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.

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

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. 

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!

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.

Hitchin Evening

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

This is a little scene of the little market town Hitchin, late in the day, walking down one of the roads that passes by the church. I loved the way light was spilling from the shop window in the foreground onto the pavement. I wanted to try to capture that summer evening atmosphere. The shop at the end of the road provides a great focal point.

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.

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. 

A Bend in the River

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

Here's a little study of our local nature reserve. I really enjoy doing little landscape studies, having to simplify everything into patches of light and dark. I learn a lot about composition from them. It's helping plan the larger works a lot.

Sharing Secrets

5x4" acrylic on canvas board. SOLD

Here's another attempt at pears. They're an interesting subject, great curves and subtle colours. I'm pretty happy with my brushwork on this one. I'm trying to let go of the need to render everything in minute detail. Getting there!

Soft Colours and Long Shadows

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

Here's another little still life with lemon slices, this one with a much gentler palette.

Primary Palette

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

Here's another little still life in acrylics. The highlights on the cherry tomatoes came out well here, I think.

Colourful Crowd

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

I really love the way light bounces back off brightly coloured objects to create colourful shadows. I'm really enjoying these bright, vibrant arrangements at the moment.

Cornered Lemon

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

I really enjoyed painting the bright colours in this little picture. I wanted a warm, light feeling. I'm really happy with the shapes the shadows create.

Surrounded Pear

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

Another little composition with a pear and some radishes. Trying to capture the mottled green and brown colours on the pear is a real challenge. So far I've been simplifying it which seems to work relatively well, but I have a few other ideas in mind I might try out in future paintings.

Pear and Radishes

4x5" acrylic on canvas board. $18. Available here

I did a series of little still life paintings the other night, playing with different coloured underpaintings. But it was late and I forgot to write down which was which, so in the end I haven't learned much from it, other than that I quite enjoy painting while watching tv, and I really love these 4x5" canvas boards.

Scattered

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

A return to my faithful old friends, mange tout and cherry tomatoes.

Lemon and Radishes

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

I have discovered a tv show I quite enjoy, a bit unusual for me as I normally lack the patience for them- they just take too much commitment. You mean I have to watch 10+ episodes to find out what happens...? That's a lot of tv, you know. I could be painting. But this one is just too good to walk away from, so I've been setting up small still lifes on my desk and trying to paint while watching it.

Pomegranate Wedges

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

Mum bought me a pomegranate to paint. I love the rich colours and the pools of juice staining the plate. The wedge shapes are great fun to paint. I love the kind of dynamic compositions they create.