TWO WEEK'S WORK

Have been painting away for the past two weeks. To follow is a chronological pictorial diary! All external pictures are plein air:

Costa take away - Oil on board 20 x 20cm

Brown carrier bag - Oil on board 20 x 20cm

Blush pink nail varnish - Oil on canvas 40 x 30cm

Four white roses - Oil on canvas 24 x 30cm

Apple treeo - Oil on canvas 24 x 30cm

Homage to Joni - Oil on canvas 24 x 30cm

Barnes common - Oil on canvas 24 x 30cm

Barnes pond - Oil on canvas 24 x 30cm

Self portrait - Oil on canvas 45 x 60cm

Mirrored flowers - Oil on canvas 40 x 40cm

Homage to Mr Buckley - Oil on board 35 x 35cm

Putney pier and posts - Oil on canvas 24 x 30cm

Bishop's Palace picknickers - Oil on canvas 24 x 30cm

Not quite sure what I'm going to do with all these pictures! The studio is getting a bit crowded. Maybe sand over them and start again!

THREE BRIDGES

Another lovely day and a chance to get out on the road. First stop, the riverbed near Mortlake railway bridge, a monument to Victorian steel work. While I was painting, a steam train puffed across it. No I hadn't been eating magic mushrooms! I guess it was one of those heritage trains. I would have caught the billowing steam trailing in its wake, but there wasn't any! Obviously burning some kind of smokeless coal ;-( First picture 8.00 - 9.30 captures the mood well. Rather poor paint strokes though. Second picture 10.00 - 11.30 has some nicer strokes, but some of the tones are a bit jumpy. Around lunchtime I cycled further on, to Strand on the green and captured a pretty scene looking down river. My first serious stab at using cobalt blue, rather than ultramarine. Boy have I been missing something!

RICHMOND & RIVERBED

Last Friday I cycled over to Richmond Park and had another go at the group of buildings behind the Royal Ballet School. I think the picture lacks style, the buildings are a bit 'stiff' and the darks are not quite dark enough, but the chromas are good and the composition OK.

This morning I walked down on the riverbed near Putney Park and captured this view of the floating bird sanctuaries, just as the tide was ebbing. I like the composition and managed to catch the quality of the early morning light shining on the orange block of flats and footbridge. Got a bit lazy with the drawing detail and the foreground. The sun was shining directly on my palette and my canvas, so I was struggling a bit trying to get the overall colour/tone balance correct, but I think it worked out.