Oil sketch of Will

I painted this oil sketch of Will at the scout hut this morning, in a session of approx two hours. It was fairly overcast at the start of the day and we were painting somewhat 'blind' with our colour decisions. It is always interesting to see what they look like when we get into reasonable daylight; hopefully not too shocking :-)

Neeley

I am pleased to say this painting found a very appreciative home when it sold this afternoon at the Westcliffe Gallery private view for the Guild of Norwich Painters, a group to whom I was recently elected a member.

Rainbow peppers

These peppers were a 'best buy' in the local supermarket, they were aptly named 'rainbow peppers'. As many of you know, I like to make my still-life work hard for me, so they have to pose for hours before being chopped up, stir-fried, roasted,skinned, pickled and preserved before being devoured. As these peppers promised far more than they delivered, I blistered their skin, which I have found from past experience tends to sweeten them up:-)

Oil sketch of Hannah

I completed this study this morning at our regular session in the scout hut. I took a little more time with this one and worked over two sessions rather than just the one. She is a lovely young woman and I hope I managed to get something of her.

Preserved plums with pomegranates

As we are beginning to hit the colder weather it felt good to be cosy in my sudio with a still-life that felt sort of seasonal; warming colours to lift the spirits on a grey november day here in blighty.

Oil sketch of Victoria

This oil sketch was painted in a session of about two and a half hours yesterday morning. I tried to measure the model's proportions quite carefully. There is something about a sitting, kneeling or squatting pose that always tends to make the legs look on the short side. It is always a temptation to elongate them to avoid this....

Damsons in a Dish 2

I am very happy that this painting has just been accepted in the Royal Oil Painters Institute annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. The exhibition opens on the 12th December and runs until 21st December.

Citrus and water glass

This is my entry Daily paint works challenge, 'H20'. I seem to be the entry so far to have painted a still-life; you could say the others have water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink... I thought I would address that :-)

Pastel sketch of Claire

This was the second sitting with Claire, a young Canadian woman. I decided to get out the pastels for our two and a half hour session. Claire really liked it but I still feel that there are parts of it that I would like to have resolved a bit better. Isn't that always the way....