House at the edge of a field

A quick afternoon painting, done while out cycling. I didn't have long, Today and the weather looked like it would let me down at any minute - luckily it stayed dry. I'm quite pleased with the result but am still struggling a bit with stone colours using my limited palette...



4 colour oil on gesso'd card, 7x5.

Owler Bar

Owler Bar, looking towards North-East Derbyshire. I spotted the field where I painted this last week, while out cycling. At the time there were large bales of freshly cut hay, which I thought would be great to paint. When I arrived there today they had gone, so I sat at the edge of the field and painted the view, instead.



4 colour Oil on gesso'd card, 7x5.

Stanage Edge

Stanage Edge is a popular climbing spot in the Peak District and a very familiar landmark for me when out cycling, in the hills. I was out on such a ride when I spotted a well placed bench at the edge of the road. Part way through the painting I looked round to find myself surrounded by inquisitive sheep. They have an uncanny knack of creeping closer while you're not concentrating on them and freezing as soon as you look up!



Oil on Gesso'd card, 7x5

A Gap Between Showers

A quick painting by my standards. It had been threatening to rain all afternoon but I had to get out and paint something...



Oil on Gesso'd card, 7x5

More Cycle Painting

I painted this one while out cycling in the Peak District. I recently bought a brilliant little tool container that fits into the second water bottle cage on my bike. It is just large enough to fit my four tubes of paint, two short handled brushes and a single dipper - it means I can travel lighter than before and always have my paints with me.



Oil on Gesso'd card, 7x5

Buttercup Field

I painted this study slightly smaller than usual to fit a cut little frame that I found at a car boot sale...



Oil on Gesso'd board, 5x3

Cycle Sketching

It's been a while since I posted anything here, the usual mix of deadlines and rain are to blame. The weather seems to have improved a little over the last week so I've been out on the bike looking for things to paint. I managed almost one painting per day and am aiming to keep up the momentum. I'm still using the same limited palette as the previous couple of posts...







Oil on Gesso'd board, 7x5

Barn

Continuing on with the 4 colour theme; this is a view from a local picnic spot, looking over an Alpaca farm. They were quite a site when first introduced a good few years ago, but I'm used to them now. They're just like sheep with longer necks :)



Oil on Gesso'd board, 7x5

Brown Hills Lane

At the weekend I watched the latest DVD release from Townhouse films: Oil Sketching on Location with Robert Brindley. I gained a lot from watching, party due to Robert's commentary being so interesting and thorough but mainly because he painted all the demonstration images using just the three primary colours and white.

I've always enjoyed mixing colours and as I often cycle to the places I paint, the thought of travelling light really appealed to me, so I gave it a try this afternoon. The time it took set up my palette was less than usual and I didn't struggle at all with mixing colours. I liked the fact it forced me to study the subject more and think about exactly how to mix the each colour. All in all a very enjoyable experience - one that I will be repeating.



Oil on Gesso'd board. 8x6

Owler Tor

It's still very cold up in the hills, so I've taken a leaf from Trevor Chamberlain's book and have been sitting in the car with my Pochade. Today when I painted this, it was raining and sleeting intermittently, but I was lovely and warm. The hard part is finding somewhere to park along the country roads when you spot something worth painting...



Oil on Gesso'd board, 8x6

More Car Sketching

Quite a miserable, rainy day but I'd rather sit in the car and draw than walk round a busy supermarket...




Sailor fountain pen, Noodlers Bulletproof ink, Moleskine A6.

Sketching Practice

It's been so long since I've posted anything on my blog, I'm suprised (but glad) that anyone is still following it. I didn't have a very productive end to 2010 in terms of getting out and painting, constant deadlines at work and then the early snow saw to that. Still, it gave me time to reflect on what I managed to achieve and how I would like to build on that in the coming year.

One area I felt I needed to concentrate on was my observations drawing, particulary outdoors. It is something I enjoy and can squeeze into the limited time available, at the moment. The sketches below were drawn in the car park of our local supermarket with the exception of the first one, which I drew from an upstairs window at home.









Sailor fountain pen, Noodlers Bulletproof ink, Moleskine A6.