Comments (0) Last few weeks, I have been out sketching, making paint studies and taking reference photos of trees, skies, the sea and various fen landscapes, from Prickwillow to Heacham beach.
Still working on several paintings that I hope to finish soon. And painting a series of ACEO’s and/or ATC’s (Art Cards, Editions and Originals / Art Trading Cards) of trees.
After spending the morning gardening, I decided to continue one of my paintings. The oil painting has been worked up from sketches and ref photos made in April when I visited and walked near Ramsey, Benwick and Whittlesey. I first started the painting a few weeks back, I had already blocked in the composition and then allowed it to dry.
After painting for 3 or 4 hours I felt I really had not acheived much and came very close scraping the canvas clean or white washing it. It just was not working. Then, I decided to combine sketches of Alders (think the trees were Alders) I had made close to the same scene. I have painted three of them into the mid ground and I am pleased with the result.
Still deciding whether or not it is completed. I don’t want it to be too realistic and I intended it to be fairly loose and impressionistic.
Finished this painting of a Spring Morning at St Ives just in time to go into the Landscape II exhibition at Williams Art Gallery. I only had minutes to sketch and photograph the April sky before it changed again.
Oil painting depicting an April fen morning sky
I am exhibiting paintings from my Fenland Series at the Williams Art Gallery. Exhibition starts May 5th. Other artists involved will be Richard Keys, Gail de Cordova, Nicholas James Juett, Jess Sutton and Maureen Mace.
I spent much of my weekends in the fens again. My wife and my oldest son had a lovely walk along the Counter Wash drain in Mepal towards the old pumping station and onto to Manea. We were rewarded by seeing a pair of Great Crested Grebes courting. The walk has inspired me to work on a painting (study) of a view looking from the drain towards Chatteris.
Another walk took us through Ramsey Forty Foot and Benwick, it was cold blustery day and I must admit the highlight was a nice pint of Deuchars IPA in a friendly pub in Ramsey.
Just finished this experimental painting, it is painted in oils on canvas board, and in style sits somewhere between my abstract and fenland landscape work. It is my way of expressing how I see some of my local landscape disappearing and being polluted. On the other hand, with engineering and sculptural background, I find the structures fascinating! And don’t get me wrong, I’m all for progress and I know many areas need regenerating and people need jobs but sometimes the development is not well thought through and with no regard to nature and the environment. Often, a petrol station pops up in the middle of the green belt, soon followed by other buildings: The station closes and then another pops up a few miles down the road and so the process continues. All the time eroding the landscape!
Progress Green, oil on canvas board, framed
I spent a chilly but peaceful Sunday at the Woolpack Fishery in Godmanchester attempting, unsuccessfully, to catch one last tench from lake 8. Unfortunately, many of the lakes have changed hands and from April are unavailable to anyone except syndicate members. No doubt it will we be restocked with carp and already, much to the annoyance of many non anglers, the foot path through to fields beyond is blocked.
What upsets me is, most of the other lakes there already offer carp fishing but lake 8 was more of a mixed fishery with tench, bream and roach. It was a tranquil place to be, watching the grebes, coots, warblers and deer go about their life. Even if I did not catch anything I still had a good day. It was also a good place to sketch and plan new paintings.
Oh well, all good things come to an end!!
Night fishing in the fens - Woolpack Fishery, Godmanchester
I have just completed a new oil painting for my fenland series – literally the paint is still wet.
It is 24 x 18 inches and on a deep canvas so does not need a frame.
Oil painting depicting the fenland landscape
Part of the fenland series - Oil on canvas
Fenland Rise is another work in my fenland series of landscape paintings. I wanted to capture the overcast morning light that spread across the rapeseed and ploughed fields near the fen town of Whittlesey .
Rapeseed field with tree
Oil on canvas
Panorama theme by Themocracy
