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.

Cloud Shadows

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

Will I ever get tired of painting these skies? I think not! In this one, I particularly tried to focus on the shadows - both those on the undersides of the clouds, and the shadows the clouds cast on the landscape below them.

Fruit & Veg Stall, Whitechapel Market

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

Another I forgot to upload; this is painted from a photo I took at Whitechapel Market on an unusually hot April day. The market was bustling, full of colourful stalls; most seemed to be selling fruit and veg, or scarves. I've said before I love painting markets, and this was no exception. I was happy to catch this pair mid-transaction, a bit of human interaction makes for an interesting challenge. Though I must have re-painted that white shirt a dozen times!

It was a very challenging scene to paint generally, because of the sheer amount of stuff that's everywhere; stacks of boxes, the striped canopy folding and catching the light, the hanging blue bags... And the fact you can see through the back of the stall to the other side of the street! I hope I managed to create a cohesive painting out of it all.
 

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!

Crossing the Meadow

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

Another May plein air, this one in a different meadow near home! I was determined to try and capture the warmth of the day. But that warmth meant I had to work quite quickly, because I was becoming exhausted from sitting in the sun!

The windows were easily the hardest detail to get right; I think I had to wipe them and re-paint a few times. I've found a better technique for doing windows now, which you'll see in a newer painting I'll upload soon. In the mean time, though, I'm satisfied with how they came out here.

I also challenged myself to add a figure, one of those things I rarely do - but whenever I do, people tell me I should do it more! So it must work out all right. I hope it did this time.(Also, again with the bright buttercups - I love when they're in bloom and I'm so glad I caught them in some paintings this year!)

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.

Coloured Glass Challenge

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

For this week's challenge. I love coloured glass, the way the light shines through it and you get a combination of reflections and highlights. I realised as I was painting that you can see the lightbulb's shadow through the lightbulb itself!

This is still drying; I'm uploading it now (11 April) so I can submit it to the challenge but please bear in mind it will need additional drying time before it can be shipped.

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!

Hello Avocado

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

...I haven't tried painting you before! In fact, I'm managing quite a few painting 'firsts' lately, which is fun. I went for a much cooler colour palette here, to contrast all the reds and warm purples I've been doing lately, but I tried to keep things bright and cheerful; I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. 

Beetroot and Blood Orange

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

It's not often I get to do it, but I love using all three secondary colours in a painting! But on this occasion, I had just the subject matter; the blood orange, which I was eager to paint again, and beetroot. The leaves were an interesting challenge; I found myself treating them in an almost abstract way while blocking in the lighter and darker areas.

Red: The Sequel

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

I had so much fun with my first 'Red' painting I did another! This one might be even more vivid- the pops of green help. I was excited to paint all of these elements; the blood orange, which I'd never tried before, was great fun. The deep, mottled colour is so striking! The kiwi is a rematch - I'd tried painting one before and it came out terribly, but I think I've conquered it this time! Chilli peppers are always fun to paint, though I tend to handle them very gingerly. I am not a fan of spicy things personally! I just love the shape and colour. And cherry tomatoes, my old friends, I'll never desert you...

As with the previous works, this artwork is still a little wet at time of posting (11th April) and may need additional time to dry before being shipped.

Limited Colour: Turquoise

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

A more on-theme submission for the weekly challenge- this time using one of my favourite colours to paint with! I didn't have too many items this colour- I used a sketchbook and a shirt for backdrop, a translucent plastic plate to sit the jug on (the jug was bought in a charity shop purely for painting, and I love the shape of it!) and a spool of embroidery thread.I threw in the orange scissors as my one small thing that's a different colour, and I am really pleased I did; they balance the cool colours out. Please note that at the time of posting (6th April) this painting is still wet; I would not be comfortable shipping it for a week or two, until I'm happy it's completely dry. However I'm putting it up early so I can submit it to the Weekly Challenge page.

Bluebells

5x7" watercolour on paper. $40, Available here

This was painted from photos of a trip to Hitch Wood last year. In spring, the woods all around us brighten with a carpet of bluebells. The resulting views are stunning, and I wanted to create a little tribute to the atmosphere you get when walking through them - almost mystical!

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!

Edge of the Lake

4x10" watercolour on paper. $45 Available here 

I really like this type of 'panoramic' landscape format. I had a lot of fun painting the pine trees in this! They have such great silhouettes, I always enjoy when they pop up in a composition.

The Killary 2

5x7" watercolour on paper. $40. Available here

The second of my little Irish scenes. I really love playing with all of the different shades of green, blue and brown found in these landscapes- and trying to capture the texture of the grass and trees, and the light reflecting in the water!

The Killary 1

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

I've been having trouble with oils and acrylics lately so I've started painting watercolours again- it's been a long while since I've used them. I'm having a lot of fun, remembering all of the techniques and tricks I like using! Here's the first of two little Irish landscapes I painted a few days ago.

Before Dinner

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

I went downstairs one day and found these lovely leafy cabbages sitting on the counter. I can never resist painting them, but I had to paint quickly, before mum came downstairs to cook dinner and needed them back! I'm really happy with how this turned out, the veins on the leaves were great fun to capture.

Late Autumn Leaves 3

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

Finally back and uploading again! Here's the third of the 'Autumn' series I started last year. This tree caught my attention- it has such a great shape, and the colours were really bold and vibrant, I loved them!