Wine Country

5"X7" Oil on board

Every day I drive through the vineyards on my way to work. The light is lovely in the mornings but as I am habitually late I never have time to stop and take proper photographs. Sometimes I take some fuzzy low-resolutions snaps with my cell phone.

I want to try harder to capture these moments. I need to practise more painting from memory, without photographic reference. It isn't as if the photographs ever do justice to the colours anyway.

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The Winery 2

5.5″X3.5″ Pen & watercolour pencil on paper

I managed to get out to paint at lunchtime but it was a little chilly so I sat in my car. The last time I painted this was in November.

That was an embarrassing occasion. I forgot to turn my lights off and when I tried to start the car to go back to work I found that my battery was dead . I had to walk back, about a kilometer and then find someone to give me a boost. I never seem to have my cell phone when I need it either.

This little Moleskine sketchbook is really too small for this sort of subject. I need to be more selective in both my choice of subject and my treatment. I liked the way these vines retreat into the distance, even incorporating a little dip in the middle ground, a rare occurrence in this part of the world. I took some photos too, so maybe one day I will work it up, if I can ever get it together to paint some larger pieces.

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Vineyards in Snow

7″X5″ Oil on board

I started work today on a 16″X20″ piece that is an enlarged version of one of my favourites from January last year. In fact I have already revisited it once this year. It you are interested in my Monthly paintings I will be posting the WIPs on my other blog.
I wasn’ t sure whether I would get to do a smaller one too but in the end I did this. I was finishing it in twilight though so the copy isn’t very good. This is one instance where I can say with confidence that the original looks better than this.

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