Planning and pre-sketch

I usually try to do a quick thumbnail sketch of a scene before starting a painting.

They aren't much to write home about, scribbled quickly just to get an idea,

 I don't tend to keep them.  Recently, however, I've been working in a hard-back sketchbook,

so keeping the "scribbles" is inevitable.

For a future painting, I'm thinking acrylic on canvas,

similar to others I've done and found a free reference photo seascape.

  Sketching it out, playing with ideas.

(Rocks)

(sketched with acrylic paint)

a double page spread with a High horizon line

and then with a Low horizon line

(pencil outline)

(watercolour added)

Quick ideas but they tell me a lot.

When I start the canvas, I'll try to remember to take photos of the process

so

as they say

"Watch this space"

Plein Air at Arlington Court

Most weeks I get to paint plein air at Arlington Court

(weather permitting, of course, I try to avoid the rain!)

Last week, I set up my easel again near the house.

For one thing, the view is great, plus I seem to find a different angle most times.

Having completed this painting in the studio,

I titled it:

"The family Matthews enjoying a picnic"

There's a reason why I called it that.  I was busy painting the scene, when the Matthews family came 

along, they stopped to see what I was painting, then they wandered off and later turned up again to sit down not far from me and have their picnic.    It summed up the day, with families on their Summer 

holidays, enjoying the visit to Arlington and having a good time.  So I painted the Matthews family 

into the scene, after all they were part of it....

LOOK BACK TO 2015

I was browsing through previous blogposts and came upon this one from March 2015.  Thought you would like to see it, some of you will remember this but newbies to my blog may not have scrolled back that far...so here it is...


MARCH 2015

This is something I've done before, and the other day I decided it was time to repurpose another old acrylic canvas painting.   Having bought some plain canvas tote bags (the stronger sort not flimsy ones), I set to work and cut my canvas from the frame it was on

the point of no return

Tote measures approx. 17" x 15"

I cross-stitched the canvas onto the bag using strong thread.  This is the inside of the bag, so the stitching shows - I call it my shabby chic stitch!

That's it, one modern tote shopper with repurposed artwork.


***

Seascape

 Acrylic on canvas.

I started this painting last week at Arlington Court, part of their Fundraising Friday event.

The best part for me? - chatting to the visitors, who incidentally seemed to like seeing me paint.

Someone asked how I went about a painting, I replied...

"well, I've got plenty of colours, it's a matter of putting them on in the right order" 

Acrylic on canvas board

I was delighted when given permission by the owners of local property, to do a painting from one of their photos. They have recently added a pond to their garden and captured a great photograph with reflections across it towards their house, which happens to be Round - although that fact doesn't show in the painting (or the photo), just thought I would add that fact for you.

Here it is on my easel, before I wrapped the painting and handed it to the house owners,

my gift to them as a Thank you for letting me do the painting.

Fortunately, they were delighted with it.

For me,  I  Loved doing this painting.

Not just seascapes

I'm going to add some moorland scenes to the artwork I donate to Arlington Court.  As we are close to Exmoor, plus Dartmoor is only an hour away, it seemed to me that doing some of the scenes from these moorlands would add to the collection.

With this canvas, I gave myself permission to use lots and lots of paint.  It was very freeing actually, as I didn't work "tight", but very loose.

This measures approx:

24" x 15" (that's 60.96 x 38.1cm)