Plein air painting 43

In this plein air artwork, done in the late summer of 2021, can be seen the 'Bellemoor' pub or tavern, Southampton. It is to be found on Hill Lane, and runs along a side of Southampton Common. The painting itself shows the entrance into the common, the road running across the scene. Painted on primed mounting board, sized at 12" x 9.5" using oil paints on a Saturday afternoon.

Head painting exercise - vintage horror stars

Three famous stars of horror. Peter Wilton Cushing OBE (1913 – 1994), Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee CBE CStJ (1922 - 2015) and Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (1911 – 1993).
Each painting is done on cardboard measuring 12" x 9.5", in oils, using a limited palette. All painted during summer 2022.

Plein air painting 42

Southampton common is shown in this summer 'plien air' painting, created on a sunny afternoon. A main tarmac path through the site is shown with the 'old' cemetery on the left and the duck pond, hidden behind the trees, on the right. A fence can be seen where the water comes close to the path.
The artwork is painted on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5", and done in oils over a period of a few hours. It is always interesting how the shadows move across the scene, so one has the 'freeze' them to complete the landscape painting.

Head painting exercise - Princess Elizabeth

Pictured is a portrait sketch of a young Queen Elizabeth II, as a princess. it is based on an old B/W photo presumably taken in the very late 1940s. The painting used a limited 3 colour plus white palette, and painted in oils on a piece of cardboard sized at 12" x 9.5". Uploaded on the 18 September 2022, one day before the funeral of her majesty. 

Plein air painting 41 

Avenue St. Andrew's is a Victorian united reform church built in 1889. The impressive red brick building is (part) grade II listed and can found along 'the Avenue' a main route in and out of the city of Southampton, and very close to Southampton common and cemetery. 
This plein air painting was done on a busy Sunday afternoon in late August 2021 at the entrance to the common, looking across the Avenue (A33) toward the church. It is done in oils on mounting board, sized at 12" x 9.5". 

Southampton Central railway station signal gantry 1950's - WIP stages

This historical railway scene is based on an old B/W photo taken by John Bailey. It is painted in oils on a 33” x 23” piece of mounting board. The photo above, divided into 4 panels shows various stages of creating the painting. In the first panel, upper left, can be seen the drawing done in brown acrylic on a lighter brown wash. Moving on to the second panel that is upper right, some diluted oil paint has been applied to act as an underpainting. This is to indicate basic areas of colour and tone, and act as a foundation for future thicker layers of paint. The third panel now shows some thicker paint has been applied which is now the 'true' intended tone of the colour, or putting it another way the final intended paint layer. This layer is also painted with detail in mind unlike the previous layers which are rougher in comparison. Finally the last panel, lower right displays the final painted image, full of detail. In addition some glazing was performed on the painting when dry, which is when a small amount of paint is mixed with a pure oil medium and used to tine areas of colour for extra effect.
This transport painting can be seen in greater detail by following this link to an external site. 

 Head painting exercise - side views

A collection of 4 heads painted from the sides. Each painted sketch is done on cardboard sized at 12" x 9", and painted in oils, using a limited palette. Generally one sitting is taken to do the one painting. These are based on reference pulled off the internet.

Head painting exercise - politicians

Two famous leaders of opposing political leaders in the UK, are shown in this entry. Leading the Conservatives (and was the PM) is Boris Johnson. His opposite number leading the Labour party is Sir Keir Starmer. Each of these two paintings are done on cardboard (from a supermarket) sized at 12" x 9.5", primed ready to accept oil paint. A limited set of colours has been used to create these sketches, painted during mid summer 2022.