Mevagissey harbour

Here is a studio painting done for a commission a couple of months ago. A colleague of mine asked me to paint the harbour of Mevagissey (Cornwall) so she could give the painting as a present to her husband for his 40th birthday, as this is his favourite place. She gave it to him on his birthday as they were spending holiday in Mevagissey and he was really happy with it, which is great news.

Mevagissey harbour  12"x9"  oil on board

I loved the focal point of the bright white boats and the softer purple tints made by the buildings in the background:

detail

I found the reflections in the water particularly fun to paint:

detail 2

Here is below the picture of my colleague's husband, Garth, which their son George, posing at the very same spot during their holiday in Mevagissey shortly after having received the painting:

Bath views from Oldfield Park

Here are a couple of winter scenes I painted just around the corner from where I live. I'm loving those views over Bath and the warm and cool tones of winter landscapes.

Bath views from Oldfield Park   12"x10"  oil on board 

The painting above was done in a local playground but there was hardly anybody around because it was such a cold day. I picked a composition that included the views, the trees, the foreground grass and the swirly path that leads the eye of the viewer.

It was a beautiful sunny day but every now and then a big cloud would cast a shadow on the distant views of the city so I decided to "freeze" this moment on my painting: 

detail

I like the idea that small parts of my paintings can be treated as abstract work:

detail

Below is painting done on an other day on the top of my street. This is the same view as one of my snow painting if you remember (click here to see it). 

Bath views from the top of Ivy avenue  16"x9"  oil on board

There was a lovely pink light and the houses in the distance in Bath stone really caught the sunlight. I was really cold when I painted this and at some point towards the end I couldn't carry on so I rushed back home and added the last details from memory from the warmth of my studio...

detail

Impressions of Venice opening night

Last Friday I went to the private viewing of the Venice show "Impressions of Venice" at the Mine Gallery in Carshalton, London. I had a great time. It is a beautiful show and I'm very proud to be a part of it. Here are all the details about the show which will run until the end of March:

http://www.mineonline.co.uk/impressions_of_venice.php

All paintings are for sale and can be viewed on the online catalogue in the link below:

http://www.mineonline.co.uk/resources/VeniceAtMine.pdf

Here are some pictures of the evening:

Karl Terry's large painting stands beautifully in the middle of the wall arrangement 

Me and my mum who accompanied me to the evening 

Some of my paintings

And some more

Tim King in front of his masterpieces

Andrew Candy from the Mine Gallery chatting with Tim and I  

Lovely work from David Bachmann on the left and John Stillman on the right

Chatting with the painter Paul Aps -
we knew each other from Facebook but it was the first time we met for real!

In great conversation with the painter John Stillman
and Art lover Wiesia Janina Cook-Bownas

Lovely paintings from Haidee-Jo Summers

Mixed work from John Stillman, myself and others

I loved this painting at the top from Derek Daniells

I loved the nocturne at the bottom by Roy Connelly

To finish this post, here is a great video done by fellow painter Roy Connelly who was in Venice last November with us and put together this film to show what a great trip it was. It comes from his blog www.royconnelly.com/blog and he kindly let me use it here.

Artists on the film that are in the show are:
David Bachmann
Roy Connelly
Tony Dakin
Tim King
Valérie Pirlot
Michael Richardson
Haidee-Jo Summers
Karl Terry

Ride on the carousel

Last week end, I wanted to paint but didn't fancy braving the cold outside so I was looking for inspiration for a studio piece. I suddenly remembered a lovely carousel picture a friend of mine posted on Facebook (with her mother and child having a ride). I decided to have a go at it and obviously asked for her permission. I decided to have fun with the colours and keep it loose. Here is the result:

Ride on the carousel  9"x16"    oil on board  

Here is below the original photograph. What caught me eye was the combination of colours, the lovely lights of the carousel, the movement of the scene, the interesting composition, the presence of the people, and the light of the trees and sky shining through in the background. Quite unusually, I decided to keep the format as it is and didn't apply any cropping:

Original photograph

Before starting the painting, I decided to apply some photoshop filters to the photograph to try to simplify the colours, drawing and values. When working outside you are forced to make quick decisions, but when working in the studio it is easy to end up putting too many details so that's why those filters can help:

filter 1

filter 2

Afterwards I applied a grid to the photograph and reproduced the same grid on my canvas in order to transfer the drawing easily.

I then started blocking in the canvas with colours to quickly cover the whole canvas and define the values and relation between colours:

And here is the final result:

Detail

Detail

Detail

London Venice show

I have just got back my Venice paintings from the framer and they will now be sent to London for a special Venice show at [mine] gallery that will run during the whole month of March. I'm very excited and honoured to be a part of what promises to be a fantastic show! 

Here are the details of the show:

[MINE] GALLERY

30-34 High Street, Carshalton, London borough of Sutton, Surrey, SM5 3AG 

020 8647 1800

www.mineonline.co.uk

EXHIBITION DATES

Private view: 6-8pm Friday 1 March 2013 in Gallery 01

Open to public: 10am Saturday 2 March 2013

Closes:  4pm on Saturday 30 March 2013

Exhibition catalogue: Available to download during show

OPENING TIMES 

10am until 5pm: Monday, Tuesday and Friday

Late night from 10am until 8pm: Thursday

10am until 4pm: Saturday and Sunday

Closed: Wednesday

Car park: Directly opposite gallery on high street

RSVP VIP If you would like to join the mailing list for the gallery 

and receive invitations to our private views 

Please contact Andrew at [mine] on 020 8647 1800 

or click here to sign up to the mailing list online.

Click here to access the website of the show

Here are below my paintings that will be included in the show. Don't hesitate to contact the gallery if you are interested in a particular painting or if you wish the receive the full catalogue.

Detail of San Marco Basilica 8”x10” oil on board

Fish Market, Venice 9”x12”  oil on board 

Salute Maria della Salute from the Accademia bridge in the fog 9”x16”  oil on board

Salute Maria della Salute from the Accademia bridge in the fog 9”x16”  oil on board 

Verrocchio - Bartolomeo Colleoni, Campo dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo  12”x9”   oil on board  

San Marco Basilica in the rain, late afternoon 9”x12”  oil on board 

View from the Ponte dei Pugni  8”x10”  oil on board

View from the Ponte dei Pugni  8”x10”  oil on board 

View accross the Canal from Fondamenta Dogana alla Salute  10”x8”  oil on board 

The Accademia bridge at night  7”x10”  oil on board  

Shops at Piazza San Marco   10”x12”  oil on board

Piazzetta in the morning 2  7”x10”   oil on board