The River, March

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

Here's another plein air from earlier this week- the first sunny day we've had in ages! It was so lovely to feel the warmth on my shoulders as I sat painting. I had been heading to a spot further along the path, but when I crossed the bridge and glanced over at the river I knew I'd found my subject! I loved how the light was hitting the water, and bringing out the uneven shapes of the riverbanks. This is almost entirely done on location- I've included a pic of it in my pochade box on Daily Paintworks- just a few stray brushstrokes touched up when I got home.

Longmead From The Woods

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

Here's a recent plein air painting- I was testing out my new, larger pochade box! I love it, it's still light to carry and easy to use. I've painted in this location before, last summer, with all the trees full and green. It looks very different in late winter- you can see through them to the meadow and the houses on the other side of it. I'm really looking forward to recording the way it changes through the seasons this year!

Fog and Pines

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

I'm finally getting back into using oil paints a bit! They work really well for these cold, foggy scenes. Here, the path led up a hill which was lined with pine trees; the fog was quite thick, and you couldn't see that far ahead, but it created a really beautiful, eerie atmosphere.

Misty January Morning

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

Trying to capture that cold, winter morning feeling. I really enjoyed how this path curved through the landscape!

Frosty Field

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

We still haven't had any proper snow this year, but sometimes the frost on the grass lasts well into the day, as it did on this occasion. As we walked along, pheasants darted across the path up ahead of us- probably six or seven of them at least.

Foggy Field

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

The first in a series of paintings based on a walk I went on recently. It was incredibly cold and foggy, with frost still clinging to the grass in some areas. It's been really fun trying to capture the atmosphere of the countryside on a winter morning!

Snowy Sunset

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

Capturing the subtle colours of snow is quite a challenge!

The Fountains At Night

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

There are several little fountains in the town centre- a group of little jets of water, springing up from the pavement. At night they're lit by coloured spotlights, giving them a beautiful glow, and they reflect wonderfully on the wet ground. This was a real challenge to paint and I'd like to return to the subject at some point, maybe on a larger scale so I can show them in more detail!

The Town Centre At Christmas

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

This is another of our town's Christmas trees, this one is on a main shopping street. I had to exaggerate the height of the buildings to make the composition balanced, because it really towers over everything otherwise!

Christmas Lights

6x8" acrylic on canvas board, $45. Available Here

Several of the main roads in town have been decked out with colour-changing canopy lights- they look fantastic! I really enjoyed wandering around and seeing all the decorations against the dark sky- I don't usually go out in the evening so it was a lot of fun! There was a great atmosphere in town, too- lots of people out shopping, or stopping in a sheltered spot for a chat.

Christmas Tree, Broadway Gardens

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

I've really been enjoying painting night scenes lately, so expect quite a few! They're extra fun at Christmas, with all of the festive lights. Here's one of the big trees decorating our town centre- the building you see behind it is the old town hall.

Christmas Shoppers

4x5" acrylic on canvas board. $30. Available here

I felt like trying a different subject, so here's something you don't see very often from me- a sort of 'street scene' with figures! Here, Christmas shoppers head out into the rainy evening with their bags. You can see the shopping centre's entrance decorated with icicle lights in the background.

Snowy Evening

6x6” oil on canvas board. $40
Available on Daily Paintworks here

Here's a late-evening scene of a snowy field. I find it really interesting painting snow at different times of day. It goes through many different colours as the light changes.

The End Of Winter

6x6” oil on canvas board. $40
Available on Daily Paintworks here

​ I'm trying to get better at painting buildings, and including them in landscapes- here's a painting of a little village in the shadow of a mountain, with snow slowly melting away along the side of the road. Now that we're finally hitting the (supposedly) end of winter, I'm... painting lots of snow scenes. Nothing like being out-of-season with your art!

I'm really happy with the colours in this painting, I like the range of blues and reds.

Melting Snow

6x6 inches, oil on canvas board. $40
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Snow is melting to form a murky puddle among the pine trees.

Blue Mountains

4x4 inches, oil on canvas board. $25

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Here's a little landscape composition where I was practicing atmospheric perspective. I really like the brushstrokes in the foreground, capturing the different shades of brown in the grass. ​

Winter Light

5x7 inches, oil on canvas board. ON HOLD

Here's a snowy scene for this week's DPW challenge- expect more winter landscapes soon too. Here I started with a thin wash of burnt sienna, and then worked into that with white and a brown made from burnt sienna and ultramarine. I love sculpting tree branches out of negative space, layering the strokes to give the impression of light filtering through them. I'm really pleased with how this came out.

Also, I've finally found a perfect spot for photographing my paintings- so no more waiting for them to dry so I can scan them!

Snowy Field Before Sunrise

7x5 inches, oil on canvas board. $20 - £13.49 - €18.33 – C$ 27.76

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This is a little scene where I was trying to convey an early morning atmosphere- where it's light enough to see, but the sun hasn't really risen yet. It's very subtle lighting that I will probably need many attempts at to really master. Most of the brown fields are exposed, but patches of snow remain from the day before.

Partly from a reference image, partly from imagination / memory.

Sauze d'Oulx Street

5x7 inches, oil on canvas board. $18   Place a Bid

This was painted from a photograph my dad took while staying in Sauze d'Oulx, a ski resort town in Turin, Italy. I had great fun trying to capture the way the light fell on the snow, and the colours of the shadows.