Builders at lunchtime, Bond Street, Bath

Here is an other painting of Bath I've just entered for the Bath Prize competition. Done from a photograph I took at lunchtime a few weeks ago. It was a bright hot summer day and those builders with a flashy vest really caught my eye (it sounds a bit wrong said like that...).

Builders at lunchtime, Bond Street, Bath    10"x12"    oil on board

Detail

I just loved the contrast between the dark walls on the left and the stone bathed in light on the right. The orange vests add some spice and movement to the scene.

Preliminary sketch

Although this was painted in my studio, I used the same technique as I would if this was painted outside and tried to keep it fresh and spontaneous and use bold brushstrokes.

The reference photograph

The Bath Prize initial judging will be finished by end of September so I do hope I'll have a few of my paintings accepted. Fingers crossed.

The Guildhall, Bath, summer afternoon

Here is an other painting I just finished with the aim to enter it in the Bath Prize competition which has a special prize for a painting of the Guildhall. It's such a beautiful building that it wasn't difficult to convince myself to give it a try.

The Guildhall, Bath, summer afternoon   12"x12"   oil on board

Close up of the building

Again for this one I worked from photograph because this is a very busy spot and I would have found it very difficult to cope with the amount of people and cars around.

One of the reference photographs

Below is the preliminary sketch I did. Although I never used a square frame before, for some reasons it seemed it was the most appropriate format for this subject and the best way to focus on the main part of the building while showing enough of the sky and the foreground.

The Theatre Royal, Bath, Summer evening

For the third year now I have decided to enter the Bath Prize (www.thebathprize.co.uk), which is a painting competition for paintings of Bath. A location is allocated to each artist and it has to be his/her first entry, but the artist is free to enter additional paintings of any other locations. I have been really lucky as I have been given the Theatre Royal which is a beautiful building. A fellow painter Andrew Taylor suggested I should do it at night to get all the lights and I have to thank him for the great advice...

The Theatre Royal, Bath, Summer evening    oil on canvas  12"x20"

As much as I love painting outside in plein air, I decided to do this one in the studio for several reasons. First because it's a larger format than I usually work on, also because the sunset/evening light changes so quickly that it's very difficult to catch it on the spot, and finally also because this is a pretty busy spot and I'm still a little bit too shy to paint in very public places on my own...

I worked from a series of photographs which I took recently - I love all the lights and golden tones:

I found the sky a bit too dramatic on the pictures so I decided at a later stage to go for a sunset instead and adjusted my values on the rest of the painting too. Before starting the painting I did a quick sketch to test my composition. I applied a grid to it which I reproduced on my canvas to help me get the drawing right before tackling the painting.

I have just been in touch with the Royal Theatre as I was hoping to be able to do a few sketches from the inside of Theatre and maybe produce a painting inspired by Degas' Theatre/Opera stage work. I'm waiting to hear from them but there is only a couple of weeks left before the deadline so maybe I'm just being a bit too eager...


On a other note, please let me show off a little bit if you don't mind - I'm delighted to see that the Fall issue of Plein Air Magazine in USA features a great spread about our painting trip in Cornwall earlier this year. I was very happy to see they've displayed one of my painting (on the right hand page). It's such a great magazine - I would recommend to everybody (and not just because I'm in it!)

Plein Air Magazine - Fall issue

Boats on the Avon, Summer evening

Last Sunday evening I went painting alongside the canal, just a short bicycle ride away from my flat. It was a lovely warm evening, the perfect time for a quiet painting session.

Boats on the Avon, Summer evening   12"x10"  oil on board

It took me a while to find a good spot because first I had to make sure the boat wasn't going anywhere ( I  found other attractive boats scenes before but the owners warned me they were about to go). 

Close-up of the water reflections

What caught my eye was indeed the beautiful reflections of light on the water and the contrast with the dark boat in the shade. I also love the patches of green that get brighter and brighter as they disappear in the distance.

As I was painting, I got several nice comments from people passing by, but one of them was a little bit weird. A lady came closer to have a look and said "Well... that's... interesting" (which we all know is a way to avoid saying that we don't like it!) and she continued "Do you find it relaxing? It's a nice hobby isn't it?" which sounded a bit like "It might not be great but at least you enjoy it - have you ever tried knitting?"

Or maybe I'm just being a bit too sensitive?;)

Not sure why I only used the right side of my palette??

The painting towards the end

Cycling back home with a wet painting was quite a challenge!

Cows at Lansdown, Bath, on a summer evening

I have been painting a lot lately, in spite of having a full time job. If painting was an illegal drug then I would be in rehab right now! But it's not, so I'm just embracing the feeling and look forward to painting more and more. The painting below is a scene of the cows in Lansdown in Bath.

Cows at Lansdown, Bath on a summer evening       14"x10"  oil on board

It was painted in plein air a couple weeks ago on a sunny Sunday evening. For once I had my partner's car for myself , and while most girls would treat themselves to an exciting shopping trip, I decided to go and paint some cows - whatever makes you happy right? I went to the top of Lansdown (where I'm certainly not fit enough to get to on my bike...) There is something I love about cows - and cows' paintings. They look like peaceful and simple animals.

Here is a close up of the view where I enjoyed using quick fully loaded brushstrokes

For colour harmony purpose, I decided to only paint the white and black cows. I hope the brown ones didn't take offence.

The cows got gradually more curious about what I was doing there and came close to keep me company. I tried to tell them that they were missing out on the chance to be integrated in the painting if they stayed behind me but I don't think they understood.

The painting towards the end of the session
as I was just adding some cows

Canal Saint Martin, Paris

Here is an other one from my Paris trip in May. This is the bridge at Canal Saint Martin. It was a nice change for the bridges on the Seine I had been painting for days.

Canal Saint Martin, Paris     12"x10"    oil on board

This part of the Canal is not in the centre of Paris so this was much quieter than my other painting sessions and I hardly saw any tourists despite of the fact that this bridge is famous for being in the movie "Amélie". I just love this movie. I've stopped counting how many times I've watched it. The soundtrack by Yann Tiersen is also one of my favourite thing to play on the piano.

Amélie making ricochets on the Canal

It was a grey dull day but it was the perfect condition to see all the shades of greens in the trees and the water. I also loved the highlights of blues and turquoise on the metallic bridge.

As you can see below it was pretty quiet. Just a shame the ground was full of litter. Obviously not a prime tourist location.

I was so glad I took my warm coat as it was a bit nippy there

Below is the painting at the end of the session. I only worked 5 more minutes on it here back home; I'm aware it's more a study than a accurate finished painting but I wanted to keep the freshness of it.

Allotments at Sion Hill in August, Bath

Last week-end fellow painters David Pilgrim and Tim King were staying in Bath. On Saturday I joined them at the preview night of the Gallery LeFort's new show where David has some lovely work on display (and sold two in the first hour!) and got a chance to check out some great work from other artists like Peter Wileman and Peter Brown. We met the day after for a lovely painting session at the allotments on Sion Hill.

Allotments at Sion Hill in August, Bath   14"x10"  oil on board

I simply can't get enough of the "tree with a view" theme (David calls it with humour "a typical Pirlot subject") and Bath is certainly full of those sceneries.  When I arrived on the spot, they both had been painting for an hour already so I really had to go for it and not waste any time (no naps on the grass this time for me then).

My painting at the end of the session. There was no sunshine
but I HAD to wear my cap to feel in the painting mood

David produced a lovely painting of the scene
with a tall portrait format

Tim -that you can see at the back- produced a great painting
too which you can see on his blog

Paris - Place des Vosges

I went to Paris for a few days to paint in May and produced around 10 paintings but they all need some small tweaking and I've just got round to finish 2 of them. The painting below was made at my favourite square in Paris which is "Place des Vosges" in the beautiful "quartier du Marais".

Fountain at Place des Vosges   10"x8"   oil on board

There was a great feeling about the place; children were playing football, students were sunbathing and families were having picnic on the grass.

What inspired me was the sparkling water in the fountain
and the frame made by the trees branches

I found a nice quiet shady spot to paint but I soon felt there were many people gathering and taking pictures behind me. I was about to get my best pen out to start signing autographs for my new fans when I realised they were taking pictures of the famous Louis XIII sculpture that was just behind me!

that's me in the action

Afterwards I did a second painting at the same place facing the beautiful arches of the building. I loved the way the light was showing through the arches.

Place des Vosges & Violette   6"x8"   oil on board

The little girl you can see on the painting is called Violette. She was playing on the square with her brother and had been quietly observing me doing both paintings and would every now and then come and say a few nice words to me. She was so cute I suggested to put her in the painting if she could stand in the distance for a few minutes. Her position looked a bit rigid as it was probably the first time she had to "pose" for someone but she couldn't help smiling the whole time.

People were starting to leave by the end of the day

The painting at the end of the session

I will try and post more Paris paintings soon. Thanks for all the nice comments I've received on my recent posts - nice to know I'm not the only person reading my blog;)

Series of paintings for a beautiful house in Holt...

I just finished a series of paintings for a commission for a lovely house in Holt near Bath. 

There were several views the owners and myself had in mind so I ended up doing four separate paintings...  Here is the first one I did:

The entrance to the house - Summer evening   10"x8"  oil on board

I did this one on an evening after work. The light hit beautifully the front of the facade so I tried to catch it before I disappeared. The house is made of that beautiful golden stone which makes Bath and most surrounding villages so attractive.

I did a quick 5 minutes sketch before starting
to make sure I had  the composition right

The painting towards the end of the session 

I set up where the view was the best - which was almost on the road... Fortunately Holt is a very small and peaceful village so apart from children playing football and neighbours having a sneaky look, it was rather quiet.

That's me on the pavement (I should have put my hat on the floor to collect coins)

So focused I didn't realise I was being papped...

The second painting was the house from the garden. I figured out the best time for light was around 3pm so I came back on a sunday afternoon to tackle this one.

The house from the garden in the afternoon    14"x10"   oil on board

I liked the way the house was illuminated from behind the trees

Here again, a quick preliminary sketch to decide on the composition.

I set up in the shade to avoid unwanted shining effect on my canvas

Back in the studio, after having finished the two views of the house, I decided to paint the conservatory from a photograph I took during my visit there. I loved the vertical and horizontal lines and the sunny garden framed by the window which reminded me of a "Ken Howard" type of subject. 

The conservatory - Evening light     12"x10"   oil on board

The drawing was particularly tricky on this one
because of all the different points of perspective

One of the photograph I used a reference

Finally, I did a quick study from a photograph of the lovely garden. As you might have noticed by now I just love greens and I couldn't help having fun with the different shades and the highlights of the flowers.

Evening sunshine in the garden    6"x8"  oil on board 

The reference photograph

I got the chance to present my work a week ago or so and was so happy (and relieved!) that the couple loved them all and decided to adopt 3 of them! 

The framed paintings before I had to say goodbye to them ...