Summer Greens

I Needed a change today from all the blues and greys of the English landscape this time of year so I trawled through my reference library and worked up this small oil sketch.

Shipley Park

Managed to get out today. Went to a local nature reserve at Shipley Park. There was a biting wind and towards the end my hands were that cold I was struggling to hold the brush. I continued with the theme of bright light reflected off the water's surface. The study is on a 12x10 oil primed linen canvas.

Floods

Couldn't get out to paint today as I'd hoped - the weather was too bad. A blanket of freezing fog hung over the house today. I rummaged through some photo references and found one I liked. It was a snapshot of the recent flooding of the Erewash near Ilkeston. What caught me eye was the intense light on the water accentuated by the low sombre tones of the landscape. I decided to work up a small oil study based on the photo reference. I used a limited pallette of Titanium white, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine and Cerulean Blue. It was painted on a 10x8 muslin covered, oil primed MDF panel.

Work in progress

A bit of a deparure from the norm this one. I have been working on a small oil painting form a combination of imagination and memories. I have been trying to capture the slightly surreal feeling that stems from being alone watching the sunset. Although the painting seems to be starting to work, it still needs something but, at this moment, I'm not sure what. Perhaps I will leave it alone for a few days and hopefully it will start to speak to me. Sometimes you need to do that with a painting.