Category Archives: New Paintings

New Paintings

Sun behind Clouds – another new watercolour

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Painting of Burnham Overy Staithe
Sun Behind Clouds – Burnham Overy Staithe. Watercolour on Waterford 300lb rough paper. 14ins x 14ins.

While walking recently at Burnham Overy Staithe there were some lovely effects of the light. Sunbeams coming from behind a cloud and a lot of reflected light from the acres of glistening mud. I took a quick snap with my phone and several days later started working on this watercolour.

It was a struggle, as it sometimes is, to resolve the lights and the darks and there were quite a few sessions in the studio before I was happy. Well, reasonably happy. Paintings are like that, sometimes they almost paint themselves, while at other times they seem to fight tooth and claw. Sometimes they win, and go on the pile of those that didn’t quite make it.

But, I feel that this one is okay now and I’ve framed it in anticipation of the West Norfolk Artists exhibition at St Nicholas Chapel, King’s Lynn which opens on the 19th September. Indeed, the painting was shown at St Nicholas and was bought by Marc from Cheshunt in Hertfordshire. Thanks Marc!

The colour palette may look slightly different to the two previous coastal scenes that I’ve posted here in the last few weeks, but actually it is only the addition of a little Alizarin Crimson to some of the mixes that makes the colour shift from blueish to greyish. The foundation colours in all three paintings are Prussian Blue and Burnt Sienna.

New Paintings

far across the beach – a coastal painting

watercolour painting of Heacham North Beach
Far across the beach – Heacham. Watercolour on Waterford 300lb rough, 14ins x 14ins.

Another one of my current series of Coast paintings. This is very local to the studio, just a few miles up the road. Heacham north beach has that combination of wide open spaces and intriguing wooden posts and groynes that just help to make an interesting combination. Add to that the ever changing light and it’s a place I could revisit endlessly and find a new painting waiting for me, every single time.

This new work is in my favourite ‘winter light’ palette of Prussian Blue and Burnt Sienna. Winter light was the feeling that I wanted to generate, but I actually made this painting just a week or so ago, in high summer. That’s part of the job of an artist, to take the basics of a composition and make it their own. Change the light, change the shadows, change the colours, anything to put your own stamp on it. The sketch or the photograph is just the starting point!

As with my previously posted painting of the Seven Sisters cliffs, this watercolour is in a square format 14 inches on each side. The work will be in a frame around 23 inches square. I’ve noticed lately that square is the new ‘must have’ shape for landscape paintings. Maybe the old ‘traditional landscape’ format is just, err, too traditional? We shall see.

New Paintings

Painting the Seven Sisters

Watercolour painting of Seven Sisters cliffs
Windswept – the Seven Sisters cliffs. Watercolour on 300lb Saunders Waterford 14ins x 14ins.

I’m back in the studio at last, making paintings not just teaching others to make paintings. Well, it’s what artists are supposed to do. Not that I don’t enjoy teaching, on the contrary, I find helping other artists very stimulating and rewarding. Plus, it keeps me in practice!

There are exhibitions coming up. The West Norfolk Artists will be holding their Summer Exhibition in September, at the newly restored St Nicholas Chapel, King’s Lynn, and in October I will be showing work in the Garden House Gallery, Cromer along with other members of the Caperac art group.

So, new work is required and I find few things more stimulating of my creativity than exhibitions on the horizon. The painting you see here is one that I just completed today and is part of a series of coastal scenes that I’m working on at the moment. Hopefully you will recognise the iconic view, the Seven Sisters cliffs on the Sussex coast near Beachy Head.

Margaret and I were down that way several years ago and I took some photos and did a sketch or two, but this composition is based on a view I found in an old newspaper photograph. I’ve completely altered the tonal and colour schemes from those in the photo and I made a few changes to the composition too. There should be some cottages in the foreground but I decided to demolish them!

The colour palette used is very minimal, with just Prussian Blue and Burnt Sienna. There is a little Alizarin Crimson and Cadmium Yellow in a couple of the mixes, but essentially this is a two colour tonal painting.

I hope you enjoy looking at this latest watercolour. I have more on the production line which I’ll show you soon.

New Paintings, Travel Sketches

Travelling paintings

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Margaret and I have been travelling around over the last couple of weeks, first over to the Norfolk Broads and then more recently down to Wiltshire. But, in between those trips, I have still been busy with teaching groups and one-to-one. The life of a working artist!

painting of norfolk cottage in the style of edward seago
Norfolk Cottage near the Sea. After Edward Seago. Watercolour on Arches 140lb rough paper 22ins x 15ins.
pen and wash painting of Pulteney bridge and weir bath
Pulteney bridge and weir, Bath. Pen and wash on Langton rough paper, 12ins x 9ins.

I would like to share a couple of recent paintings with you. Both painted en plein air, but in quite different ways. The view of a Norfolk cottage near the sea was painted at Ludham on the Broads, actually in the garden of Edward Seago’s old house, the Dutch House. The garden was open as part of Ludham Open Gardens, and a group of artists, including myself, were invited to paint in the village as part of the event. As you can imagine, it was quite a privilege to paint in the very spot where Seago’s own easel might have once stood! To make this watercolour I had to imagine a scene, as the only view actually available was of the house and garden. I used a large hake brush to work very quickly, hopefully emulating a little bit of Seago’s own loose technique. The composition is based very much on paintings of his that I’ve seen over the years. A bit of fun anyway and my thanks to Jane Seymour who currently owns the Dutch House for allowing me to paint in such a great location.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and we are currently down in Wiltshire for a break – a change of scene. Today we went into Bath for a look round this historic city. It was very warm and busy with visitors, but we managed to find a bench in the shade along the bank of the Avon. From there I had an excellent view of Pulteney bridge and weir, so I soon pulled out my sketchbook. Travelling light, I’d only taken pen and wash equipment to Bath, but that’s the perfect medium for a subject like this. It took quite a bit of careful pen work to get the bridge and surrounding buildings established, and I tried hard not to put in too much but to simplify. A few washes completed the painting, applied with a medium size flat brush, yes only one brush, using my Daler-Rowney watercolour box. Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, French Ultramarine and Cadmium Yellow were the colours used. A very enjoyable hour or so!

Art Events, New Paintings

Two gone at Thornham

Over the past weekend I’ve just taken part in an excellent mixed exhibition with the West Norfolk Artists Association. The venue was the new Thornham village hall, on the North Norfolk coast. Forty artists submitted work, all on a ‘Coast’ theme and the show really did look good.

I’m very pleased to say that two of of my watercolours were sold at the event, both to the same buyer, a matching pair! I’ve shown one of them before on this blog, a few months ago, but here’s the chance to see both of them together. For the watercolour artists among you, most of the painting is just the white of the paper (Waterford 140lb rough), with the image simply painted using a large sable hair brush. The paintings are really monochromes, but the colours used are mixed from French Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, and a tiny touch of Scarlet Lake. Hopefully a good example of ‘less is more’.

Painting in watercolour of boats at Burnham Overy
Misty Days – Burnham Overy Staithe 2. Watercolour 15ins x 11ins
Watercolour painting of mist at Burnham Overy Staithe
Misty Days at Burnham Overy Staithe 1. Watercolour 15ins x 11ins

New Paintings, Tutorials

A Tuesday Watercolour

Every few weeks I run an afternoon watercolour group here at the studio, usually on a Tuesday. Obviously these groups had to take a break while we were travelling in Australia, but now they are back on track.

The first session of the year was yesterday afternoon, when we had some lovely sunshine on the studio. Not warm enough to work outside though! These session s are in “paint along with Steve” format, so I do a demonstration at the easel and the group paint along step by step. You can see my own painting here, the subject being a well known Norfolk landmark, Weybourne windmill. Weybourne is up on the North Norfolk coast, not far from Sheringham.

Watercolour painting of Weybourne Mill
Spring at Weybourne Mill. Watercolour on Arches 140lb rough, 15ins x 11ins.

The key to any representational painting such as this can be summed up in one word – drawing. It doesn’t have to be absolutely accurate in terms of the exact size or shape of the objects, but what is so important is that nothing must look wrong. Another artist once said to me “don’t worry about everything being right, just make sure that nothing looks wrong”. Hopefully I managed to achieve this with the painting of the mill.

The actual painting itself is simple, with a limited palette of Ultramarine Blue, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Cadmium Yellow Pale. The sky is a graduated wash of Ultramarine fading to Raw Sienna near the horizon. While it was still damp I lifted out some clouds with a scrunched up piece of paper towel, using a rolling motion.

If you would like to join me for one of these session just get in touch using the details on my Contact page. The next two will be on Tuesday 24th March and Tuesday 14th April. Early booking is essential as I can only take six participants per session. The cost is £20 per person.

New Paintings, Travel Sketches

A Tasmanian Odyssey

As I write this post we have already left Tasmania behind and are up in Sydney on the final leg of our Australia trip. As so often happens when I’m travelling, the amount of painting that I actually manage is very modest. the time fills up with actually going from place to place, and simply looking at things rather than painting them.

Painting of Cape Bruny Tasmania
Cape Bruny, Tasmania. Watercolour on Arches 140lb rough, size A3.

However, while of the beautiful island of Tasmania I did manage to get my painting gear out on one occasion, because I just couldn’t resist this scene of Cape Bruny, at the southern tip of Bruny Island. The weather was very British, that is wild, windy and threatening rain, but the Cape provided a dramatic scene from a viewpoint on the long winding gravel road that leads to the lighthouse and a small museum.

There have been many other scenes that have made me think “I must paint that, but I haven’t got time now”. Thankfully, the digital camera can act as a notepad until more time is available. And that may well not be until we are back in good old Blighty.

New Paintings, Travel Sketches

New Year paintings from Down Under

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Happy New Year to you all. I hope it will be a good on for all artists and art lovers. Particularly I hope it will be a healthy year, as if you don’t have good health then life becomes much more difficult, as we are finding with Margaret’s broken ankle. But, she’s hopping around and has been for a few rides in the wheelchair, so we’re on the right track. The plaster should come off in early February.

Meanwhile, at the coalface of art, I have not managed to find much time to paint, but I have managed a little. Here are two new paintings both done using my travelling watercolour kit that I squeezed into the already bulging suitcase.

The Lighthouse at Split point, Great Ocean Road
The Lighthouse at Split Point, Great Ocean Road. Watercolour on Arches 140lb rough paper 20ins x 14ins.

The first painting was done after a visit to Split Point lighthouse, on the coast of Victoria near the start of the Great Ocean Road. We were touring round of few of the villages that dot that part of the coast, all with very British names such as Torquay and Anglesea. We stopped at the lighthouse, which makes an imposing view, and I might have hauled out the easel there and then. Except, the car park was jammed with cars and there were several million flies ready as eager onlookers. So, a few quick photos, and the painting was done later on at my “Ocean Grove studio” where we were staying as guests of our good Aussie friend Merridy.

Maryborough Back Yard
The Back Yard at Maryborough, Victoria. Watercolour on Arches 140lb rough paper 20ins x 14ins.

Merridy also has a house in central Victoria, near the town of Maryborough,and that’s where we are now. A very different place to Ocean Grove, with the emphasis on farming, vineyards, and the country life. The house in in 20 acres of paddocks and woodland, so I wandered out late one afternoon and found this typical Australian back yard view, with rather arid soil, eucalyptus gumtrees and a few bits of fencepost and old corrugated iron scattered around. I did the painting on the spot, using an old shed for shade as the temperature was pushing 35 degrees Centigrad. Phew! Even hotter today, over 40 but thankfully some rain has come and it’s cooled off. I had intended to paint another different scene today but suddenly realised, I’m out of paper! Next stop the art shop.

New Paintings, Travel Sketches, Uncategorized

Paint out Australia

Further to my last post, we have now made it down to Ocean Grove, on the coast south-west of Melbourne. Here we have a good friend, Merridy, and are staying at her house on Dare Street. The house has a great view out over the Bass Strait and it also has a lovely deck area which I managed to commandeer for a few hours painting.

Studio on the deck at Dare Street
Painting in progress, on the studio deck at Dare Street. Berwon Head can just be seen in the far distance.

So, here you can see the “studio” with a painting on my super lightweight travelling easel. The easel is assembled from a camera tripod on to which I have fitted a piece of thin plywood. To do this I used a tripod adaptor which I bought before leaving the UK, from Ken Bromley Art Supplies. The adaptor fits in the head of the tripod just as a camera would do, and screws to a small piece of fairly thick wood which is then glued to the plywood. Very light in weight and quite sturdy.

The painting on the easel is a view from our “home” out towards a local landmark, Berwon Head. There was a terrific sunset over the Head the other evening and I knew I would have to paint it. The next morning I set up the easel where I had a good view and managed to recreate the sunset from my visual memory. Well it may not be exactly like it, but it’s close enough! The tricky part of the painting was the foreground, as I wanted to give an impression of the trees that lie between us and the sea, without doing anything detailed. Hopefully I managed to achieve that, by a combination of painting round negative shapes, and scraping out damp paint with a small, blunt, knife that I carry for that purpose.

The colours used were French Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Scarlet Lake and just a touch of Raw Sienna in the sky. I hope you enjoy it and I will bring you more from the down under studio soon!

Painting of Sunset over Berwon Head
Sunset at Berwon Head, Ocean Grove, Victoria, Australia. 20ins x 14ins on Arches 140lb rough paper.

New Paintings

More new paintings

G’day everybody, from the Yarra Valley east of Melbourne. As regular readers of this Blog will know, we are touring out here to escape the worst of the British winter! It hasn’t all been plain sailing, Margaret broke her ankle in a hiking accident so the rest of the tour will feature a wheelchair as well as an easel among my paraphernalia.

The result of all this is that the art gear has not seen any action yet. But I’m sure it will. Meanwhile, here are a couple more recent paintings that I completed just before we left the UK. One is of a boat at Burnham Overy Staithe, always a favourite subject of mine, where I have created what I hope is a misty feel by leaving a great deal of white paper and using a very limited palette of colours.

The second painting shows a view across the fields to Snettisham church, a very prominent local landmark. Again, just a few colours used, with stronger tonal values and colours in the foreground to give a feeling of depth.

Nest time I post here, I hope to be able to show a painting or two of Australia. there are many fascinating subjects here, although we haven’t seen any kangaroos yet!

Misty days, Burnham Overy Staithe
Misty Days 2 – Burnham Overy Staithe. Watercolour 14ins x 10ins.
Across the fields to Snettisham Church
Across the Fields to Snettisham Church. Watercolour 15ins x 11ins.