September Paintings

After having the proverbial artists block for two weeks, I have within the last three days had a breakthrough and got my artistic flare back!

My two latest paintings are miniatures on board. Both are available to view and purchase on Etsy. They are oil portraits stemming from my trip to Paris and Montmartre this summer.

Here are a few photographs, some showing another painting of a bearded gentleman in Montmatre also. I hope that you enjoy viewing these pieces.

If you enjoy viewing me art, please follow me on Etsy, then you can see my latest pieces of art as I add them to my shop.

Regards from England

Richard

My Latest Daily Painting...a Citroen 2CV

...for the 18th August...is a unmounted watercolor of the French classic, the Citroen 2CV. I love these cars, we have a bright yellow one.

Just back from Painting in Paris..More daily paintings

Just updating my blog as I have been away on holiday to Paris, enjoying the impressionists and French life....I finally got to the Marmottan Museum after wanting to visit it for so many years. It didn't disappoint!

I am now posting my daily paintings (about 14) from my trip to Paris, mainly still life's, to my Etsy shop.

I hope that you enjoy them.

A few shots......

Daily Painting 24th July 2015

My Daily Painting for 24th July 2015. This is a beautiful watercolor of a Mermaids Purse and Knotted Wrack Seaweed. I have used white designer gouache as well as the watercolors, sometimes letting the colours merge wet-in-wet to give a very painterly effect. I have painted a sporadic, artistic wash of yellow and white around the outside of these beach-found objects. The Mermaids Purse and Seaweed were found on my favourite beech, Dunster Beach.I hope that you enjoy this painting.

Looking to The East, Chinese Watercolours

I am thoroughly enjoying painting in the Chinese method. The below photographs show my preparatory washes of blue and violet on one side of the paper and subsequent four washes of roasted twig tea on the front.

 

The Chinese paper is totally different to traditional watercolour paper, being much more absorbent.

 

I lay the paper down onto a dry cloth, which is used as a base to absorb any extra paint or ink. It also serves as a protector of the delicate paper from the wood of my desk. The moon is painted using designers white gouache, sometimes mixed with watercolour paint, other times, I just use the white on it's own.

Black bamboo for inspiration in my studio. I have perfected painting bamboo and I will incorporate it into some of my future paintings. However, my first paintings will be centred around beautiful birds, namely the Spoonbill, Heron and my personal favourite, the Egret.

 

Dumortierite gem stones used as paperweights to the paper flat whilst drying.

 

The art of Chinese painting lends itself to the meditative state, such as the preparation of the inks, by grinding them on slate first, whilst preparing for the painting to come.

Summer In England

Summer is well and truly underway with daylilies flowering extremely well at the moment, along with hollyhocks, lavenders, acanthus, roses, helenium and many others. I have just painted an Acanthus in oil colours, this one an oil on board....

 

 

Flowers from the artists garden.....

 

I am presently painting some flower pieces in the medium of Chinese Watercolour...coming to my Etsy gallery soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Hellebores in the artists garden

These are some of my hellebore plants that are flowering at the moment, some are my stock plants used for breeding purposes and some are seedlings. I prefer mostly the single flower shapes as most of the doubles and anemone centred plants lack the intrinsic simple beauty of the original strains. I have plants sourecd from Eric Smith (of the Plantsmen) via Little Creek Nursery in North Somerset that form the focus of my breeding with the darker strains of helleborus x hybridus.

 

 

ONE OF MY SPOTTED SEEDLINGS, FLOWERING THIS YEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME. Good overall flower shape, consistent spotting and showing good hybrid vigour:-

 

ANOTHER SEEDLING, DARK NECTARIES AND AN ATTRACTIVE PETAL COLOURATION:-

ANOTHER HAND-POLLINATED SEEDLING, A RICH PINK.

HELLEBORUS PURPURASCENS, A SPECIES HELLEBORE, THIS IS GROWING WELL ON OUR CLAY SOIL :-

HELLEBORUS PURPURASCENS :-

 A YELLOW STOCK PLANT USED FOR BREEDING PURPOSES :-

ANOTHER OF MY SEEDLINGS. THIS ONE IS A VERY SPECIAL LIGHTLY SPOTTED PINK PLANT :-

A PICOTEE STOCK PLANT :-

 MY BEST SPOTTED PINK SEEDLING :-

THE HELLEBORE THAT GOT ME STARTED, A SPECIES PLANT, HELLEBORUS ARGUTIFOLIUS:-

MY DARKEST SEEDLING HELLEBORE, WITH ERIC SMITH BLACK STRAIN PARENTAGE :-

Embracing Art

 

So many subjects to paint, too little time...

 

 

Shell Oil Paintings

These pieces are painted upon board and are sold unframed, however the below shots show how they might look when framed. These would perhaps suit the walls of  a coastal holiday home or retreat.

 

Oil Landscapes

These photographs show one of my latest landscape oil paintings, this time capturing the beautiful surroundings of Laugharne Castle in Wales. Laugharne is a very special place and holds a fascination for me, not least from memories of childhood holidays, the poetry of Dylan Thomas and the plethora of wildlife.

Some of my initial drawings

These two photographs show two of my dog drawings prior to being painted with watercolour...