View on Chidham Peninsula

I’ve begun work on a new oil. It’s 18 x 24“ on canvas. I have laid it in with a thin yellow ochre. The composition is drawn out in charcoal and tonight I have loosely painted in the underpainting. The scene is along the estuary at Chidham. The plan is to gradually work over the painting in thicker oil and hopefully produce a harmonised picture that captures the lonely beauty of this stretch of coast near Chichester, West Sussex.

The finished painting. Some thin shadow added to the path to indicate the weak spring sun shining from the left and some touches of pink blossom on the right of the composition.

Off out into the Snow

I have drawn out the composition for this oil painting in charcoal. I have used a light blue layer of acrylic paint to give me a colour to work against when applying the next layer - I plan to use egg tempera for this painting (24 x18 inches).

Used egg tempera today to lay in the elements of the painting.

Towards Stepper Point

The tide is coming in as I write this and I’m about to beat a retreat onto the beach. I’ve just had a wonderful hour painting a watercolour looking across to one of my favourites spots, Stepper Point, in North Cornwall.

Le Mont Ventoux

I painted this small watercolour of Le Mont Ventoux in Provence a couple of days ago from the terrace at my brother-in-law’s house near Avignon. The view is made more interesting by the unusual weather and shapes. As a cycling fan, this mountain is forever associated for me with some great professional races such as the Dauphine Libère and the Tour de France and in particular the British cyclist, Tom Simpson, who died on the mountain in tragic circumstances in 1967.

End of the Day on Le Grand Travers

I have begun a second oil of Le Grand Travers. This time, it is the end of the day and the sky has some pink in it as the sun begins to dip below the horizon. A family is packing up and when this oil is finished I will have added other details that you find on beaches all along the Med in the evening. It’s always an anxious moment when a painting gets underway and it’s only when you gradually move forward that you see where it will take you.

Watching from a Chair on Le Grand Travers

The first oil that I have been working on since spending a few days in La Grande Motte is this one of a woman watching her family swim from the comfort of a chair with her feet in the water. Such has been the heat this summer in the south of France. I have included the painting at four different stages. It is now finished and is for sale in the ‘Oils’ section of my website.

Watercolours on Le Grand Travers

Watercolour is the perfect medium for using on the spot when painting by the sea. Here are a few from this summer and one from 2022. They are small pieces of art in their own right and also wonderful source material for larger oil paintings.