A PAINTER’S PROGRESS
The sky in the photo is packed with clouds and the light seems to be suffocated. Underneath however the landscape is several tones brighter and there is a distinct contrast between sky and land. I really like this effect, the landscape has a dappled appearance and although the trees are quite similar in colour they are distinctly defined. Its a quintessentially English high summer the kind Constable would have painted.
The Thames from Richmond Hill. Day 3
These are the conditions that I have been creating all my life in order to reduce the number of distractions that could get in the way of my painting. However today has been most upsetting, too much is going on including a dinner date with the wife. Anyway, have managed to make some kind of progress with the painting and I am liking the way the sky is appearing.
The Thames from Richmond Hill. Day 2
Its feels quite a privilege to be able to paint such a significant view and it didn’t involve any dangerous mountain crossings or hiring expensive hotel rooms. I didn’t even have the inconvenience of taking the train to London and then onto Richmond. I do know the area quite well but at the time had no inclination to paint any of the views. This is not a homage to Turner, I have already introduced my dolly mixture of trees and I am liking the way it looks. The sky is very interesting in the photo but I am tending to leave this out at the early drawing stage as I like to see the clarity of the horizon line.
The Thames from Richmond Hill. Day 1
Some of the trees have been reduced to dots and dabs, the colours range from naturalistic to sherbet oranges that bare little resemblance to what is actually there. I am liking the most abstracted elements of this painting as these are the areas that offer the most surprise. The foreground came around very quickly and is more like a quick sketch of what is there but for me I prefer my rendition to the reality. I think this is where I am going with my painting. Next painting, ‘The Thames from Richmond Hill’. I don’t know if this is a departure in that I normally paint views that I am familiar with. This painting is finished.
View over Harbottle.
It seems like I want to paint every tree, for someone that is not that patient this can be a little tedious. My limited patience is being rewarded and the painting has got to a point now when it is starting to work. I like the foreground and it has come around fairly easily.
View over Harbottle. Day 6
No need to panic, this happens to everyone and no ‘painters block’ on the horizon. The painting is actually going well and there is no end of subject matter to motivate me so expect normal service will resume tomorrow. I have cleared a space in my diary (not difficult) and I think the enthusiasm has returned. A grabbed hour on a Friday evening before midnight.
View over Harbottle. Day 5
of the fan and the high temperatures means that even in my comfortable and privileged setting I am suffering a little bit. I have never believed that I should suffer for my art, art is difficult enough without having to suffer as well. I will tough it out this year but if these are the summers of global warming then I will invest in an AC unit which will only make global warming worse, but my art comes first. Painting is going well. Its only when you spend hours looking at the same landscape do you start to see all the very odd shapes of the trees and markings in the fields.
View over Harbottle. Day 4
Another tortuous afternoon in the studio, 28C again and only tolerable with a powerful fan. I do wonder how much an AC system would cost, the last two summers here have not been this hot. I like the way this painting is going, stylistically its a bit different to the previous one though no worse for it. There is a quality that reminds me of Michael Andrews, I think it has to do with the colour, low contrast and slightly soft focus effect.
View over Harbottle. Day 3
This is not me being ultra motivated, this is being wide awake at 4am and not being happy with the start I made on the painting yesterday. The drawing part was fine, but the painting was heading in a whimsical and too surreal direction even for me. Just a couple of hours before breakfast got me back on track and I will do some more later today. Happy with the direction its now taking. Version below is post breakfast.
View over Harbottle. Day 2
I am reluctant to give up a winning formula, I am rarely in such a position, so its more of the same with a panoramic view of Harbottle. This is seen from a famous landmark called Drake Stone. Its a half hour scramble up a steep hill where there is an enormous ‘free standing’ stone on top of a grassy hill. It looks quite out of place, if it were in Ireland there would be some kind of myth around a giant living at the top of the hill. Anyway, learning from recent lessons I have placed the castle of Harbottle on the extreme right, not recognisable now, and truthfully, I wasn’t aware that it was in the photo. I am now thinking of scouting out some hill climbs in Northumberland as I like these elevated views.
View over Harbottle. Day 1
A brief moment of satisfaction when you are sat on your comfortable studio chair scanning your painting for weak areas to resolve, and you can’t find any. And even rarer still when you are satisfied with the conclusion and all the decisions that were made. It won’t last long, there is always the next painting. I am especially pleased, for some reason, with the large farmhouse on the right. As soon as you put a building in a landscape it takes too much attention, but this sits quietly off to the side. Next painting I have already decided on, but I have an urge to paint the classic’ View of the Thames from Richmond Hill’. I saw a rather good photo of this scene.
View, Northumberland
It keeps me interested, and as the pictures are slowly improving over time it does make me think that all I have to do is work and the rest will take care of itself. It is proving to be that way and with each passing month as the list of must do house renovations diminishes painting is taking priority. Now I am coming to a clear run of 20 years of painting, probably not enough time. Its never enough. Bit more to go with this painting.
View, Northumberland. Day 4
The foreground is quite detailed and as patience is not my forte I was hoping that some kind of impressionistic solution would suffice. Looking afresh at it today I knew that would be a half baked attempt at a painting, and I don’t do half baked, especially if I know what the proper solution is. I have moved it forward today and it has improved again. It still needs a lot more on the foreground but I know it will be worthwhile. I am liking the three banded effect of the trees in the foreground and I could probably improve this, the painting will be better for it.
View, Northumberland. Day 3
A thunderstorm is imminent, the clouds were heavy but were a palette of muted purples and greys. I have got the forms of the clouds but have ramped up the colour. The landscape is pretty much as is. Interesting differences stylistically between the foreground and the rest of the painting, don’t know if I will change it much, I do like it. There is a lot of brightly highlighted leaves in the foreground and I still think I will add all these in.
View, Northumberland. Day 2
The plan this afternoon was to do an hour of painting and then go cycling, knowing all the time that if I start painting I wouldn’t be able to stop. So it turned out. What attracted me to this scene is the lower third, there are three distinct bands of trees. In the foreground the tops have caught the sun and so its a pattern of oranges and bright greens. The mid band all the trees are dark olive and the top band the trees are a mid blue/green. There are heavy clouds and no direct sunlight so everything is in a mid tone, but I think I want to create a bit more contrast in the sky.
View, Northumberland. Day 1
I am dedicating this painting to Edward Burra, whose only landscape in Northumberland is called Valley and river, Northumberland. There are several rivers in Northumberland and as he has given no information as to the paintings location, this scene will remain a mystery forever. I have titled mine ‘View, Northumberland’ and as there is no river, scholars and historians only have fields to work with. With my wobbly draughtsmanship and generous use of artistic license only I will know its location.
View, Northumberland. Day 1
Maybe for some, but there is a consistency to the manic paint application and mark making throughout the painting which I like. The hedge as a subject seems quite ordinary and its in the struggle to make it more than this that I find interesting. I remember a tutor telling me don’t put mountains or sunsets in your landscapes, I would add cows and sheep to that, but for different reasons. Its the transformation of the ordinary, that is the challenge, but its also the most difficult thing to do. For me this is the direction that I should be following. The painting is finished.
Old hedge
28C in the studio, I was using the wife’s fan that she uses in the leisure centres when teaching Zumba. The lowest setting was too much and with the highest setting I think I could have flown to Paris. I had a choice, use the fan and not listen to my Spencer Davis cd that I have been listening to on repeat for the last 6 weeks, or listen to the cd and melt. I chose to use the fan. Ironically when I finished at 7pm it was cooler outside than in the studio. Painting going well though its not quite finished yet. I think the cloud is stolen from Chagall, but not intentionally.
Old hedge. Day 3
My way of saying that the garden is a long term source of painting inspiration. This is no surprise as there are many examples of artists using it. I can now see a case for taking more of an interest in the garden and planning longer term with this in mind. I am also aware that my focus is now zooming in and the expansive skies and horizon line are not so important. This is not permanent, I have already seen a local landscape view that may be the next painting.
Old hedge. Day 2
This garden and property is a bit like Venice, there is an old decaying splendour to everything. Old parts are not straight, the stonework of the cottage has been battered over the centuries. This corner of the garden in particular is past its prime. The hedge was overshadowed by two one hundred year old apple trees which came down in a storm in 2018. I had the pleasure of removing both stumps, which took quite an effort. Its in the oldest parts of the garden where all the interest lies, like this hedge.
Old hedge. Day 1