Old dead tree - oil painting

Painted during Autumn 2023, the subject is an old dead tree, resting on the ground and gently rotting away. It was to have been seen in the New Forest, Hampshire during the summer of that year, where a reference photograph was taken of the subject, leading on to the creation of the studio painting later on.

The painting measures 20 x 16", and is painted in oils on primed mounting board.

It can be seen in greater detail on this link.

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.

Plein air painting 76

Some vegetation in a shady spot as seen on Southampton Common during a sunny afternoon in early October. Painted in oils on cardboard, sized at 12" x 9.5", 2022.

7" x 5" studies - Leaves

A group of small (7" x5") oil paintings of leaves, painted alla prima. Painted during summer 2022.

 

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 55 

Painted one Sunday afternoon in August 2022 this old, long dead fallen tree was seen in the 'old' cemetery at Southampton. Covered in ivy and surrounded by tall undergrowth it made a great subject for the size of a piece of board that was in my 'pochade box', different to the usual size I work at.
Painted in oils on mounting board sized at 12" x 7.5".

Small New Forest stream in summer - WIP stages

The image above shows WIP on a painting showing a stream within the New Forest, a national park situated in southern England. In the first panel, upper left can be seen the initial drawing, done in brown acrylic paint. This was based on a set of photographs taken a few years before. The second stage is in the upper right image that demonstrates the use of underpainting, which is the basic colours (and no details) applied thinly to give a rough foundation to the painting. The paint is oil paint, part diluted with a spirit like medium and painted over the acrylic drawing. Once this layer is dry (typically a week on) then the painting properly can be tackled. As seen in the 3^rd, bottom left panel the paint is applied thick, in fact as it comes out of the paint tube with the colour mixed to the final desired effect and details placed in using careful painting. Finally the last panel shows the completed painting which included a glazing layer on to of the main painting. This extra layer is like mostly transparent oil colour added to give extra depth to the colours, much like a tint.

This New Forest landscape painting is sized at 20” x 16” and created on mounting board. It can be seen in greater detail on this link.  

Small New Forest stream in summer - oil painting

A quiet, picturesque summer scene from within the New Forest, Hampshire is shown in this landscape oil painting. The stream is near a campsite, itself near to the town of Brockenhurst, and situated in the heart of the forest, a national park.

This painting was created during late summer 2021, and sized at 20” x 16” primed mounting board. Oils were used with a glazed layer on top once dried for stronger colour intensity when seen in person. This landscape art can be seen as a larger, more detailed image by following this link.

 Plein air painting 21

Southampton common, Hampshire is depicted in oils in this landscape plein air painting. It was painted one sunny early morning in June 2021. It is painted on a piece of a cardboard box, sized at 11.5" x 9.5".  

Plein air painting 06

A sunny Southampton common morning plein air art

A view of Southampton Common, near to one of the main routes through the area with a tarmaced path in the mid distance. Painted in early September on an early morning, with many dog walkers exercising, and others going to school or work. It is done in oils on mounting board, sized at 12" x 9". It was painted on a very light brown colour (ground), rather than white.

Southampton Common tree by path in Autumn - WIP stages

Southampton Common tree by path in Autumn - WIP stages

Stages of a painting of a tree at the entrance to Southampton city common.

A tree in Autumn features in this seasonal landscape study. The tree is one to be found within Southampton Common, Hampshire, near to the entrance.

Shown in the picture above are four stages of the painting. In the first, the basic scene has been drawn out in brown acrylics on a yellow ochre flat colour, also done in acrylics. A basic indication of shading has been added. The second panel has some colour added in the way of a wash of diluted oil colour, used to indicate areas of colour and tone. These are not the final painted colours for now, and are left to dry. Moving on to the 3^rd panel it can be seen that paint has been applied heavier on to the painting, over the previous, dried layers. These colours are now truer to the intended tone and the painting has become more detailed in these areas. The final panel shows the completed work, with all the final layer of paint applied. A additional stage was to give most of the painting a 'glaze', which is where a further level is applied in the form of translucent colours mixed with a clear painting medium. It is similar to stained glass, though not as strong, but this helps to enhance the colours when seen by the human eye as light travels through the extra layer, hits the underlying area and bounces back. A camera does not see this effect however when a photograph is taken.

On other point of interest is that the support (canvas) is home made. This is to say that un-primed canvas material was purchased from a fabric shop and then fixed to a wooden stretcher bar, home made from scraps of wood. Once the canvas was stretched tight over the wooden stretcher bar, it was primed ready for painting. It was found that the painting surface was quite smooth.

The painting can be seen in greater detail by following this link.

Southampton Common tree by path in Autumn - oil painting

Southampton Common tree by path in Autumn -  oil painting

Completed artwork of tres at the entrance to the common.

An Autumnal scene is pictured in this scene on Southampton Common, painted during September 2019. The tree is near to the entrance of the common, and has been recognised in this painting. It is the early part of the season so some trees are still green, whereas others have already lost their leaves. Other trees display golden leaves, still clinging on to the branches.

The painting measures 14” x 13”, so is quite smaller than usual, and is done in oil paint on a home made canvas (cotton primed and attached to a home made wooded support frame).

It can be seen in greater detail by following this link.

Group Of Trees In The New Forest - WIP stages

Group Of Trees In The New Forest - WIP stages

Steps in the creation of 'Group of Trees in the New Forest' painting.

A peaceful scene in the New Forest, set in the county of Hampshire, Southern England, is the subject of this work. It was painted in June 2019, on mounting board sized at 20” x 16”, using oils.

The picture shows a WIP stages view of how the painting was created. The first panel shows initial work on drawing in the scene details using dark brown acrylic paint on a lighter brown base colour. Basic tonal areas are added in to show the lights and darks within the composition.. Once this is dry which is only a short time for acrylic paint, the oil paints are opened up and basic areas of colours and tonal areas are applied with thinned out paint on top of the acrylic drawing as seen in the second panel. This layer acts as a guide, or underpainting for the later process, which is shown in the third panel, where the paint is now thicker and applied in a more meaningful manner, with the correct colours and details laid on top. Final the last panel depicts the finished oil painting.

The artwork can be viewed in greater detail on this link to an external site.

Group of trees in the New Forest - oil painting

Group of trees in the New Forest - oil painting

oil painting of a grouping of trees in the New Forest

This outdoor forest was painted during June 2019. It depicts a view within the New Forest, which is set in the county of Hampshire, of the south coast of the UK. It is a hot day but the densely packed trees offer shade from the hot summers day.

This landscape painting is created in oils on mounting board, sized at 20” x 16”, and can be examined in greater detail on this link.

Working on closeup 60

Working on closeup 60

 A small snippit of a forest based oil 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.

Southampton Old Cemetery In Autumn - oil painting

Southampton Old Cemetery In Autumn - oil painting

Oil painting of  'Southampton Old Cemetery In Autumn'

Gradually nature is reclaiming this old cemetery in Southampton, Hampshire. It is known as the 'Old' cemetery and was first opened in the 1840's. It has a size of 27 acres and features 100's of headstones from the Victorian and early part of the 20^th century, including a number connected to victims of the titanic disaster.

The painting was done in oils during November 2018, and is painted on mounting board, and features the location during a sunny, autumn day. It can be viewed in greater detail here.

Winchester Hill Area In Hampshire During Summer - oil painting

Winchester Hill Area In Hampshire During Summer - oil painting

oil painting of "Winchester Hill Area In Hampshire During Summer"

This oil painting depicts a site within the Old Winchester Hill area, situated in the county on Hampshire, southern England. The area offers fantastic views of the surrounding area, including the Solent, and the cites of Portsmouth and Southampton, and is part of the South downs national park. The area features an iron age fort, most of which has not been excavated by archaeologists.The gate leads to an area which is cordoned off from being used as it was used for by the army for training during WW2, and possibly contains unexpolded bombs.

The painting is created on mounting board, sized at 20” x 16”, and was painted during autumn 2018. It can be viewed in greater detail here.

Line of trees in Hampshire during Autumn - oil painting

Line of trees in Hampshire during Autumn - oil painting

Oil painting of Autumn trees in Hampshire

During September 2018 this oil painting was created, main as an exercise in [painting trees in a simpler (impressionistic) way, rather than falling in to the trap of painting each individual leaf and branch. Oil paint on a board, which was sized at 20” x 16” was used. The subject was based on a photograph taken a number of years previously, just with the intention of finding a way to painting trees in a quicker and 'slicker' way.

The finished painting can be seen here.

Sleeping cow on grass on sunny day - WIP stages

Sleeping cow on grass on sunny day - WIP stages

Sleeping cow on grass on sunny day - oil painting stages

The above panel shows stages of a painting, the subject of which is a cow dropping asleep in a field.

Basic photographic reference was obtained on one of my trips about in the area of Lyndhurst, situated within the area of the New Forest, UK.

Stretched watercolour paper is used as the support base, which was then given a coat of 'gesso' to seal the paper from any leakage of oil paint, to be placed later on top. Once the gesso was dry an orange acrylic wash was applied on top, after which the drawing of the cow scene was done on top using a brown acrylic paint and fine brush, and white paint to help indicate blocks of light for the tonal values. Following this, diluted oil paint was then used to place down the initial base colours. This 'under-painting' layer provides a good key to the last stage, which is when the oil paint is applied thicker to provide the final details and colours within the artwork.

The finished painting can be seen on this link.