Plein air painting 92

Completed during mid November 2022, a view containing a muddy path running through part of Southampton's 'Old' cemetery is pictured here. Originally the painting had been started a few weeks previously, but rain forced me to stop at the time. I timed my return visit to complete it so that the weather/ light would be similar, including a wet ground. Fortunately it didn't rain the second time. It was interesting to note just over those few weeks how the foliage on the trees had changed or disappeared.
This oil painted scene was done on cardboard sized at 12" x 9.5.

Plein air painting 85

A study of some gravestones catching the strong summer light one afternoon in 2022. The graves with nature claiming back the space, are to be found in Southampton 'Old' cemetery. Painted in oils on cardboard sized at 12" x 9.5, and unusually for me, painted in portrait format.

7" x 5" studies - headstones

This collection of small studies were done during summer 2022 at the 'Old' cemetery, Southampton. The area is 27 acres, and contains approximately 116,800 graves. 
Each of these oil painted studies is sized at 7" x 5", and painted alla prima.

 

Plein air painting 59

Painted during threatening weather, one summer morning in August 2022. The view is of a part of Southampton 'old' cemetery, with one of the main tarmac paths running across the scene. It did start to rain when this was painted, so the painting was abandoned until a few days later when again the weather did threaten to rain but never did. The rain left small white specks which can still be seen in some areas.

Painted on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5".

Plein air painting 37

Southampton 'old' cemetery is a large and mostly disused public site situated next to Southampton common. It is a very popular and peaceful place for people to visit and stroll around. It contains a few Victorian buildings now used for different purposes from there original use. A number of groups look after the site and record the history of the headstones, some gradeII listed, and perform clearing of the wild vegetation from time to time from this large and overwhelming site. The paintinfg shows a typical view with old, Victorian headstones standing a different angles and covered with ivy. This was painted during summer 2021 in oils on shop cardboard, sized at 12" x 9.5".

Plein air painting 02

Southampton old cemetery headstone pair

12" x 9" oil sketch of a pair of headstones with path, done on a Sunday afternoon in August. The cemetery itself is a large Victorian one, now largely unused and mostly overgrown.

 

 

Southampton old cemetery looking west early autumn - oil painting

Southampton old cemetery looking west early autumn - oil painting

Landscape painting of a westerly view of the Cemetery.

Southampton's 'old' cemetery is approximately 27 acres in size and was opened during the 1840s in the town of Southampton, on the southern coast of the UK. Now in the 21^st century it sees very little use due to a lack of space. Some parts have been reclaimed by nature which adds an additional level of beauty and interest with views of headstones covered in ivy and bramble. This painting show a view over the cemetery looking west, with Hill Lane running parallel behind the viewer. It is painted on canvas sized at 30” x 20”, and completed during December 2019 over a couple on months due to other projects. This graveyard oil painting can be seen in better detail by following this link.

Southampton old cemetery looking west early autumn -WIP stages

Southampton old cemetery looking west early autumn -WIP stages

Stages of creating this westerly viw of the graveyard at Southampton

Completed in December 2019 this landscape painting depicts a westerly view of Southampton city's 'old' cemetery, situated near to the common. It is painted in oils on a canvas measuring 30” x 20”. The image above shows four stages in the development of the painting. In the first panel can be seen the drawing of the scene in brown acrylic paint on a wash of lighter brown paint. Brighter areas of the scene have been indicated with areas painted in white, such as the sky. Moving on to the second panel it can be seen that colour oil paint has been applied thinly to the painting, basically blocking in the darker tones in the landscape. This is the underpainting, and acts as a guide to the next layer, which is in the third panel. Here the paint is applied more thickly and with the correct hues and values Also elements are painted in detail, but some of the underpainting remains and shows through on purpose. After the paint has all been applied it is left to dry., after which a 'glaze' is added on top. The glaze is like a hint of coloured paint held in a transparent medium, a bit like coloured stained glass, which gives the colours an extra dimension. The final panel shows the completed painting which can be seen on this link.

Working on closeup 71

Working on closeup 71

 A small snippet of a local graveyard themed painting...

Southampton Old Cemetery In Autumn - WIP stages

Southampton Old Cemetery In Autumn - WIP stages

Steps of progress on the painting of Southampton 'Old' cemetery

Created during autumn 201, this painting features the 'Old Cemetery' in Southampton, attached to the common. Most of this Victorian cemetery is overgrown with nature reclaiming the area. This oil painting measures 20” x 16” and is created on mounting board.

The panel above shows work in progress on the picture. The first step is to draw out the scene using brown acrylic paint on top of a brown wash of diluted paint. Some areas are painted white where there are strong bright areas. The point to this step is to fix down the range of tones through out the painting. The second panel indicated where the underpainting has been applied, using diluted oils, to find the base colours. Often at this stage the colours are intentionally darker hues of the final applied paint choices. The third panel shows progress on applying thicker paint with the correct hues, and also with details added. Finally the last panel shows the finished art.

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