Capturing a place with paint

For my last post before Christmas I wanted to share a commission of four paintings I did earlier this year for a lady in Uccle (Brussels), Belgium. The property was outstanding and I tried to capture the beauty of the house and surrounding gardens. I worked on larger formats that I'm used to (40cm/60cm) but I really enjoyed the process and the client was very happy with the result which is always a relief!

The painting below is a side of the garden and features the beautiful globe metallic sculpture. The star of the show was the tree with the beautiful red foliage. I enjoyed suggesting the back of the garden with looser and cooler brushstrokes to give a sense of distance.

Uccle series - Garden with sculpture

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

The second painting below is the driveway leading to the house. There was such a magical light piercing through the leaves which I tried to depict with impressionistic brushstrokes. 

Uccle series - The entrance

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

The third painting below is a view over the garden from the top floor window of the house. It gives an idea of the beauty and scale of the property. The challenge here was to treat all the different greens in a different way to show the various shades, textures and depths of the trees and flowers in the garden.

Uccle series - The garden from above

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

The one below is a cropped version of the painting of the house. I removed the house for privacy purposes but wanted to show here the trees and swimming pool surrounding the building.

Uccle series - The house (cropped detail)

Detail

Detail

Detail

If you are interested in a commission of your house, garden, favourite room, favourite view etc..., you can contact me here or visit www.valeriepirlot.com/commissions for more info.

I wish you all a merry Christmas and fantastic year 2016 full of creativity!

Children playing on the beach, Mill Bay, Devon

I have just finished a commission for a friend who has two gorgeous twin boys born the same week as my daughter Louisa (going through labour together does create a bond!). She wanted to give her parents a painting of the boys and her niece as a surprise for their anniversary so she commissioned me for this piece. It is done after a photograph she took while they were on a family day out in Devon. I do like to work from life, but in this case I'm glad it was from a photograph as these boys are constantly on the move and certainly wouldn't have quietly posed for me! I'm reather pleased with the result and I they were thrilled with it. 

Playing on the beach, Mill Bay, Devon   16"x9"  oil on board

Here are below a few steps of the process:

Quick drawing of the basic shapes done in oil

I filled most of the canvas with blocks of colours

Worked a bit more on the background and the children's faces

Adding the last details

The finished painting

I loved the position of the kids. It looked to me that the girl (Bea) was clearly in charge and telling the boys (Finbar and Dexter) what to do! Not sure what's in the bucket but it is obviously a matter of great importance!

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

On an other note, I take this opportunity to let you know I currently have some work on display at a lovely new gallery in Bath called Imagianation. It is situated on Terrace Walk in Bath (Bog Island) so do stop by next time you are in Bath as it has a lovely collection of work there - and I'm not just saying this because my work is there:-). Click here to view their website. 

Can you spot my paintings?

Finally, for those who haven't seen my previous post, my new calendars 2016 are ready for orders, alongside prints and postcards so click here to visit my shop page for more info.

A view from the garden to keep forever...

A friend of mine recently commissioned me to paint the view from her parents' house. They were just about to move house and kept saying how much they will miss the view and wished they could take it with them. Well, she made their dreams come true (ish) by giving them this painting for Christmas!

Apparently they were really pleased with it, which is always good news.

The view from the garden  8"x10"  oil on board

Detail

Detail

I'm now taking commissions orders for 2015 so just send me an email at valpirlot1@hotmail.com if there is painting idea you have in mind...

Commission for an allotment

Here are a few more allotment paintings done for a commission for a lady that owns a plot in Bath. Someone recently asked me what an allotment is. It's quite common in the UK; it's a wide communal space divided into private sections (plots) that people can rent on a yearly basis to grow their fruits, vegetable and flowers.

The paintings below are all of the same plot, just from a different angle and time of day. I really enjoyed doing these. I'm meeting the client next week. I hope she likes them!

This one below was done in afternoon. I liked the turquoise corrugated shed against the striking Bath views.

Monksdale road allotments 14c2 in the afternoon  10"x10"  oil on board

Detail

This one was done in the evening. I liked the soft warm evening light.

Monksdale road allotments 14c2 in the evening  16"x9" oil on board

Detail

And this one was done in the morning crisp light. Contrast were strong and shadows and edges were sharp and clean. I think this is my favourite one.

Monksdale road allotments 14c2 in the afternoon  10"x7" oil on board

Detail

After 30 minutes 

Half way through

The final result

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: