Outside the Church, Kimpton

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

I thought I'd uploaded this already but apparently not, so here it is! For the past two years, I've exhibited work at the Kimpton Art Show. Kimpton itself is a very nice town, with lots of lovely architecture and greenery, and little back lanes which twist and turn behind the houses. This is the lane which leads up to the church - the bunting seen here is the typical store-bought stuff, but further up there is hand-knitted bunting, which I've not seen before! I thought it was quite a nice touch. I wish I'd taken more photos of the town; maybe next year!

Surrounded Glass

8x10" acrylic on canvas. $80 Available here

I did this piece for an exhibition back in spring, and promptly forgot to upload it to my DPW gallery once the show finished. Well, here you are! Featuring orange slices and glass, two of my favourite still-life subjects. I really enjoyed pushing the contrast of vibrant colours and dark background here.

Storm Over Stonehenge

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

Yet another painting inspired by the cloud challenge! I dug out a super-old photograph of Stonehenge, taken as we drove past it on the motorway, as my reference. I can never decide whether I prefer painting peaceful or stormy skies, they're both great challenges in different ways. In this case, it's getting all the subtle variations of grey right.

Rain In The Distance

Whoops I forgot to post this one yesterday!

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

On The Way Home

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

When I saw the weekly challenge theme on Daily Paintworks was "Clouds" I couldn't wait to get painting! Anyone who's followed my work for a while knows I adore painting skies. Unfortunately it's a flat white today, so I broke out some ref photos- this one was taken on the way home from an exhibition.

Spring Sun Study

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

A study of the tree in our back garden on a particularly sunny day- the tree looked almost black against the bright light, and the colours were all so vibrant. I wasn't happy with this when I first completed it, so it's had a few touch-ups since, and I think it's finally pulled together.

Trafalgar Crowds

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

A view of Trafalgar Square from among the crowds- it's fun to paint such a famous place from a slightly different angle. I was trying to capture the light here, I loved the dramatic contrast of the light sky and shadowy statues, and the silhouettes of the tourists.

Cherry Trees, The Wynd

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

 Another painting of the cherry trees in The Wynd, looking the opposite way from yesterday's work. I'm really grateful to the person who left their bicycle in this spot! It helps capture something of the relaxed atmosphere of this street, I think- away from the traffic and bustle of the centre of town. A nice place to sit and enjoy the beautiful weather!

The River Lea, Hertford Castle Grounds

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

We had to make a trip to Hertford a couple of days ago, and while there we decided to walk through the Castle grounds. What a good decision! The whole area is full of fantastic painting spots, sadly I wasn't able to bring my painting gear that day, but at least I snapped lots of photos. Here's a study of a bridge over the river Lea, lined by willow trees and daffodils. It seems no matter where I am, I'm drawn to the water!

Out of the Dark

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

I have this mug which I have painted once before- it's so dark, and not particularly reflective, and can become a bit of a "black hole" in compositions, so I don't use it a lot. But here, I found some lighter subjects to surround it with- some dried flowers, and clementines, which actually bounced some light and colour off it! Here, everyone gathers around a fallen leaf, speculating on its fate...

Blue Vase

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

I wanted to try painting a backlit still life. I'm really happy with the vibrant complementary colours here!

Loch Doine

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

I've been painting a lot of wintery scenes and nocturnes lately, so I decided to take a break from those subjects and paint something vibrant and green!

Pine Trees, Autumn

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

I've painted these pine trees before, in summer, when they were surrounded by green trees and chervil. Here they are at the end of autumn, while everything around them turns gold.

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.

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!