WINTER MARSH

 

I painted this painting 'en plein air' working from a vantage point overlooking an inlet into the marsh. It was cold and windy so I didn't spend too long out there! At first, I wasn't that happy with the painting when I got it home but after some time, I realized I did capture something of the character of the place and now I like it a little more. Over the past few months I have been working on smaller oil studies. Towards what, I'm not really sure but I do feel that it is there somewhere in front of me and if I do enough of these paintings, I'll hopefully discover what it is I am searching for. If not, I'll go back to working on other sizes - probably large sky paintings. This one is another 8 x 10 inches, oil on board.

ADVENTURE BAY

 

This view on Bruny Island off the coast of Tasmania looking along the beach was one that took me to a very special place. We spent time exploring and after making a few sketches, we drove down to the end of Adventure Bay and walked the trail to Penguin Island - what an incredible experience! In reflection, I'm surprised I haven't done a lot more paintings of this area - I'm sure I'll get to them in due course though. Frankly, there are so many images in my head that I want to translate into paintings that I'll probably never get to do them all. Oil on board, 8 x 10 inches.

PHILLIP ISLAND SURF

 

When we arrived on Phillip Island, the wet and windy weather moderated slightly. The sun broke briefly through the scudding clouds and we were met with a double rainbow as showers drifted off away across the sea. The wind was certainly bracing and the surf was some of the biggest I have seen! Huge surging waves full of spray and spume rolled in and one could clearly see the incredible power behind each one. Many gulls were offshore and amongst them I could see a few albatross along with smaller petrels etc. The visit was to be a very short one and soon we were off again - this time to see Koala Bears! This painting is an oil on gessoed board, 8 x 10 inches.

BY THE ROADSIDE II

 

This study was an attempt to do a better job of my first painting of the scene. I am going back quite a few years ago now to when I made a painting trip to Canada. After a long walk, I saw this scene looking across some fields and kept the sky simple in this one as it was one of those rare days when there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I also tried harder with the greens mixing them myself instead of using one out of the tube. I think it captures the day better than the earlier version and I find myself doing many smaller studies often as an experiment but also the fact that I am simply painting my experiences. Another 8 x 10, oil on board.

ACROSS THE WATER

 

I this small study, I tried to capture the emerald-green water that I saw in Costa Rica. Clouds were slowly building in the background of this rather simple scene but it brought back many memories of my time there. This one, like almost all of my studies these past few months is sized at 8 x 10 inches, oil on gessoed board. I cut and prepare these boards myself giving them 4 or 5 coats of gesso and also priming the edges along with a coat of black acrylic paint on the back in an effort for permanency.

CHURCH STEEPLE

 

One day when walking around Baltimore City, I happened to notice this church and something about the way the light caught the edges made me pause and take a longer look. I managed to do the painting looking up from the street at the back-lit building and arranged the composition to focus mostly on the sun-lit areas. I struggled a little with the correct tones especially the white of the turret which had different shades of warm and cool greys against the deeper blue of the sky. Like most of my plein air studies, this one is 10 x 8 inches, oil on canvas board.

PEAT FIRE

 

While travelling in Ireland, we tried to experience as much of Irish life as possible. So when we visited this traditional white-washed cottage complete with a peat fire burning in the hearth, I was happy to spend some time exploring the interior. First though, I was aware of the rather strong smell of the burning peat turves and sat for a while staring at the fire thinking how this must have been for so many through the years. Especially in winter when the dark comes early, the welcoming warmth and light from a fire was at least something to look forward to. I kept the tones in this painting quite subdued as I wanted to capture how it would perhaps have been on one of those dark, wet and windy nights in Ireland. Oil on canvas board, 10 x 8 inches.