Bristol Harbour

My second painting of the day.  A bit of Bristol Harbour with the spire of St Mary Redcliffe in the background. I only had left a few minutes to speedily complete the foreground water, then realised it was the most interesting bit, like clouds, forever changing - I should have tackled it earlier. Perhaps I'll get back there and do more there. Here is another water painting done a while ago, the River Avon in Woodford Valley, near Salisbury

    
Painters at work. Smile please!:-)
From the left; Valerie Pirpot, Glynis Dray and Anthony Bridge.

Bristol University Music Department

Started the day with the first meeting of the UK Pochard Group in Bristol.   After a coffee and introductions we all set off and worked around here for a bit.  I took longer at the task whilst others went to find new subject matter. Then  four of us met later and painted the harbour to finish the day. We were blessed with a glorious  and sunny, though pretty cold day, below freezing to start. My first experience painting with a group and it was a very positive one and enjoyable.

A view of the painting in progress

Liszt Totentanz 

 

View from the Malvern Hills

A great view from the Hillman's homestead, Gt. Malvern,  (Malvern Hills)

FROME, SOMERSET

Looking down North Parade, Frome, Somerset A cold and almost snowy morning (2nd Jan 2011),

JS BACH - "Schlarfe Mein Liebster" Christmas Oratorio

December, Hungerford, Berkshire

An unusual one for me. With 40 mins to wait for my neice, I thought I'd try a very quick 'town painting'. Got it all sketched out but really froze as there was snow about - I finished it back home - it seems to have too much detail. Never done cars before, interesting, they are full of reflections.

Very soon after I started painting a man arrived to enter the house right where I had set up the easel. "I have a watercolour painted with GIN inside" he told me, and explained that Edward Adrian Wilson had joined Robert Scott's team for the Antartic as 'expedition artist'. Apparently Wilson had used Navy forces gin (I thought they drank rum) to paint watercolours because water would have frozen!! Makes good sense, and very resourceful.
(About Wilson ..... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Adrian_Wilson )

Late afternoon Lavington Hill

Did this in September. A strange sun glowing through the veil of clouds. Oil sketch. 12 x  1cm approx.

AUTUMN POPLARS

The poplars again, always looking splendid in Autumn. Painted this on a bigger format than my usual, Good to work larger and it didn't take much longer.  Could be finished  a little more to define the receding trees .....
Was just thinking,  it interesting how ones work changes over time ..... 
Other views   www.flickr.com/photos/apt_pics/2805804406/
 and here www.flickr.com/photos/apt_pics/3958251724/
Oil on canvas 24" x 18

OAK TREE

OAK TREE IN THE VALE OF PEWSEY

An Oak Tree in the Vale of Pewsey. You can see one of Wiltshire's White Horses on the hill left of the tree.
The embankment of the main railway line from Paddington through to Westbury, cuts across the landscape and every now and then a blue coloured express passes by, but too swiftly to  try to paint in. On te RH is  the clump of trees on Wooborough hill, a familiar landmark in the area.
NB Just went to see this tree  again with a view to painting it again, almost a year later - I was a bit shocked to see that they were bulldozing a large shallow depression  next to it, so a big pile of mud and bare earth looking a bit messy.  Hope they know what they are doing. Possibly they are making a lake,

Roundway Hills, Devizes

View of ROUNDWAY HILL

View of Roundway Hill above Devizes, Where the Battle of Roundway took place in the Civil War.
A very recognisable landmark from all directions. The wide open aspect of this hill and colour somehow remind me of Africa particularly when nearer to it. The clouds were changing light patterns  by the minute so it was a challenge to paint and set the light/shadow areas.