Monday 21 November 2016

The rain is coming - Lacanau

Here is an other studio painting I did while my baby was asleep. It is from a photograph I took during a family holiday this summer at Lacanau beach, near Bordeaux. The weather wasn't great during our stay but in the typical english good spirit, it didn't stop us going to the beach in our swimming suits, parasols, and a ton of suncream (well I speak for myself here), while it was hardly 18 degrees and it was clear the rain was only a few minutes away. I caught on my camera this moody dark sky just before we got completely wet and wanted to have a try turning it into a painting.


The rain is coming, Lacanau  12"x10" oil on board


I enjoyed painting the sky with freedom with big brushes and generous amount of paint, without thinking too much about what I was doing (not that I ever really know what I'm doing!). I'm quite pleased with the result and might try a few more from the same series.




Detail



Detail





Tuesday 1 November 2016

First painting since the baby's arrival!

Yeah! I'm back at the easel! It is now two months since my little boy was born and I have missed painting ever since I had to stop in late pregnancy. I have been blessed with a baby that sleeps well so during his naps, and when the eldest is at preschool, I can sometimes manage to sneak in the studio in my home for a quick oil sketch. That means that I have to rush in the studio as soon as he's asleep and put the brushes down when he wakes up, so I end up working on the painting over a few naps sessions. Obviously we are not talking about plein air painting or large work, but small studies from photographs instead. Still, it feels good to paint!

The painting below was done from a photograph of Lake District (UK). I had fun painting those distant hills contrasting with the darker foreground. 


Lake District view  10"x8" oil on board


If you spot a few shaky lines here and there, that could be because I was so eager to finish the painting after my boy woke up that I completed it while rocking the bouncer with my foot as he watched me paint with interest (I know they can't see that far at that age but let's pretend he's interested shall we).

Here are a couple of detail close up below.


Detail


Detail

I hope to be able to post more naps paintings soon!