Drawing

I'm at my sister's in London for a few days.

This morning I grabbed the opportunity to use her as a model for the first time. I've been meaning to do draw her for a long time, and this is first time I've had the chance.

She was a beautiful model, with a natural talent for taking up lyrical poses. This is all the more impressive as we only had a short time to work in between her shopping at Sainsburys and preparing Sunday lunch.

I'll certainly be using her as a model again as soon as I can.

The two pictures above are shown in greater detail on my main website.

Winfrith Heath - Continuation

The rain has prevented me from finishing my painting this week, as I'd intended.

I'm very keen to get back to it, as I need to remain focussed on a particular place and painting while I'm working on it - and this gets harder to do if there's a long break.

Also, as July heads towards August, the colours of the heath will inevitably change. So I want to get back out there.

Here is a shorter video of the work I did on the painting the day after the previous one.

Work In Progress - Video

Today, as I continued working on the large Winfrith Heath painting, I took my Flip video with me and made an eight-minute film.

In it I talk about some of the colours I'm using, along with palette management and other bits and pieces.

Apologies for the poor sound quality. It was quite windy, and the equipment I was using is pretty cheap and cheerful.

Lone Ranger

I continued with my latest large Winfrith Heath painting today.

The weather was similar to last week, when I started it. Sunny and warm.

As the sun beat down on me, a man walked into my line of vision.

Now the heath isn't particularly remote, and it has a few regular dog walkers - but they tend to stick to the paths. And I don't.

So it is quite unusual to be approached. It is also something I don't particularly welcome as I'm trying to concentrate on my painting.

But this visitor had a professional interest in who I was and what I was doing.

He was one of the local countryside rangers.

We chatted for quite a while. I was relieved that he saw my presence in the landscape as harmless. It was clear that we shared an interest in the countryside in general, and the heath in particular.

Sadly in the past, in north Dorset, in the countryside where I grew up and first started painting - I've had some very unpleasant experiences with landowners who have seen my presence as a personal affront, and been rude and aggressive.

Wedge

I mentioned in my last post that the canvas I'm working on is too large to fit in my (spacious) car.

I really enjoy working outside on larger canvases, and have long needed a way of transporting them easily and safely. I'd considered buying a van or a trailer, but both could prove inconvenient and expensive.

So I designed and commissioned an aluminium roofbox from a local company. This way I ensure that I meets my needs as exactly as possible.

Here are a couple of snaps I took on the cameraphone to give you an idea of the size of the painting, and also the roofbox.

Outside Again

It was a great feeling to be 'outside painting' again.

Apart from my week on Tresco earlier this year I haven't been able to paint outside in Dorset for some time.

So starting this painting on Winfrith Heath yesterday felt fantastic.

It also gave me a chance to put my newly designed and commissioned roof-box to good use, as the canvas was too large to fit inside the car.

I'll post more about this later today.

Blown Away

Here I am, pictured on Tresco in the Isles of Scilly, on a very gusty December day in 2007.

I love visiting this amazing island, where I have family connections, and I am frequently drawn back to paint there.

My last visit was in March this year, and I completed five canvases while I was there.

The homeward journey was via the island of St Marys, and while waiting at the small airport there I bought a bunch of daffodils, for which the islands are famous.

I painted these from life, in the studio, as soon as I got home.

I've since sold the painting to someone who I had the pleasure of meeting on that journey home. They saw me buy the bunch of flowers, and subsequently saw the painting on this blog.

The painting was one of a series I painted in preparation for the forthcoming Daffodils Exhibition at Gallery Tresco. This is in aid of the Precious Lives appeal, for the hospice for children in south-west Cornwall.

I'll post more details about the exhibition, and the painting I'm exhibiting, later this month.

Return Visit

Today I went to see the children from our local school who recently came to see me in my studio.

This time I visited their classroom.

We continued our discussions about portraiture, concentrating mainly on the subtleties of colour.

The children produced these lovely paintings which you can see in the photograph above.

I had a wonderful time. The whole class were so enthusiastic, and took real pride in their work.

Browse & Darby

Later this month I'll be exhibiting this painting at the prestigious Cork Street gallery Browse & Darby, in their summer show.

Last time I showed there, at their Christmas exhibition a couple of years ago, I was very happy with the response.

The gallery represent many excellent painters including my contemporary Andy Pankhurst, and my tutor at the Slade - the late Euan Uglow.

More details nearer the time.

(Read a little about the painting above in this blog post from March this year)