Some alla prima indoor art at Arlington

Had a great day at Arlington Court yesterday - not my usual plein air painting in the grounds, but this time setting up my easel in the bookshop - Arlington have been fortunate to have been donated a large collection of Art related books for their shop, so it made an opportunity to have an Art in the Bookshop Day.  

Worth all the prep work and meeting some lovely visitors - plus painting an alla prima piece. This little blue chair is part of the collections at Arlington, so it was a good opportunity to paint an Indoor scene for a change. I have also Donated a collection of my artworks to Arlington, which will be on display for purchase (see images). Many thanks to the staff at Arlington for their support, you are very much appreciated 🎨

"Little Blue Chair" artwork : Oil painting 8x8inch box canvas

ref photo ↴

hopefully the above paintings will help raise money for Arlington Court

(note: I donate 75% of the raised funds to Arlington and 25% will help me buy more canvases and paints)

The beginnings of a Landscape painting

I actually remembered to do some video filming yesterday when I was painting plein air again at Arlington Court - National Trust - (click the image below, you can always scroll to speed it up!)

A random photo

I get to chat with a lot of visitors over at Arlington Court when I'm plein air painting. 

I'm guessing they take a lot of photos but I've rarely seen any of me painting.

That is until this week when a picture of me popped up in a local Facebook group....

(photo courtesy: Keith Maynard facebook)

I hadn't noticed someone taking photos, but when I'm in the painting zone anything could be happening around me and I'd be oblivious! 

🎨🎨🎨

It was a Giveaway

Last weeks painting session at Arlington Court had a change of plan.  The weather forecast was a bit grim towards the tail end of the week, so I opted to do my plein air painting session earlier in the week - thus beating the storm (which unsurprisingly didn't come to anything - the forecasters seem to have got it wrong, I wonder how that happened)!

But anyway, back to my painting session there.  Turned out to be a good day,  I had chosen a shaded area, which meant I didn't burn in the sun - Plus the painting I had started the other week, was completed...(I'll do a separate blogpost about it soon).   Added to all this, I gave away 3 paintings to some lovely visitors. These are the paintings, only small ones but there were reasons I didn't want to add them to my online shop...

Painting No. 1....  This measured 4x6inches on panel - 'The Lake at Arlington Court'  -  I had used it as a demo painting on my Youtube channel a while back - very quickly painted with no refined detailing, so felt it would make a good one to Giveaway.

Painting No. 2 ... again approx. 4x6inches but painted on cardboard (primed of course). A view across Exmoor - basically because it was on cardboard, I felt it would make a nice little Giveaway.

and finally

Painting No. 3 ... 5x7inches on panel.  This one was a piece copied from the American artist Turner Vinson (with his permission) of the Bitterroot River in Montana.  At the time I wanted to try out a completely different style, also out of my comfort zone, so what better than to try out an impressionist piece with very gestural marks and thick paint.  I enjoyed painting it, but felt I couldn't add it to my online shop, since it was a work from someone elses.  I did add the details on the reverse of this, so that the people who received this Giveaway, were fully informed (and I told them too).

During the painting session at Arlington, a lot of people stopped to chat.   No idea how, but you just get a feeling that some people would love to go home with a painting - for those, I delve into my art bag, and show them a painting, then say "here you are, it's yours".    If I said they are astonished and delighted, it would be an underestimate.   I seemed to have made their day, and hopefully they will always remember their Arlington visit.

A sunny painting day

I've missed a few painting sessions at Arlington Court recently, one main reason was due to the weather...somehow I couldn't see myself trying to hold down the easel in a ferocious gale.  

So, finally I was very pleased to get back there yesterday.  If you click the final image there's a little screenshot video....enjoy!

~ Thought the painting was beginning to blend with the background ~

~ click ⤵︎ ~

My Youtube channel:   Ann Hyde - Painting Diaries

Plein air again

Another visit to Arlington Court - oh so lucky with the weather (it has since been raining non-stop)

Turned out to be a very good day weatherwise.   I did have a major rethink on the painting - the right hand side in fact, but heyho this is how the painting process goes sometimes.  It's quite nice to change something when not sure about it. 

 

Below is where I'm in the process of changing it...taken out a large tree 

For now the painting will have to dry.

This is why Oil paintings take time

1. If you happen the change something

and

2. Waiting for paint to dry

Plein air painting

I missed plein air painting last week at Arlington Court - for one thing the weather took a definite turn for the worst.  Those in the UK will completely know what I am on about - but those who don't, I will say that after weeks and weeks of lovely sunny weather, it all came back to bite us.  (I knew it would and why not, nature has her own agenda and the balance has to be completed.  The fields were looking so dry, and as for  the gardens, they needed a watering) --- Quite why we need the HIGH WINDS TOO, is beyond me but heyho it is what it is.....meanwhile I am .... 

It's good to be back at Arlington

With Easter over now and the weather so good (in other words it has warmed up, I am not a fan of painting whilst freezing cold!) and so I have been plein air painting again at Arlington Court National Trust after what feels like months and months.  It is so good to be back there.  Can't believe how lucky we are with this weather at the moment, and making the most of it.  I guess we will pay the price with a deluge of rain at some point, nature has her ways, but meanwhile I've been painting in the open air, how wonderful again at last.

This first week back has really been about getting in a couple of warm-up sessions, to get back into it.  Even so, I have managed to do 6 hours.  Admittedly that was not painting the entire time, I stop to chat with visitors and hope they enjoyed seeing my paintings.

Now back in the studio, the paintings will dry and hopefully be ready for my visit next week.

This Oil on canvas is looking across at the house....a given subject as the canvas is happens to be 8x16 ins.

click the image below....

  I saved this clip onto my Youtube channel, hopefully it makes a good place to save videos)

Rain stopped play as they say....

This could have been my last painting session this year at Arlington Court.  The weather has definitely taken a turn towards Winter.   At least I got over there for some plein air painting, for what was a very short season.  Here's a clip of my set-up and the beginnings of a painting, before the rain - (I didn't record my frantic attempts to pack up my art supplies, by then I was soaked)!!!

(click the pic)

I'm still working on this painting

 and will add it here when completed.

Part 2 - painting plein air

 Finally  - a sunny day meant I could return to Arlington Court and 

complete the painting started the other week (see previous blogpost)

(click the image below for video)

For this session of painting plein air, I'm calling the painting Done,

although there will be one or two 'tweaks' to be added in the studio.

~ Hope you liked seeing this ~