadenhall Light

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

I've been wanting to try some more complex architecture and city scenes for a while now, and where better to paint than London? Here's a scene of Leadenhall Market. I was captivated by the way the pale blue light contrasted against the dark reds.

HMS Warrior, Portsmouth

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

This is painted from a photo I took in Portsmouth while visiting the Historic Dockyard. It was a real challenge to capture all of the masts and rigging on such a small scale.

An Alley, Ryde

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

This is a little alley that leads to an antiques shop in Ryde, Isle of Wight. I really liked the composition of the photo, and wanted to play with colours a bit. I'm really pleased with the sense of distance I captured here.

Tomato Red

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

I found some bright, fresh tomatoes in the fridge, and built a composition around them. I tried to capture all of the different shades of red in the tomatoes, using a combination of Cadmium Red and Alizarin Crimson, with a bit of Cadmium Yellow to lighten it in places, and Phthalo Blue to darken it.

Aubergines and Scallions I

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

When we visited the Affordable Art Fair Hampstead last week, mum and I spotted a painting of aubergines. "You've never painted aubergines!" She exclaimed, and promptly bought me some. It was real fun capturing their dark purple colour and glossy quality. And the scallions add a pop of green that livens up the composition.

Near Dufftown, Scotland

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

I really love painting hills and mountains- all those sweeping curves and atmospheric perspective! And in this case, a thousand shades of green. I think it might be my favourite colour to paint.

Cornish Cliffs

8x10" oil on canvas. $80. Available here

I'm really quite proud of this painting! It reminds me of a family holiday to St Ives, back when I was thirteen or thereabouts. I started with a reference photo which I quickly abandoned, and I ended up painting the view I remember from that trip- the grassy green ground, rocky cliffs and the deep blue sea, far below. I hope that it gives everyone else the same positive feeling that I got from painting it!

Cowslip Hill From The Meadow

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

Here's a little local scene I painted, looking up from a meadow towards a road. I really like how the soft, gentle colours of the trees and grass look against the solid form of the house.

Head in the Clouds

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

Here's a little landscape with a mountain, half-hidden by low cloud. I really love the dramatic contrast of the stormy sky and the streak of sunlight hitting the ground. 

Prezzo

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

Here's my first entry for the Daily Paintworks architecture challenge- there will probably be a few, because I love painting buildings now. (A few months ago they terrified me- constant practice is finally paying off.)

This is a restaurant in the middle of the town I live in. I really enjoy the structure of the building, with its thick white columns against the dark sign, and the little roof garden. This was a tricky painting, full of challenges- the reflections in the glass, the umbrellas, and the red-brick building in the background- but I am pleased with how everything came out.

Path With Forget-Me-Nots

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

Here's a plein air painting from a month or so back- a path on our local nature reserve, bordered by bright blue forget-me-nots. I sat on a log to paint this, and lots of people stopped by to chat to me. It was a great morning, warm, peaceful and very productive.