7"X5" Oil on board
As the lakers pass through the canal they are followed by a flock of hungry gulls. The trees are at that point where they look just as if they have had a dry brush of yellow green dragged across them, only a few more days and they will be in full leaf.
I switched back to oils for this one. No particular reason really, just wanted a change. It would probably have been easier with acrylics as there was no blending required to speak of, and quite a lot of light over dark and dark over light. It might be a good idea to use a little more logic in my decision making
5″X7″ Oil on panel
Another beautiful Spring day. The trees are just starting to put out their first leaves, still more yellow than green and thin enough that the shadows are still quite skeletal.
I went to a lovely choral concert this evening, mostly madrigals. The weather turned quite stormy this evening and the rain was pounding on the roof of the church providing atmospheric accompaniment. I did a sketch of the performers which I might post at a later date.
9″X6″ oil on board
We hear a lot about April showers but it is April sunshine that we really love.
This one is from a photograph, not taken with my lovely new DSLR but an ultra low-resolution shot taken with my phone. I find that these can be quite successful if I am painting a view with which I am very familiar, like this one which I pass every day on my way to work. It is as if the scene is etched onto my brain and the snapshot is just an aide-memoir. They are fun but so incredibly easy as to seem a little like shooting fish in a barrel. I am not sure why I think that painting should be hard, but I feel a little guilty unless I have sweated over it.
5″X7″ Oil on board
Every once in a while I seem to need to torture myself with something like this. I think that I could practise every day for a decade and I still probably wouldn’t get it right, but maybe I should try. I am referring of course to the juxtaposition and overlapping of reflection and shadow. Made all the more interesting by the fact that the shadow was completely absent, or rather the patch of sunlight was, after about the first five minutes.
5″X7″ Pencil on paper
Horse chestnuts are so elegant. I will try to draw this one again when the candles are out, it should make an interesting contrast.
5″X7″ Watercolour on paper
Same spot as the other two, looking slightly north-east this time. It made a change to work with watercolour, instead of watercolour pencils, today although I did resort to pencil again for some of the finer lines.
5″X7″ Pencil on paper
These daily paintings and drawings serve a dual purpose for me. They are partly to provide exercises in still-life that will ultimately improve my technique. The other purpose though is to work out compositions and ideas, with a view to one day creating larger works. Most of my weekday pencil studies fall into the latter category. For years I have been driving around the Region seeing things that I think might make a good painting, but I rarely do anything about it. Now I have dozens of thumbnails which I can study on the computer and decide which ones work best. All I have to is find some time to do some larger paintings!
5″X7″ Pencil on paper
I am spoiled for choice now. Every day I see half a dozen things I want to paint. I love the light coming through the trees. This season is so short, before we know it the weather will be hot and too humid to move.
6″X4″ Oil on panel
Crocii, everyone says crocuses these days. My built in spell checker even has a red line under it. Whatever, they are one of the first flowers of Spring. These came in a pot though, still nothing in the garden. It snowed again this morning.
This painting can be purchased in my Etsy shop
crocii