Cornwall trip - Part 1

Well, I haven't posted anything for a month but I was away painting in Paris, Cornwall and busy finishing a commission. I will post it all gradually in the next few weeks.
To start with here are 3 paintings from the Cornwall trip. What a great experience! It was organised by the talented Plein Air painter David Pilgrim and also a part of the group were Tim King, Michael Richardson, Roy Connelly, David Bachmann and Anthony Bridge, all very inspiring artists.

Cliffs from Pendeen in a sunny morning       8"x10"  oil on board  

This one above was actually my last painting, done the morning before I caught my train back home. I think it's my favourite because I had such a good time painting it, probably because I knew I had to go in a few hours.  As I was painting this, I really thought "this is the life!"

The water had the most beautiful colours

I didn't paint right on the edge but still close enough to feel the height of the cliff

David was painting a lovely piece of the same view a few meters away from me

This one below was painted on our way to St Ives. Tim, David and I stopped the car on the roadside to have a look at the beautiful countryside, and before we knew it we were all painting like mad. Nothing better than those unplanned ones!

Views of the countryside between Zennor Head and St Ives   8"x10"  oil on board

What caught my eye was the little triangle of sea showing behind the hills

David and Tim painting a beautiful tree a few meters away

Tim and I exchanging serious painting tips (thanks for the pic David!)

This painting below is an other moment of bliss. It was painted at sunset, the last effort of the day after a pretty long painting day. It was also a bit of an effort to get there as it's a steep walk up in the cliff from Sennen beach. But once up there, I suddenly forgot the fatigue and just enjoyed the moment. And for some reasons, I was happy with the painting form start to finish, through every brushstrokes, which has never happened to me before.

Lands End at sunset (Dr Syntax’s Head)      8"x10"  oil on board 

The beautiful golden tones in the rocks caught my eyes

I had to work quickly as the sun gradually disappeared

Here is a picture of the group to finish this post. From left to right: Tim King, myself, David Pilgrim, David Bachmann and Michael Richardson. (In case you wonder the lovely painting on the left is David Bachmann's - although I wish I painted this myself!) As you can see I was the only girl in the group but managed to survive!

To be continued...

My garden in the spring

Here is a quick post while watching the Royal Wedding...
I have just finished a couple of paintings of my garden which I'm madly in love with. For those who remembered I did a painting of my garden in the snow a few months ago and decided now to cover all seasons...

My garden in spring after the rain     oil on board 12"x10"

This one was done in the late afternoon from my living room window. There had been some heavy rain all day and suddenly the sun came out and warmed up all this luxurious greens.

view from the window

I didn't tell my boyfriend I dropped some paint on the carpet
but since I managed to clean it up and I'm pretty sure he doesn't read
my blog he will never know!

My garden in the snow - The painting I did last winter

Here is an other one I did last week end as I just came back from a week end away. It was sunny but a bit misty and I couldn't resist the shades of purple in the distant hills.

My garden in spring in the afternoon   oil on board  7"x5"

This time I set up on the garden table

I take the opportunity of this post to inform you of two upcoming events if you happen to be in Bath:

There is a show starting today at The Octagon in Bath called "inspired" which I will have some work at and which also features talented artists such as Adebanji Alade, David Pilgrim and Shane Feeney to name a few. It will be on until May 11. More info here.

I was pleased to see my work on the invite and the Bath Magazine insert:

I will also be a part of the Newbridge Arts Trail which will be on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th of May. Come and say hello if you're around. More info here.

Last but not least, I urge anyone who hasn't seen it yet to go and admire Peter Brown's work at the Victoria Art Gallery. Absolutely beautiful. More info here.

This afternoon I'm off to Paris to paint for a few days. I will hopefully come back with plenty of paintings to post on my blog...

Now back to the Royal wedding...

Graham and Paul at March Golf course

Here is a commission I just finished. It was for Paul (on the right) who wanted to give this painting for Graham's birthday (on the left). It was done from photographs. They play golf quite often together so it was a good way to have a usual scene with both of them. I'm not used to this type of subject but Paul was very happy with it. Let's hope Graham will be too...
Happy Easter everybody!

Graham and Paul at March Golf course    oil on board  16"x12"

Oxford with the Plein Air Society

A couple of weeks ago I went painting with the Plein Air Society for the third time. After Bristol and Cardiff, this time it was in Oxford. Quite a few people turned up including talented painters such as Andrew Taylor, David Pilgrim, Roy Connelly, Glynis Dray and Anthony Bridge.
Although the day started with a depressing grey sky, the sun didn't wait long to come out - that's the beauty of England; weather changing every hour!
After a quick cup of tea, some of us set up for a painting around the Radcliffe Camera. I loved the light on these golden stones...

Radcliffe Camera, March morning   oil on board  10"x14"

We found a good spot in a narrow pedestrian street. I chatted with a few passers by who were lovely.  

my painting after a couple of hours

David Pilgrim did a lovely painting of the same view which you can check out here. (tough competition going on here!)

David painting the Radcliffe Camera

 At lunchtime we found an other spot for our second painting in Turl Street. (note: I said "at luncthime" and not "after lunchtime" because there is not such thing as breaks in those crazy painting marathons! I actually ate my sandwich while I was painting this - let's hope I didn't leave any breadcrumbs on the canvas...)

View from Turl Street, Oxford   oil on board  7"x10"

I think I was a little bit blocking Roy Connelly's view although he kindly pretended I wasn't ;)

Roy's easel and mine

David, painting from the other side of the street
and making some very convincing painter-style gestures

Finally, in the afternoon some of us ended up painting the Magdalen bridge which was enhanced by beautiful afternoon sunshine.

Magdalen bridge, Oxford, March afternoon    oil on board  12"x10"

It was a lovely way to end the day. I got so carried away by the painting and the conversation with Roy that I almost missed my train back!

Roy painting and my easel set up before I started

Reflections on the river, Bath

A couple of weeks ago I went painting alongside the river just a short walk from my flat. I have just finished the painting at the studio.

Reflections on the river, Bath    oil on board   12"x10"

I found a good spot at the Bridge, well hidden behind a wall, so I didn't have to face too many curious passers by. Don't get me wrong, I love chatting to people and talk about the painting in progress but there is always a moment in the process when I feel like giving up and throwing the canvas to the water so it's in everybody's interest not to be around when it happens!

Grapes on a table

Grapes on a table     oil on canvas  12"x10"

Last year, a good friend of mine got married and asked me if I could paint a still life for her as a wedding present which of course I accepted. Almost a year since the wedding and quite embarrassingly I still hadn't done her painting. As I was seeing her today, I decided on an impulse to paint it yesterday night - better late than ever! I suppose it might not be the usual occupation for a 28 years old on a Friday night but I had a great time painting it! (and the grapes were delicious too so no food wasted here!)

The grapes setting and the painting after a few minutes

The finished painting around midnight

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.