My partner Jon and I have just sold our flat in Bath and are in the process of purchasing a new home in the same city. Although I'm obviously terribly excited about the move, I'm also feeling a bit nostalgic about leaving my very much loved little flat. We have been here for over 4 years and have had some wonderful time. Last week-end, it suddenly dawned on me that having painted several house commissions for people, I never painted my own home, so I thought this is now or never as we will be moving out in the next few weeks. So here it is:
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| My flat from the garden on a summer afternoon 12"x10" oil on board |
Jon took this picture of me as I was painting:
I set up in the shade at the end of the garden so I wouldn't have to worry about the sun shining on my board:
There is a 'funny' story with this painting: As jon took some pictures of me, I decided - in an act of pure shameful vanity - to remove my glasses. I'm shortsighted and can't see much without them, but for some reason I suddenly found the shapes and colours of the building very interesting in a kind of blurry way, so I decided to keep painting without my glasses! It was early stage in the painting so this blur was perfect to help for the 'colour blocking' stage. When it was time to put some details I resigned myself to put them back on... and screamed of horror at the view of what I just painted! No, just kidding, it worked out quite well actually! After all, Monet was almost blind at the end of his career and his work didn't suffer at all. Instead it gained a beautiful abstract quality to it. Food for thoughts then!
Below is the painting in progress. I had to work quickly as the light was moving fast, constantly changing the tones of the angles of the building:
And here is a detail of the painting. I'm so glad I got the chance to paint this as I will keep it as a souvenir for the rest of my life (that's me being sentimental again!). I'm looking forward to paint my new home now!
ps: I'm available for commissions if you would like me to do a painting of your own home or garden. Just drop me a line or give me a call. And I promise I'll leave my glasses on while painting!
