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.

Bole Hill Quarry

This is the view from Bole Hill Quarry looking out over Grindleford. It is a popular Peak District location for rock climbers and I did this painting sat on a rock about 40 feet up. I had to laugh when a I saw a couple walking along the path in the picture and lady said to her partner "Look up there. There's a man on a Laptop!" - I suppose my pochade box is a sort of low-tech computer :)



Oil on Gesso'd board, 8x6

Distant City

Here is a view from Ringinglow on the edge of the Peak District, looking down towards sheffield. On a clear day it is said that with binoculars you can see landmarks over 40 miles away, but the day I painted this it was quite hazy.



Oil on Gesso'd card, 7x4.5

Holyhead Mountain

I've just spent a week on the beautiful Welsh island of Anglesey, with its mixture of rural and seaside scenary. It was a family holiday so I didn't really expect to do any painting. However, I did manage to sneak a couple in, whilst out walking the dog :) I took absolutely loads of photographs as well, to keep me painting when the weather is too bad to venture out.



oil on Gesso'd card, 7x5

Dead Tree

I've not had much chance to get out and paint lately, largely down to the usual combination of work and rain. I've not been wasting my time, though. I've made a lightweight pochade out of a cigar box that I plan on taking away on holiday with me, in a few weeks time. Here's a painting I did, in between showers, to test it out...



oil on Gesso'd card, 7x5

Country Lane

This scene is right on the edge of the Peak District National Park. It's one of my favorite spots, with beautiful farmland views on all sides, except just to the right of where I painted, you can see the city of Sheffield in the distance. There is a bench at top of the lane where I often sit when I need to do some thinking. Today, I just painted.



Oil on gesso'd card, 8x6