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.

ALONG THE COAST

 

I liked the way your eye was drawn into the distance when looking along the coast in this scene. Walking the beach in Portugal was always going to be a thrill and I had lived the moment in my mind many times before finally making the trip over. There was a continued sense of wonder and excitement as I drove from place to place especially in the Algarve. We spent a few weeks there and although winter, the weather was as close to ideal as we could have wished it. There were many paintable subjects and so far, I feel that I have only scratched the surface. Like most of the other studies posted here lately, this oil is an 8 x 10. 

RAVINE STUDY

 

When we visited Madeira, one of the things we did was to drive to the peak of Pico do Arieiro (1862m - almost 6000 feet!). Mostly we were driving through mist and light rain but nearing the top, everything miraculously cleared up as by that point, we were above the clouds and into brilliant sunshine. Views were incredible to say the least and I remember looking down this wonderful sun-filled backlit scene thinking I had to do a painting of it (along with many other scenes that day). Managing just a small study on site, I did this painting as an experiment later on and kept it small as I was thinking of how exactly to capture what I saw and felt there. This oil on board is 10 x 8 inches.

ISLANDS END

 

Another scene from Hong Kong. This is just the kind of place I loved to explore, clambering over rocks, skirting the edge of the sea, often splashed by errant waves but having the time of my life! Deeper water has a different wave action than that closer to shore - one often reads about 'the hump of the sea' and I have experienced it many times. I tried to get some of that feeling in the painting - mainly deeper water where the rocks fall away suddenly. I also kept certain values in this piece light so as to better indicate bright sunlight. Size of this oil is 8 x 10 inches (20 x 26cm).

DISTANT SAIL

 

I saw this scene while I was back in Hong Kong a while ago. I love views like this of distant islands and in winter, when the sky is clearer with less haze, there is a purity of the light that I really enjoy. I tried to capture this feeling in the small painting done here with sunlight reflecting not only on the sail of the distant boat but also across the sea. This one is 8 x 10 inches, oil on board.