Plein air painting 118

On the 6th January 2024 the urban sketchers (facebook group) met at Ocean village, Southampton. It was a very cold Saturday morning, not helped by standing in the shade of a large building where I missed out on warmth from what little sun there was, and wanted to get it done as soon as possible. Painted in oils on mounting board, sized at 12 x 9.5"over a 1 ½ hours.

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 88

Converted from one of the old Victorian docks in Southampton (UK) is the development known as Ocean Village. It was started in the 1980s and continues to be developed. Pictured is a section of the Southampton Harbour Hotel & Spa, a 5 star hotel of recent construction. Its design, when seen from afar, looks like the stern of a luxurious ‘super-yacht’. 
Painted in late October 2022 one Saturday morning with fine light on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5" and completed in oils.

Plein air painting 73

The river Itchen, in east Southampton is wide at this point, in the suburb of Northam, just before it joins Southampton Water itself in the main area of the docks at the city. Many small boats of various shapes and sizes can be seen here moored in the river. There are also a high number of marine based industries on either side of the river. This view is from Northam bridge with Bitterne in the background.
The boats were a challenge because over the period of time painting them, would be moving about.
Painted in late September 2022 on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5", in oils.

Plein air painting 68

Shamrock Quay in the Northam area of Southampton, UK, is home to many marine based industries and places for placing various vessels in dry storage. One Friday afternoon in August 2022, this boat was painted in the late summer sun, surrounded by pieces of equipment used to allow a boat to be held upright out of water. Painted in oils on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5".

Plein air painting 56

Painted in August 2022 one early Sunday morning, the River Itchen is shown working upstream from the St Denys area in the suburbs of Southampton city, UK. Priory road would be running parallel at this point to the river over to the left and off the painting. The landing stages seen on the left have a variety of boats moored to them. In the distance can be seen the railway bridge that carries tracks from the city and towards Portsmouth.

This landscape painting is created on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5", using oils.

Plein air painting 29 

The river Itchen is shown in this painting, done during July 2021 during a very hot afternoon. It is in the up direction and would lead you to Winchester, about 12 miles away. The park that it is seen from is known as Bitterne Manor park, on the outskirts of the city of Southampton and is the site of an original roman settlement. The blue horizontal line on the right hand side is the railway bridge that goes across the river, partly hidden by many boats moored in a small marina and links Bitterne station with St Denys station, on the other side of the river. Painted on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5".

 Plein air painting 22

A large view from Shamrock Quay, Southampton on the banks of the River Itchen, Southampton. A number of boats can be seen going into the distance. The river is flowing in to Southampton Water and the city can be seen in the distance, with the tall building dominating the scene being found at the nearby 'Ocean Village'. This plein air oil painting was done during June 2021 and is sized at 11.5" x 9.5" inches. The support is mounting board, primed.

 Plein air painting 14

This plein air oil sketch shows a mundane view of a couple of lifebuoy rings, one much larger than the other, on a mooring post. The location is a boat yard on the banks of the River Itchen, in Southampton, Hampshire. When the painting was started the weather was sunny but later started to rain so it had to be abandoned. I made a note of the time it was done and the sunny weather and came back a week or two later when the weather was the same, and at the same time so as to complete the sketch. It is painted on a piece of primed mounting board during September 2020.

The setting on the River Itchen

 

 

 Hampshire sunset with boats - WIP stages

WIP of sunset marine scene set in Hampshire

This painting shows a marine scene in the city of Southampton, UK. The area is populated with old boat wrecks, some sunk and some still floating but taken over by people living on them.

The first panel shows the scene drawn with acrylic brown paint on a lighter brown wash. White paint is used to indicate some lighter areas in tone, for instance the sky. Moving on to the second panel, colour has been added using diluted oil paint, applied thinly to indicate areas of colour. Detail is not worked on at this stage as this is an underpainting layer, due to be painted over.. After a week the paint is dry so more paint is added on top. This time the paint is a lot thicker, with virtually no thinners mixed in, and the colour is a truer version of the final required vibrancy and tone. Also the brushwork is a lot finer and detail is added at this stage. Lastly the final panel shows the completed painting. This last stage also included a layer of glazing on top, which is like a thin amount of paint suspended in a lot of transparent oil medium, used to emphasize colour. It is similar to placing tinted glass or a coloured photographic filter on top of the artwork.

The painting was done during late summer 2020 and sized at 16” x 20”, and can be seen in greater detail on this link.

 

Hampshire Sunset with boats - oil painting

Painted during September 2020 this sunset painting features a view of the River Itchen in the city of Southampton, Hampshire during the summer. It is based on a photograph taken a few years previously.

This part of the salt water river, on the outskirts of the east side of the city at Northam, is much like a boat graveyard, being populated with many wrecks, some possibly dating as far back as the early twentieth century. Its quite possible that boats and ships have seen their last days here over a number of centuries. They are situated on one side of the very wide river which is not navigable. In the distance can be seen a number of warehouses and a tall chimney belonging to a hospital. Along the river bank there is a pathway popular with fishermen and cyclists.

The painting measures 20” x 16” and is done on acid free mounting board. It can be seen in greater detail by following this link.

 

 

 Working on closeup 82

A small snippet of a marine based oil painting...

Men At Northam Southampton Boat Yard - WIP stages

Men At Northam Southampton Boat Yard - WIP stages

WIP stages of boats at a Northam boat yard oil painting.

The Northam area of the city of Southampton in Hampshire, features a number of boat yards as it is located on the river Itchen. This painting, completed in January 2019 features a scene of a drydock with men preparing to use a crane to place a boat in to the river from the dry land.

The picture above shows a number of stages of how the painting was created. The first stage shows the drawing which is done with dark, brown acrylic paint on top of a wash of a similar colour. The dark tones within the scene are painted in as are very light in tone subjects, such as the sky, using white acrylic paint. The middle panel shows work moved on where now oil paint has been used to indicate the underpainting, often in darker hues of the final intended colours, and is achieved by using diluted, thin paint. Detail is still quite basic at this stage. The last panel features the final, finished artwork. It can be seen that the colours are now correct, having been applied with thick oil paint and also details regarding the surfaces and lighting, are now included.

The painting can be seen on this link.

Men At Northam Southampton Boat Yard - oil painting

Men At Northam Southampton Boat Yard - oil painting

Finished oil painting of men working at a Southampton dry dock

In this marine based landscape painting we see some men standing in a boat yard next to a crane. Their job later will be to lower one of the boats in the drydock they are stored in, in to the water, using the crane. The river behind them is the River Itchen, which starts north of Winchester and joins the busy shipping lanes of Southampton Water, at Southampton city. This particular boat yard is at Northam.

Painted in early 2019 and in oils. The size is 28” x 20” and is painted on mounting board.

A more detailed view of the artwork can be seen on this link.

Working on closeup 49

Working on closeup 49

A small snippet of a marine based oil painting...

Southampton Northam summer evening across the Itchen - WIP stages oil painting

Southampton Northam summer evening across the Itchen - WIP stages oil painting

WIP of southampton River Itchen landscape oil painting

This landscape painting features a view in Northam, an area of the east part of the city of Southampton, during a summers evening. It is mainly an industrial area that has been marine based for a number of centuries. The river flowing through the scene is the River Itchen, which goes on to and runs through Winchester, another city a few miles away also based in Hampshire. It is late summer and the tidal river is at low tide revealing the mudflats covers with abandoned boats. In the distance can be seen a small scrap carrying ship, a dry stack for boats, and in the extreme distance is the suburb of Bitterne, with houses going up the hilly landscape.

The painting is created in oils, and the support is primed mounting board, with an image size of 20” x 28”. It was completed during June 2018, and can be seen here.

Southampton Northam summer evening across the Itchen - oil painting

Southampton Northam summer evening across the Itchen - oil painting

oil painting 'Southampton Northam summer evening across the Itchen'

East Southampton (UK) is the subject of this oil painting. It shows a scene at Northam, an area dominated by the marine industry, and with the river Itchen shown running through the industrial landscape. The tidal river is quite wide here, so on low tide the mudflats are exposed hosting many old wrecks of boats. On the far side of the river can be seen some smaller ships and in the extreme distance is the suburb of Bitterne, shown as houses on the hilly landscape.

This oil landscape painting was produced during June 2018. It is 20” x 28” in size and uses primed mounting board as its support. Using this link takes you to a higher resolution image of the finished painting.

Working on closeup 48

Working on closeup 48

A small snippet of a marine based oil landscape...

Family Fishing at Eling Tide Mill Hampshire - oil painting

Family Fishing at Eling Tide Mill Hampshire - oil painting

Family Fishing at Eling Tide Mill Hampshire - oil painting

The subject of a scene is Eling Wharf, Totton, on the outskirts of Southampton, Hampshire. The area was traditionally an industrial area, mainly in timber, and used the local river Test for transportation as well as a rail connection. In modern times the area is now a tourist destination, and has a marina and Eling Tide Mill, one of the oldest working mills in the UK is in operation and open to the public. Pictured are a father with his children doing some fishing, and it appears that a crab has been caught in the net during this pleasant, sunny day.

The painting is done in oils on mounting board, sized at 20” x 28”, and was completed during April 2018.

This painting can be seen in more detail here.

Family Fishing at Eling Tide Mill Hampshire - WIP oil painting stages

Family Fishing at Eling Tide Mill Hampshire - WIP oil painting stages

Family Fishing at Eling Tide Mill Hampshire - stages of oil painting

This oil painting was completed during April 2018. It is painted on mounting board, sized at 20” x 28”. The board is initially painting with a coat of 'gesso' to prime the surface and to stop the oil paint from soaking through the paper. Once this is dry an acrylic orange, paint base is applied to act as a base colour for the entire painting. The next stage is to draw up the scene with brown acrylic paint (and in this case) suggest tonal areas with the use of acrylic white paint, as can be seen in the first panel above. Once all this is done then the painting proper can be undertaken, using oil paint. The second panel shows the under-painting applied using a 'wash' of oil paint. Generally speaking the under-painting is of a darker tone of the final intended colour and tone. The final panel shows the finished painting, with all the correct tones applied. The final layer of oil paint is of a thicker consistency than the under- painting layer, as is applied only when the previous layer is dry.

The final painting can be seen in greater detail on this link.