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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

Commuters at King's Cross

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

A little scene of commuters in King's Cross station in London, checking timetables and phone messages while they wait for the train to arrive. In the background, you can see the crowd gathered outside Harry Potter Shop at Platform 9 3/4.

I like this part of the station- there are always people to watch, but it's quiet and open enough that no one bumps into you as they pass. I spent a long time tweaking this painting- crowd scenes are tough! I learned a lot, though.... so I may have to do some more station scenes at some point in the future.

Late Autumn Leaves 2

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

Quieter residential streets are building up a good collection of autumn leaves for scuffling through! This one had a particularly thick covering and I had to do a little painting to celebrate it before they all get blown away...

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!

Last Autumn Leaves

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

Well, perhaps not the very last, but with the winds we're getting lately, they won't last much longer! I painted this one on location, and VERY fast, as I was sure it was going to start raining while I worked... luckily it stayed dry. I'm going to have to start carrying my fingerless gloves again though... my hands got pretty cold!

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!

Vases and Bottles

6x6" acrylic on watercolour paper. $35. Buy now with Paypal 

...and a sneaky orange slice! I went digging in my still life objects crate and found this bunch of things, they've featured in my paintings in the past, but not all at once. I really enjoy seeing them together, the different shapes and colours.

Patchy Cloud In Places

6x6" acrylic on watercolour paper. $35. Available here

I've been busy the last few weeks finishing up college work, hence my lack of daily painting- but I'm hoping to get into the swing of it again soon. Here's a sky painting in anticipation of a little visit to the fens in early September- the views of the sky there are to die for! I'm really excited to go back.

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.

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

Waterfall Study

7x10" acrylic on paper. $60 Available here

Experimenting with colours, using one of my favourite subjects! I enjoyed trying to find colour in the grey rocky areas.

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.