Waiting for a (very high) tide

I recently spent some time in Somerset staying with my daughter.  Naturally I had to get out to paint and explore.  Most of what I did doesn't bare sharing, but this little painting I felt was more successful.
I went to Framingham Quay, in Devon.  An interesting spot, almost opposite Appledore.  It has been developed in a touristy way, but is nonetheless worthy of a visit for its little museum, good tea room and bike rides (you can hire bikes on the spot too).

The tide goes well out, and in one of the tributaries it left a deep cut where it has washed the mud to the sides.  I found a quiet spot and painted a boat pulled so far up it would need a major spring tide to float again.  There were lots of really tatty vessels waiting for tlc, but this one had a certain workmanlike quality to it.
I really enjoyed the negative painting of the trees on the far bank, and chose to omit the frankly unattractive industrial unit on the other side of the river.  A thing that is easy for artists, but less so for conservationists!

Waiting for the tide  10x12" oils on canvas

Mud and floods

I love painting outside (Plein Air in technically arty terms) I am attracted to woodland, although I find it the most challenging of subjects.  I also love painting water, although in this case it looked more like liquid chocolate, running down from the peat moors of the North Yorkshire Moors.  I think this one begs a repeat visit, or maybe a studio version.  Now it is up on a screen in-front of me I can see lots of things to change.  In the true spirit of a Plein Air artist I don't like to alter painting much when I get home (although I will correct glaring errors and unfinished bits).

This ford crosses the road below the church where my daughter was married last October so it has special significance for me.  A few cars approached, mostly tentative, then reversed back up the hill.  Some bold locals came at speed and ploughed through in spectacular fashion.  I was in our Smart Car so resisted the temptation and drove round to the other side where I had identified my vantage point.

I have had real problems photographing my work recently.  My compact camera doesnt pick up the subtleties of colour so I have gone back to my DSLR.  It is hard to find the right spot without the light bouncing off the wet oil paint, but I have nailed it with this one. 

The sun is coming out, so I am going back this afternoon.  Bye for now.

Kirkdale ford in flood
10x12"
oils on board
plein air

Heading for the heights..

A long way to the sea
Doronne de Chaviere at Roc de la Peche
Parc National de la Vanoise
12 x 9" oils on board

Walk, wine, weather.  A heady mix, but what better way to spend a late summer Saturday in the Alps.  We hiked up to Roc de la Peche for a delicious lunch, happily my lovely husband helped carry my gear (note to self - organise lighter kit for next trip).  After lunch I went down into a ravine to paint at the side of the river (the very same that lower down the mountain was the subject of my last post). I only had a couple of hours until the sun sank behind the very high cliff alongside me, so I made haste and tried to cut short chatting to curious bypassers.

I made a good start, got the blocking in done, noted the colours of the river, which were spectacular, and the fantastic hues of the cliffside reflecting light from the water and the hillside across.  I probably got 75% of the painting under my belt before the sun slipped behind the mountian, probably sooner than it would have done had I been in a more open situation, but perhaps as well as I still had an hours trek down to where my car was parked.

I am now starting to get used to working with my limited palette of six colours plus black and white, and I think it helps give unity to the finished work as all the colours, shades and tints consist of  a really small and common collection of pigments.

I hope I get lots more opportunity to get out to paint plein air before winter closes in.  For the next four weeks I am doing an online study course dealing with values, so mostly I will be doing exercises rather than finished paintings.  Expect a short hiatus, then hopefully some improvement in my value studies!

Backwoods

Doronne de Chaviere at Pont de Gerlon
Oils on board
12x9"

It has been a few days since I got out to paint, due to being on the road and weather not being suitable (bit of a fair weather painter, me), but the last couple of days have been as lovely in the Alps as it has been in the UK

I found myself a lovely secluded spot by the river, which a couple of days before had been in spate, but now was just babbling.  I couldn't see the track, the road or people.  Idyllic.  Or so I first though.  I had previously being reading an article about someone painting in Alaska, with advice on what to do should you encounter a bear.  Being fearless, I thought about it no more.  No bears in these mountains. However,  it is remarkable what the imagination does in a quiet situation.  I spent most of the two hour session hearing crackling branches and seeing movements in my peripheral vision.  But happily no bears disturbed my peace.

In the end I packed up a) because I was chilly, b) because I was getting really confused by what I was looking at and in my efforts to simplify I kept loosing my place, and c) because we were due to meet friends for a drink.

Today I finished off what was a satisfactory start.  My natural inclination is to put in more and more detail, but seeing my efforts on the computer screen convinced me to leave it as it was, although it was the bubbling waters and little cascades that attracted me in the first place.  Review tomorrow!

I can never quite capture the wonderful colours of the glacial melt waters gushing over the stunning hues of the rocks.  I will just have to go back more often to practise.  No hardship. Bears permitting.

Still on the chocolate box trail

Hutton le Hole this time, a favourite North Yorkshire haunt of tourists, for good reason, a really pretty village and the gateway to the open moors.
The streets are narrow so no parking, which means quite a walk with kit from the official car park, and with rain threatening to boot I had to take my brolly just in case.
In some places it is useful to shade the painting from the glare of the sun, but on this occasion it was essential to protect the painting (and the artist) from the frequent downpours.

Nonetheless I had a good day, and the net effect of no sun is that the light remains fairly constant so you can work a bit longer without chasing shadows.

The stream at Hutton le Hole
oils on canvas on board
8x10"

Babbling brooks

From high up in the mountains above Pralognan the glacier melt babbles down towards the village, passing on its way a few summer hamlets. Les Prioux is one of these, and from below you can just see the roofs peeping over the hillside.
It was a lovely day but the sneaky wind meant I had to wear my husbands old sailing jacket over my shorts to keep warm. Everyone else was in full summer gear, but when you are standing still it can be chilly up high.

I am still in oil mode. This one is painted on a beige linen canvas glued to an archival board. I really like the surface to work on. I am now only using six colours plus white, it certainly makes my pack lighter to carry. I have abandoned my chair, I find oil painting easier from a standing position, but still need to carry my tripod, pochade box and an umbrella. Without the umbrella to shade the canvas it distorts the way you see colour and the finished paintings get very dark (or at least mine do!). The difficulty when it is windy is to prevent the umbrella being blown away, together with your setup. Oh the problems of being a plein air artist!

Vers les Prioux
Oils on canvas
30x30cms


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Location:Rue des Grands Prés,Pralognan-la-Vanoise,France

Plein air here we come

I finally sorted myself out with the where-withall to paint outdoor in oils. In October last when I went to Tuscany to paint with Maddine Insalaco of Etruscan Places, I had a blast with a great group of American painters, but more importantly it gave me the confidence to try the great outdoors myself. Sorting out the ideal kit isn't always straightforward and can be expensive but I managed to buy a second hand pochade box through painters-online.co.uk, so now I had no more excuses. My first sortie was about 500 metres from home, an alternative view of a much painted cottage in our village of Thornton le Dale,  North Yorkshire.
This tidy, representational style is a leftover from my days as a graphic designer, and is my fall back position when I am out of my comfort zone, in this case working outside in a relatively new medium.  As I do more I will work to be looser, but I know a lot of people who buy my work like this style.  Quandry..... but I must move on to progress.

Thornton Beck
oils on canvas
24 x 18.5 cms

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