Plein air painting 105

Viewed along the River Hamble (Hampshire) is this walkway that runs between Warsash and Swanwick. The area is prone to flooding every time the tide is in, so the walkway is of a certain height to combat this. The river is on the left side of the painting while the right side is used for drainage. In the background can be seen Hamble marina. Painted in oils on mounting board, sized at 12" x 9.5". Done on a hot and windy 15th June 2023.

Plein air painting 98b

Following on from the previous painting, done during 15th May 2023 was this quick painting done a few mins walk from the last location. Here the mouth of the River Hamble can be seen as it intersects with Southampton Water, across which can be seen Fawley oil refinery. Two tanker ships with red hulls are docked alongside the complex.
Painted in oils on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5".

Plein air painting 102

On June 3 2023 the Southampton Urban Sketchers met up, with the subject being Bitterne Triangle, on the outskirts of central Southampton, Hampshire. However it was difficult to find a good location there, (a road junction) and one with good light that instead I just went for a view of the local 'Riverside' park, a few seconds away. The Itchen river is shown in an upstream view with Portswood in the background. It was a hot day and this plein air was completed during the morning. It is sized at 12" x 9.5" and done on mounting board. 

Plein air painting 100

The New Forest, Hampshire is a large national park in Southern England, and is over 500 years old. It consists of moorland and forests. Blackwater Arboretum has some of the tallest trees to be found in the UK consisting of giant redwood examples. This painting, done on the 23rd May 2023, shows a path through the locality.
Painted in oils on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5".

Head painting exercise - 
'Vintage Coronation Street' 02

A further set of famous characters from the very early 1970's Coronation Street, a soap opera first started in 1960 and still running on ITV. The video source was from 2" video as found on You Tube which account for the softness. All the paintings are done in oils on cardboard, sized at 9.5" x 12", and done at various points during early to late summer 2023. 

Upper left - Stan Ogden, upper right Betty Turpin, bottom left - Rita Fairclough, bottom right - Ena Sharples.

Light the South - 'Solent Ships'
2024

During 2024 I was involved in the 'Light the South' trail, held in Southampton and Cowes, UK. It consisted of a large number of plaster 'lighthouse' casts which were sponsored by local companies to allow local artists to design and paint their design on the them. The lighthouses would be displsyed for the summer season on the streets of the city, followed by an auction in the autumn. The object of the project was to raise money via the Southampton Hospitals Charity, for the Southampton Children’s Hospital.
40 full scale sculptors were shown on the streets of both locations with 40 mini versions, mainly produced by schools, and shown indoors at public buildings.
My sculpture is called 'Solent Ships' and shows various types of craft to be seen either now or in the past, including some aeroplanes. To add some interest the bottom half showed the underwater world. Here could be seen a submarine, a sunken galleon and a giant squid!

Plein air painting 99

This unusual structure was found at Marchwood, Hampshire, and is thought to be connected to a nearby sailing club. It has a viewing platform and a mast. Marchwood itself is a small town on the River Test, facing across the river from the port of Southampton, and many interesting views were seen of large container ships in dock.
This marine architecture landscape view was done on the 17th May 2023 on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5", in oils.