The Bath Artists Studio on a Saturday afternoon

Once a month the Bath Painting group which I belong to meets at the Bath Artists Studio for a still life or a model session. Here is what I painted on last Saturday's session:

The Bath Artists Studio on a Saturday afternoon    oil on board   12"x10"

I'm usually as close as possible to the still life set up but this time I decided to go right to the back of the room and paint people painting. What got my attention was the bright light pouring through the windows (does make you wonder what on earth you are doing inside a dark room on such a beautiful day!) and the bright orange sheet. I must admit this is my very first painting of an inside scene - ever! So far I've only sticked to landscapes, cityscapes, portraits and still life. I'm looking forward to painting more of these.

Here is the view I had from my chair

That's me in the corner looking cold and a bit antisocial!

For those who wonder what is the blue weird looking object at the centre of the table in the middle of my painting, well it is indeed a weird looking thing:

You understand now why I had to take some distance to such a beautiful doll and decided to paint from the other side of the room!

The "Dancing Glory" floating on calm waters, Ocho Rios, Jamaica

The "Dancing Glory" floating on calm waters, Ocho Rios, Jamaica   oil on board  12"x10"

A couple of years ago I went on holiday in Jamaica and I fell in love with the country and the people. This painting is from a couple of photographs I took on a calm warm evening on the beach of Ocho Rios. Two guys just left their boat called the "Dancing Glory" for the night.

Here is one of the photographs:

Cardiff with the Plein Air Society

Last Sunday I went painting in Cardiff with the Plein Air Society group and I had a wonderful time. I did 3 paintings on the day but finished them all at home.

In the morning we went painting the beautiful City Hall. It was quite a challenge as the light kept changing. I tried to catch the light reflections on the building during the rare minutes the sun showed up. Here is my first painting:

Cardiff city Hall, winter morning     oil on board 12"x10"

The inspiring building

My unfinished painting after an hour

Antony Bridge went for the biggest canvas, finished first, and achieved
a beautiful result - what's his secret??

No rain would stop Glynis Dray in the making of her masterpiece!

An that's me all wrapped up - always keeping my natural sense
of fashion and elegance.... (cough)....

In the afternoon we headed to the gardens behind Cardiff Castle where I did my second painting:

Bute Park, winter afternoon, Cardiff     oil on board  12"x10"

Again the light was changing all the time and it rained half the time but I decided to go for the sunny version.

As we were painting, it seems that a "paparazzi" caught snapshots of Antony and I from all angles!

Finally, after a comforting cup of tea some of us headed for a last quick painting at the Bay before heading home. There was the most beautiful sunset but we literally only had minutes to capture it.
Here is my last painting of the day:

Cardiff Bay, winter sunset    oil on board   10"x8"

The picture doesn't tell the whole story...

Andrew Taylor was facing the other direction
and did a lovely marine sunset piece

That's me starting the painting 

Mont-St-Michel on a cloudy summer day

Here is a small painting I just finished of the Mont-St-Michel in France. I fancied a bit of drama so this was the perfect subject to paint. There is something quite impressive and almost spooky about this place...

Mont-St-Michel on a cloudy summer day    oil on board  10"x8'

It all comes from a trip in France last summer. We were on our way back home and didn't have the time to stop so all I could do is take a picture. One day I'll go back, visit it and paint it from life.

As you can see, I decided to replace the road with grass as I thought it gave me power to the subject.