Market Lavington, evening skies, with jet trails

Some recent evening skies from White Street Hill, at the edge of Salisbury Plain Escarpment - there's a great view North towards Devizes Bath and Chippenham. These paintings  have to be done at speed, the sky changing in minutes, in seconds even, and in five minutes can look totally different. So one arrives at an approximation of what one has seen over the brief time but really it is an attempt to try to catch the sensations of light.  It's interesting now these are laid out together, I can see certain effects working or not working so I might make minor changes to improve them.

No5.  This time used prussian blue in the lower landscape which  packs  a punch when it comes to rendering the  dark shadows.

No4 (below) One distant jet trail to the right of the sun.

 

No3 (below) 

No2 below) 

No1

 

STEEPLE ASHTON CHURCH, WILTSHIRE

All Saints Church, Steeple Ashton, over a new wheat field. (telephone lines now been added!). An impressive and ornate building for such a rural setting. I was aiming to catch something of the weather and light  this April 2011. We have had amazing weather, warmer and drier than any recorded previously since records began. "This good  weather  has lasted longer than any summer I can remember!" says my son. He can't be far wrong as far as UK sunshine goes.
You can see the unisual geological folds in the hills to the right above Westbury, and to the left these are the heights above Edington where King Alfred fought and beat the danes in 878 AD, in a final battle before making  peace.

View towards London, over Sandown Park RaceTrack

View over Sandown Park RaceTrack from Sandown View Hall. I was exhibiting my stained glass wares/portfiolio at the Christan Resources Exhibition (a sort of church trade show). The view was  a source of facination, as the light was constantly changing with bright sunlight and dark shadow on the landscape and planes flying in and out of Heathow Arport (on the left horizon), landing  approximately every 1min 15sec.  so I decided to try to paint it   - it was done in fits and starts, when visitor footfall was quiet, with the ebb and flow of people.

Roundway Hill, from Pear Tree Hill

Roundway Hill seen  from Cheveral Magna, or Pear Tree Hill, as locally called.  Oil on panel. 19" x 12"

 

SOLD

VIEW OVER THE LAVINGTONS, WILTSHIRE

View over the Lavingtons from Strawberry Hill. Capturing something of the unprescedented warm weather this April. A three week gap between starting and finishing this one. In the meantime all the foliage and rape seed had grown so had to update with a lot of colour. You  can see the two church towers of both villages

 Painting in progress. It was completed in two sessions.
Below the start of the painting two weeks earlier

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

My painting of Sherbourne Street, Bourton -on-the-water (Looking south towards the centre). Oil on Panel 10" x 14". 

Members of  the British Pochade Society, congregating on street corner of Rectory Lane, deciding where to set up for painting the town.  It was Easter Sunday so not many of us turned up but the sun shone and we set to work. Unfortunately I didn't  get any more suitable photos of people in action.

GARDEN WALL

Capturing  the splendour of sun in the garden. A riot of  blossoms,  new leaves, branches throwing shadows on the old garden wall. in April. 18.5" x 10" oil on panel

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")

Paint out in Oxford

For our third meeting the UK Plein Air Society met to start the day at a coffee shop in the High Street. Oxford. It was the day the clocks changed so getting there effectively an hour early was a challenge.
I chose to do this view of the High Street and afterwards thought I might have made a more interesting composition, this one being is so linear. Also all those bay windows did my head in for a while. The blossom tree was such an attraction.

The easel on site  in the High Street

 I had to leave early so didn't have chance to do another piece, but here is a shot of other industrious painters. Roy Connelly, Valérie Pirlot painting the same spire in Turl Steet.
Click to enlarge .....

and David Pilgrim ..............

Also one of Glynis Dray below, doing a fine watercolour in the High Street, obviously enjoying herself.