These are two studies of a new figurative painting I am working on. I normally do studies in a different media from what the final painting will be done in. I find this helps to keep the painting fresh and more enjoyable for me.
Here is a painting I did today of my favourite beach on Islay. It was windy when I was there however very sunny and colourful.
This is a plein air study I did on a walk at Jura House Gardens. The walk took you through bluebell woods to this view of the sea. There was a bench to enjoy the view and soak up the sun. I did this painting while sitting at the bench. The water was so clear and the colour so beautiful, very inviting. I didn’t go for a swim, however by the time we got down to the shore someone was swimming in the crystal clear water.
On Saturday we went to the Isle of May sailing from Anstruther. We were in search of puffins who were out fishing at sea! There was a few on the island however which were a joy to watch. Lots of other sea birds everywhere. You need to be careful to watch for the eiders nesting very close to the footpaths. I did this study on the island buffeted by the wind. The constant movement of my board helped create some of the movement in the painting.
Auchmithie is one of my favourite places to escape to and paint outdoors. It is especially appealing when there are lots of crashing waves. The sound is just amazing as the large pebbles crash together. On Saturday the waves were wonderful. This is one of my watercolour studies I did in situ.
I took my pot of pansies from the garden into the studio. This allowed me to work away with the advantages of the light not changing much throughout the day. I put them on my window sill which is just at nice level for me to paint while standing at my easel. I worked in watercolour and finished off with using neocolour water soluable wax pastels.
Yesterday I got my watercolours out and topped up my paint tray with fresh colours. I started the day doing colour mixing studies. It can be quite time consuming but once done can give some new combinations of colours to experiment with. I really enjoyed doing this figurative painting.
Today Andrew and I are celebrating our 20th Wedding Anniversary. My present to Andrew is this portrait of him and our cat Xena, who has been with us now for 10 of those 20 years.
This was the life study I did at last weeks life drawing class. I started with a light drawing in conte then washes of gouache and finally drawing again in conte and some pastels.
This painting was done outside in the sun. The reason for the cup and saucer being a favourite is that it has a pattern of a sleeping lizard on the saucer. Anyone drinking coffee from it gets a surprise.