On the way up Lansdown Lane, Bath, February afternoon

Last month, on a sunny afternoon I took my bike and cycled on the way up to Lansdown searching for an inspiring place to paint. I stopped before reaching the top as I saw a beautiful view accross the city (nothing to do with the fact that I was out of breath of course). So I set up on the side of the road and got started.

On the way up Lansdown Lane, February afternoon  14"x10"    oil on board

detail

I took a few snapshots to show the progress of the painting. Below is the quick drawing I did with a small brush and paint diluted with turpentine so it would dry in 2 minutes. My board had already been given a first wash of colour at home (I usually give a background coat on my boards in the studio from left over paint on my palette.)

Below is the painting after 10 minutes. I always start blocking the colours on the canvas to define the main shapes of the painting: 

20 minutes later:

Towards the end:

Here is my set up below. I was quite close to the road and I found the cars a bit disturbing and noisy. Unfortunately I forgot my earplugs at home, so in a moment of despair I decided to create my very own earplugs with some tissue that I put in my ears. You can laugh but it worked! It was very cold and windy too so I wrapped my head and neck with a spare jumper I had and put a spare scarf on my lap. I really felt like the most stylish painter in town!

Just behind me was a beautiful house, and as I was painting, the owner came to have a look at my painting. I was already imagining her falling madly in love with the painting and begging me to give it away for thousands of pounds, but as she looked at it, all she said was a flat "ah". She then asked me if I was a student in Art or was just doing it as a hobby. Of course I could have been a bit offended she didn't even consider the fact I can actually earn money from it, but decided to be flattered she thought I looked young enough to be a student! (but it was probably due to my sense of fashion on the day). But then again, I had tissue in my ears so maybe I completely heard it wrong! :-)

As I was packing up, I saw behind me a beautiful sunset and couldn't resist making a 15 minutes small study of it before it disappeared. Here it is:

On the way up Lansdown Lane - Sunset, February evening   6"x9"  oil on board

I enjoyed using big brushstrokes and plenty of paint:

detail

Lansdown view - January late afternoon

Last week-end I went to the top of Lansdown in Bath looking for an inspiring place to paint. After 20 minutes of driving around I finally spotted a beautiful view at the end of a lane showing Bath litten by the late afternoon winter sunshine.

Lansdown view - January late afternoon      10"x8"  oil on board

Here below is the view at the beginning of the session. I had all my gear to paint outside but it was so cold that I decided to stay in the car and paint from the passenger seat with my pochade box on my lap. Now, this will be a good test to see if my partner ever reads my blog as I'm not supposed to paint in his car so let's see if he says anything in the next few days...Oups... ;)

Here is below the view from the car just before I headed home. It went dark very quickly so I had to stop.

Detail

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