The Chicken's Bridge

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

Well, this was a fun and interesting piece to paint! I took the photo during a trip to Yorkshire a couple of years back - as we were driving past a little farm half-hidden by trees, I noticed a chicken crossing the bridge over the river. It struck me as a great image, and I promised myself I'd try to paint it one day. But it scared me for a long time because it's quite a complex composition, and I wasn't sure how to handle the building in the background. All those windows! Scary... Then I had a brainwave.

I said in a previous painting I'd found a new trick for windows; here it is in action! I've found it's easier to paint the window-area with a dark colour, and then scrape out the lighter lines with a colour shaper. It took a few tries to get right, as I learned to handle the new tools, but I had a lot of fun with them! They were also useful for adding texture to the brick walls, and the highlights on the chicken.

A Return to the Meadow

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

Here's a plein air sketch I completed in late May. It was a lovely warm day, so I went to one of my favourite painting spots. I like returning to the same view each year, to see how differently I approach it this time around. I seem to be going a month earlier each time, though! The original was August 2016, and then I returned in June 2017.

I was very lucky when I arrived; there was a pleasantly shady spot on the path, and the grass was full of colour! There were big swathes of beautiful yellow buttercups catching the sun, and the little shed at the end of the meadow was cast mostly in shadow. The painting came together quite quickly, and I had a lot of fun working on it! It's interesting how it seems to combine the bolder and more confident brushwork of the August piece with the brighter colours of the June one. And how I've shifted the shed to the left this time around.

Gospel Oak

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

I'm finally starting to feel up to painting city scenes again! I went through a bit of a block for a while, and they just weren't working out - but I'm hoping that's clearing up now. The other night I was feeling brave and decided to do a painting from a photo taken in London last summer. The composition made me a little nervous - the railings, the placement of bridges - I was worried they'd confuse the focus. But I stuck with my instincts and painted the scene anyway, and I'm actually really pleased with how it came out!

Old St Lawrence Church, Ayot

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

Here's a painting of an old church on the Ayot Estate. We were taking a walk past, and luckily I got a chance to stop and do some sketches. It was a very atmospheric location! I also took some photos, knowing I'd want to paint it, and I did! It was very interesting to try and convey the texture of the stone.

Among the Greenery

6x6" watercolour on paper. $40. Available here 

This is a little local scene. There are lots of houses tucked in among the trees and shrubs at the edges of country lanes; the white and green make for a really nice contrast. I love painting architecture like this in watercolour- and I had fun with all of the leafiness too!

Hornsey Road, North London

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

Another London scene- I'm really enjoying painting the city at the moment! This one's of Hornsey Road in North London, just around the corner from the Emirates Stadium. I really enjoyed this colourful little scene- those shutters took ages to get right, but they were worth the struggle!

Three Cranes

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

I love these old-fashioned cranes! Complex to paint, but the shapes are so powerful and distinctive. As we were leaving the Docklands, the sun was just beginning to sink, and when I glanced back and saw it behind the cranes, throwing them into strong contrast, I knew I'd be painting the scene. I'm really pleased with how the water came out in this image!

The o2 From The Air

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

This is a view of the o2 at Greenwich Peninsula, London... as seen from the Emirates Air Line, a cable-car route which travels over the docks. It gives a fantastic view out over the city. The day we took it was almost blindingly bright sun, and the buildings cast long shadows over the water. I was entranced by the colours!

Sitting by the Fountains

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

I've done a few plein air paintings in the town centre lately. It can be intimidating to work with people passing by all the time, and there are a lot more distractions. But it offers a whole new array of subjects to explore, and that's been a lot of fun. This was a real challenge to paint; I wasn't entirely happy with what I produced on location, so I touched it up a bit when I got home. I'm satisfied now!

A fun fact; the people sitting on the bench were one of the first elements I painted- a good thing I did, because they left about five minutes later!

Misty October

10x12" Acrylic on Canvas Board. On sale, $50! Available here

Have you ever been plein-air painting and had the weather change completely as you worked? That's what happened in this piece. I settled on the view becuase the clear, crisp autumnal colours were really exciting me. And halfway through, the mist rolled in, thick and grey! I had to choose between painting from memory or "chasing the weather" and I went with the latter... I'm so glad I did! The soft, muted colours really appeal to me.

Bookstore Alley

6x8" oil on canvas board. On sale, $25! Available here

I don't know what this alley is called, but I do remember that there were several bookstores along it! Including one second-hand one I could have spent hours browsing. I'm trying to do more urban landscapes recently, they're an excellent challenge; in this case the hardest part was getting those bicycles right, leaning against the railings. A small detail, but it doesn't look like Cambridge without them!

Cambridge Architecture II

5x7" oil on canvas board. On sale, $22! Available here

Another study of architectural detail from my trip to Cambridge! While walking along a street I looked up to see this stone carving underneath a window; I thought it was worth a painting all on its own. I believe it's part of Trinity College. Incredible to think how much time, effort and craftsmanship went into these great buildings... One of the best bits of being an artist is that you're naturally tuned in to your surroundings, looking for subjects, and you spot all these little details!

The Phone Box

6x8" acrylic on canvas board. On sale, $25! Available here

A little study of Highgate, based on a photo I took there recently. I really liked the lighting! And I quite enjoy painting phone boxes; it must be the bright colour and the interesting patterns of light and dark seen through the windows. The parked cars were the biggest challenge here; figuring out how to simplify the reflections of trees in their windscreens took me ages.

Cambridge Architecture I

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

First in a series of little oils I'm doing based on the architecture of Cambridge. There is so much intricate detail and I wanted to focus in on some favourite elements. This is from one of the many old churches- I loved the windows and had great fun trying to capture them.

Market Day, Cambridge

5x7" acrylic on watercolour paper- currently NFS.
View it in more detail on Daily Paintworks! 

For the weekly challenge, the theme of "people in motion." I have been trying to be more adventurous and do more figurative work lately, so this was a well-timed one! I had a few ideas I wanted to try painting, and hopefully I'll have time to work through them all. This is from the market in Cambridge, which was quite busy; funny enough, the hardest part was figuring out how to handle the background rather than the people!

(Aaaand Blogger is not loading the "add image" interface, so you'll have to click the link above to see the painting! *sigh* I'll add it in another day when the computer feels like cooperating...)

St Pancras Hospital Water Tower

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

I was struck by this view of the water tower from outside Camley Street Co-op, on the other side of the canal, and had to paint it. I really enjoy the browns and greys of the buildings set against the green foliage and blue sky! This was a real challenge to paint and I almost gave up on it at one point, but I'm glad I stuck with it.

Greenhouse at the Allotments

10x12" oil on canvas board. $75. Available here

Time to post a few plein air paintings that I haven't had time to share yet- this one's of a greenhouse at our local allotments. I walk past quite a lot and have always wanted to paint it. Sadly when I arrived on this day, I realised the perfect view became obscured by fence if I sat, so I had to stand, painting while holding my pochade box up in the air- I usually just rest it in my lap. By the end of the painting my wrists were really sore, but I feel like it was worth it!

Regent's Canal, London

7x10" acrylic on paper. $50. Available here

On our most recent trip to London we walked along Regent's Canal- it was a gorgeous sunny day and the light was fantastic! I really loved this particular view, with the curving tree trunks along the wall, and the light hitting the boat in just the right spots. This painting gave me the opportunity to paint a few things I've wanted to work on- dappled light, and a brick wall. I'm quite pleased with how it came out!

The Red Shed, June

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

I painted this view in August last year, and loved it, so of course I had to go back and do another plein air painting of it at some point! It's fun to return to the same location and see the way it changes through the seasons. At the moment this spot is full of colour- purple (comfrey) yellow (buttercups) and white (chervil) as well as the vibrant green grass.

Lunch Break

21x15cm (A5) Acrylic on Watercolour Paper. $45. Available here

For the Weekly Challenge- "People Eating" and wow, was this a challenge! I'm still getting the hang of painting figures. I used a photo I took in London back in March- funny enough the hardest part of this was figuring out what to do with the background, which was a mess of intricate architectural detail and overlapping signs.