Hooray!!
I entered 2 paintings for the Bath Prize and this one below  won the 'Purchase Prize'. In this case the owners of the cafe in the Market had offered to buy the painting they liked best. Several people took on the challenge, and it was actually my stipulated place to paint so I had no option (in the competition, they assign each artist to a particular place, selected from about 35 locations around The City of Bath).

At the start I felt  a bit out of my element as I like painting in the open, but persevered, trying to capture something of the diffused but sometimes strong light in the  space, as the intensity of the sun waxed and waned through the day. This was done over two sessions, with the help of two double cappucion's kindly donated by Mike and Wendy.  (the injection of caffeine may have given me an unfair advantage - thankfully, there was  no caffeine test!:)
A view of the market below ....

 and many people enjoyed being photographed with the Queen :-)
Someone said  that if one patted the pig's nose, it brought luck. So I did later, quickly, feeling silly - but I won the prize so there you  go! Should have more faith

My other painting was done from Parade Gardens, below Poultney Bridge. Here is the first study under way, after starting I realized I needed  a wider format

The final painting below  felt a bit forced and I think the study had more life.

Bath View from the putting Green, below Sion Hill

SOLD

Later November view from the putting Green, below Sion Hill. Done in two quick sessions. Each time, soon after I sat down it began to rain, and a windy squall hit on the second sitting although both days had been 'Beautifully Sunny'  till I started work there. (I think I can control the weather now. I just paint .... and it rains).
This was finished as the light faded so I put a bit of yellow glow in some windows as the lights were beginning to come on.
It's a small commission for a friend who needs it for a present. The view had caught my eye in the summer when the light in the mornings reflected in bright patches off some of the distant roofs  - very lovely and most 'Evocative of Bath'. But I only managed to get there in the afternoons and although there was a short splash of sunlight at the first sitting which cast interesting shadows and spot-lit the chimney tops etc., generally it was a pretty dull light. However I quite like this result with an Evening feel.
Oil on board *"8" x 5"

BATH PAINTINGS

View of The Guildhall, Bath, painted from the roof of the Abbey.

 SOLD

Been pretty busy and I couldn't get over to Bath last week, but wanted to paint the Guildhall. On Sunday I drew the outlines with watercolour on  a gesso-board, at street level. 100's of people walking by, and buses, kept blocking the view. Drizzly rain finally beat me to a stop before I could get into painting properly.
Then I  joined a  tour of the Abbey roof and tower; the sun came out, so asked if I could paint from the roof. As a special circumstance the tour guide generously agreed and I returned on Monday morning, climbed the 212 winding steps and spent several hours up there over two days trying to process so much information and capture something of the complex scene.

The painting still needs a little finishing. By chance I had Vivaldi music on my walkman player, and in the glorious sun was somehow reminded of  Canetto's painting of Venice.  However right now I feel I've had my fill of painting buildings  and  something simple like a tree or cloud  and landscape would be a great alternative.

A view towards The Circus on the steps of no.16, the top of Gay St., a ring of buildings built by John Wood and Son ( 1754-1768. (Thanks to the kindly residents who allowed me to stand on their door steps, they had to negotiate their way around the easel). The Circus is said to symbolise the Sun, whereas the Royal Crescent represents the moon,   Here you can see a great Aerial photo of both and  a virtual site for exploring  architectural Panoramas of Bath

The middleground looked a bit empty so I added the two main figures afterwards. Tricky, trying to make them look natural without getting fussy on the detail.

The Allottments, Sion Hill, Bath

A beautiful peaceful view. Enjoyed my visits there, meeting people coming and going with their gardening tools, baskets to collect their produce, fruit and veges etc. I had to get those sunflowers in :-):-)
This painting is featured along with others, on the promotional brochure for the Bath Prize 2011

Wild Scarlet, Queen Street, Bath.

When registering to enter the Bath Prize Painting Competition, one  is first allocated  a particular place in the city to paint, however one can submit other paintings as well. A coincidence - the first place I ever painted plein air in Bath, in April this year, was very near the same allocated place of Queen Street, but viewed from the other side of the arch in Trimbridge (see below).
A prominent detail above is a 'manikin' in the LH corner which had displayed a blue dress. Here is an earlier stage of the work ....

 The thoughtful woman in the shop even left it out for me to paint a while longer when closing up at 5.30. However 2 weeks later ...... returning to finish the work, she had placed an eye-catching RED dress outside. Making a rather instant decision, I decided to quickly paint red opaquely over the Blue dress before she took the red one back in - I think the red works well and have given the painting the quirky title  "Wild Scarlet, in Queen Street, Bath" - referring to the two shop notices of the 'Wild Cafe', and 'Scarlet Vintage' dress shop.
I always felt hungry whilst painting outside the cafe, seeing people enjoying their tuck, thinking "Later I'll get 10mins to have a nice rest and a coffee" -  but I never did manage it, parking time always ran out, etc. I  recommend the Scarlet Vintage dress shop with the helpful proprietor woman, displaying the most elegant colourful dresses I've seen for a long time (I don't usually take much notice of such shops).
Having been to the site to work 4 times trying to get the right light, etc, I felt there was a danger of loosing freshness and spontaneity so it is good to finish the work; hopefully I can loosen up do something more lively.
Below is the first painting in Trimbridge done in April. a it is lot smaller and so executed more quickly. I think I'm pleased with the sense of light in this one.

ST SWITHUNS from HEDGEMEAD PARK -BATH

Painted this in two sessions, just as leafy buds were opening in April. I wanted to try catching something of the freshness of the Spring light. Painted over a couple of hours to start, from 2.00 till 4.00;  it is extraordinary how swiftly and radically the scene changes with  almost opposite light and shade effects on the buildings. The  final result indicates the day at about 3.30/4.0pm

View down John St From Trim St., about 4.00pm. Someone parked a car on the RH  half way though, it's rear end  blocking part of the view which made life awkward! I decided not to to paint it in. (Oil on Panel 10" x 12")