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.
 

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.

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!

November Sunset

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

We've been getting some great sunsets recently! This one was so dramatic and vibrant that I had to paint it. I've found that keeping the brushstrokes very loose is the best way to convey the movement of the clouds, and sometimes I struggle with that because I want to add minute detail to everything. But I think that in this painting, I stopped at just the right point!

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...

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!

October Orange

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. On sale- $22! Available here

If there's one colour I associate with autumn, it's that rich orange of pumpkins and leaves... I'm having great fun painting with it! Here's a little arrangement I put together as an exercise in low-key painting; I love the way the dark background really accentuates the vibrant colours.

Munchkin Pumpkin

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. On sale; $22! Available here

Autumn is really here, and it's pumpkin season! Here's a mini one, which the supermarket labelled a "munchkin pumpkin." I kept the background fairly simple- I'm still experimenting with back-lighting in my still lives, and I feel it really worked here.

Wonky Marrow II

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

Wonky marrow study for the Different Light challenge. I did Daylight, then moved to a different part of the house to play with stronger lighting.

I had to improvise a bit here, as I only have one light and it's very specific about the bulbs it'll take. I stuck two rulers to the side of my desk, suspended a sheet of orange coloured paper between them, and shone my spotlight through it so that the paper acted as a filter. It was like working in a darkroom under red light as I was painting, which I found strangely calming, I quite enjoyed it. I'm happy with the result too! I've added a comparison to III so you can see the different lights in action.

The Bonfire

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. SOLD

A study of a bonfire at a family get-together from early September. Night scenes are so much fun to paint! And I'm slowly growing more confident with adding figures in to my works as well.

Golden Autumn

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

It's almost October and the trees are starting to turn golden! I can't wait to get out and paint them. It's my favourite time of year for plein air...

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.

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...)

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.

Cantaloupe

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

I love the warm orange colour of the cantaloupe, contrasting with the cool but bright backdrop. I had a lot of fun playing with the colours here!

Hi Viz- Street Corner Gathering

15x21cm (A5) Acrylic on Watercolour Paper. $45. Available here

Following on from my previous painting, I gave green hi-viz a shot. I had a bit of a struggle with the background, but found working on the figures very satisfying- they more or less painted themselves.

Hi-Viz: A Quick Break

15x21cm (A5) Acrylic on Watercolour Paper. $45. Available here

Each time we go to London, I find my attention drawn to all the workers in Hi-Viz. The fluorescent oranges and greens are so striking. I've been putting off painting them because I kept thinking "will everyone else just think I'm crazy?" And then I realised I should be painting what I want, and not worrying so much about what others think. Sometimes it's hard, when a painting gets next to no views, or people ask you what the point of it is. After all, you find your own artistic voice by experimenting and following your own intuition, not by chasing the expectations of others.

That said, I do hope you don't think I'm crazy... I just like mixing bright colours haha

Daisies and Buttercups

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

The taller daisies that I collected were the perfect height to sit in my favourite little tapered glass. I'd also found some little buttercups, which were too short to sit in any vase I could find. Instead I laid them in a saucer with some water. I'd like to collect a few more for painting- a trip to the meadow down the road may be in order... Their rich yellow colour is fantastic to mix.