Cadgwith Cove.

27 cm x 15 cm acrylic on card

I'm giving some new brushes a test run for an upcoming article I'm writing for Leisure Painter magazine. I used a fluorescent orange paint for the floats on the side of the boat and try as I might the colour wont scan when every other is fine.

French Golden Delicious

10 cm x 10 cm oil on canvas mounted on 5 mm MDF and ready to hang.

Bidding starts at £12 on E Bay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131076121629

Article in Leisure Painter Magazine

I have an article in the January edition of Leisure Painter that's out now. Plan the year ahead with a painting suggestion for each month of 2014.

Red Chilli

12 cm x 10 cm oil on canvas paper.

SOLD

Dipping my toes in the auctions at E Bay with a small painting I did some time ago.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=131059583024&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123

After Millet

After The Gleaners.Jean-Francois Millet 1857

14 cm x 10 cm acrylic on paper

Tuesday's class at SARA Hall. Using a limited palette of 3 primaries and white, paint a well known picture. Use the painting as a starting point only, make the colours your own but try to keep to the tonal values. Keep the painting strokes to a minimum and take it just beyond the block in stage. Try to spend no more than an hour on the study.

After Susan Lyon

Both studies 24 cm x 19 cm acrylic on paper.

Practice at painting edges and keeping the paint loose and clean, painted roughly in the style of the excellent Susan Lyon. I have to say its quiet challenging in acrylics as opposed to oils as you have to work quicker to maintain the integrity of the edges.

http://susanlyon.com/Pages/archivetoc.htm

Life Class

30 min colour study acrylic on paper 22 cm x 28 cm

A Small Tribute

20 cm x 14 cm oil on canvas paper.

Leisure Painter Article.

Have an article in the December issue of Leisure Painter that talks about how to use photos with your painting.

Life Drawing

Acrylic on paper 28 cm x 30 cm .

It's ever so tempting to join in and paint for 3 hours at the life class, but I enjoy these 15 minute studies as I teach.

Limes: Postcard Charity Exhibition

9 cm x 14 cm oil on canvas

My contribution for the 'Pre-Paid 2013' Charity Postcard Exhibition and Auction.

SOLD

Artists are invited to donate a piece of work that fits onto a postcard

Sennen Revisited

I Envy Those Who Leave No Wasted Years In Their Wake

18 cm x 18 cm Acrylic on canvas.

I don’t normally revisit paintings and alter them but I think the surfers give it a lift.

Sennen

16 cm x 16 cm acrylic on canvas

I seem to be doing everything but paint for myself lately so I set aside an hour to do some work from this years drawings and photo's down in Cornwall.

Life Drawing

Life drawing session, 30 second gesture poses.

Apples

Apples, oil on canvas paper 18 cm x 13 cm

Paint to learn. After Rembrandt

Had a quick go at painting from a Rembrandt today when I came across a great site that allows you to zoom right in on the paintings;right up to the canvas weave on some of them. I'll probably get back to this one and finish it off; I suspect he took a bit longer than a couple of hours to do the original.

A great resource for painters to look at and examine the mark making of lots of great painters. Check it out on the link below.


http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/entity/%2Fm%2F0192xw?hl=en

Paint to Learn. After Charles Reid.

24 cm x 10 cm watercolour

24 cm x 10 cm watercolour

Paint To Learn. After Charles Reid.

22 cm x 12 cm watercolour on paper.

Getting some much need practice with my watercolours and using the work of Charles Reid as a starting point

Liverpool Town Hall

30 cm x 30 cm oil on board

A little bigger than what I do outdoors, this was done from photos and a few sketches and colour notes.

Free postage in the UK

Published in Leisure Painter magazine

I have two articles in the August edition of the Leisure Painter magazine out now. The first is the last in a four part series on using acrylics, this time like oils in a full demonstration. The second is how to manage your time on a family holiday and still get some painting done while you're away.

Sennen Beach Study

24 cm x 17 cm acrylic on paper

Another study from Cornwall, this time painted from a beach tent ( a great outdoor studio) on Sennen Beach. A steady wind towards the end of the painting forced me to stop as it was like painting on sandpaper and in the paint on the palette. I managed to scrape most of it off but some is there for good on the picture...lets call it texture. I painted the girl in back home from photos and drawings.

My son and daughter enjoy the outdoor studio after a surfing session

No.11 Pednandrea St.Just II

15 cm x 18 cm acrylic on paper. 

Another of the views from the back decking. I added the cow at home, as slow moving as they are they're easier to draw quickly than paint.

Cape Cornwall

24 cm x 17 cm acrylic on paper

How big do I paint outdoors? If it fits in the lid of the box I'm good to go. I spent a quiet morning painting at the Cape being serenaded by seven seals in the bay. 

Lands End

I Had a nice afternoon painting on the cliffs between Sennen Cove and Lands End. A short walk was all it took to get away from a sea spiked with the squeals of summer bathers. A precarious spot on the cliffs kept me out of view from all but two curious sightseers.

No.11 Pednandrea. St. Just, Cornwall.

10 cm x 11 cm acrylic on canvas paper.

Just back from a weeks family holiday in Cornwall where we caught the tail end of the good weather. This little study was from the balcony of our lovely getaway in St. Just looking to Cape Cornwall.

Shovel in the Shade

18 cm 15 cm oil on canvas paper.

 Another from the garden. Shovel in the shade... try saying that after a few large ones :-)

Garden

15 cm x 12 cm oil on canvas paper.

The easiest place to do still life is in your own back garden. There'll never be any regrets about what you forgot to bring, just pop back indoors and get it. You can always find shelter if it's too wet, warmth if it's too cold, or this weather, shade if it's too hot.

Plum

10 cm x 10 cm oil on canvas and mounted ready to frame now on Ebay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130947571937&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123

Pencil Portaits

I find the thing about self portraits is that while you never need another model to study, the downside is it's really hard to capture yourself as opposed to another person. I have to try and master it so I get a more natural pose as opposed to a bunny caught in the headlights. I think I have all the right features, but not necessarily in the right place.

Drawing my wife taking in the sun however was a lot easier and took half the time(about 30 minutes).

I just noticed I put yesterday's date on, I really do lose track of time mooching around in all this glorious weather.

Drawing From Life

A great old character sat opposite me in a cafe as I waited for a train to Stockport with an entry for the Cheshire open. Always carry a sketchbook, you never know when it will come in handy.

I believe I Can Fly. Oil on canvas 16 cm x 14 cm

Draw to Learn.

After a painting by Scott Waddell 20 cm x 20 cm graphite on paper.

Set a time limit (20 mins for this study) and get as much information down as you can. Using only one pencil to save time, make a mass drawing and add a few highlights with a rubber to finish. I did this one because the glasses and the shadow they cast made for an interesting study. 

Like painting, one approach to drawing is to start big and see the large shapes first then move on to the smaller shapes. Work within those shapes and look for a little more detail. Keep it simple to start and remember the more detail you add the more into focus you are bringing the subject it’s up to you where you stop.

See the real thing on

http://underpaintings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/workshop-scott-waddell-in-texas.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+Underpaintings+(Underpaintings)

Mixed Media Collage

24 cm x 16 cm mixed media collage on paper

Plein Air Painting

21 cm x 16 cm oil on canvas paper

We don't always have to seek out the exotic to paint, sometimes the act itself is enough and the subject unimportant. It's great to be able to sit outdoors this weather and paint from life.

Article In Leisure Painter. Acrylic Like Oils

Why not take a peek at the summer issue of Leisure Painter out now and read my article, Acrylic-Like Oil, here’s the blurb for the article:

 A set of acrylics in your paint box gives you two media for the price of one. In the previous two issues Steve Strode looked at how this versatile medium can be used like watercolour. This month and next he takes advantage of it textural quality and shows how to use it with oil painting techniques.

For more details follow the link.    http://www.painters-online.co.uk