Plein air painting 117 

One of the last landscape paintings done during 2023 was this one set in the New Forest, Hampshire. The low moorland is known as Pig Bush. It was a dark, gloomy day with rain threatened. However no pigs were seen. The landscape is mainly populated with heather.

The artwork is done on cardboard sized at 12" x 9.5" with oils, the date being 12th Oct.

Plein air painting 109

Plein air painting 

Rhinefield house, set in the New Forest, Hampshire, is a grade II listed building, built in 1877, and now used as a hotel. Attached to it is a 16 hectare garden designed by William Romaine-Walker and Augustus Tanner.
The painting shows a wonderful and very large pond, with the house located behind the viewer. In the distance is a wall with a gated entrance. It was painted on the 6th July 2023 during a very hot day on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5" in oils.

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 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".

Plein air painting 96

Painted in the New Forest, Hampshire near to the city of Southampton. The area is Fritham, with this abode being situated near to the Royal Oak Pub. Lyndhurst is the nearest town.
It was painted on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5 in oils, during 3rd May 2023.

Plein air painting 95

Looking across heathland on the New Forest, Hampshire, can be seen the venting pipes of the oil refinery at Fawley, a large industrial complex on the banks of Southampton water. The countryside landscape was painted on the 20th April 2023. Done in oils on mounting board, sized at 12" x 9.5". It was a very windy day when this was painted!

Plein air painting 101

Near to Blackwater Arboretum in the New Forest, Hampshire, and where the previous post was situated is Flechs Water, a few minutes away. This old log made an interesting subject. Painted on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5", and done in oils during a fine hot day on the 25th May 2023.

Plein air painting 91

Plein air painting 91 (unfinished)

This view shows the B3079 going through the Bramshaw area of the New Forest, Hampshire. On the right hand side (off canvas) would be the Green Dragon pub. The sky was quite foreboding when I started this plein air landscape. Sadly after about 30mins it started to rain. I continued for another 15 mins or so but had to stop because the raindrops were settling on the oil paint to an uncontrolled amount, like little beads. Fortunately I had got the painting to a level where it is showable, even if not actually finished. When the water droplets finally disappeared, little circles/ dots are left in the paintwork.
Painted in oils on the 24 November 2022 this artwork is done on cardboard sized at 12" x 9.5".

Plein air painting 103

A grouping of tree trunks (Redwoods) as found at Rhinefield, New Forest in Southern England. The painting is sized at 12" x 9.5", and painted on mounting board using oils. It was done on the 1st June 2023.

Paint out day at Fawley oil refinery.

On the 20th April 2023 I was in the New forest painting with some friends. We went to a part of the New Forest, Hampshire to paint the Fawley oil refinery from a distance of approximately 4km. The numerous chimney stacks dominate the skyline view from this distance. Our painting position was very close to the 'Royal Oak' pub, near to the junction of Rollestone Rd meeting Beaulieu Rd.
The day was dry and sunny but the wind very strong with even the heavy portable easel almost tipping over. The painting was done in under 2 hours.

Two horses with burnt trees in the New Forest - oil painting

Oil on canvas 20” x 16” 2022.

This painting was done as a demo during an event at October Books, Southampton during the summer. Unfortunately, I became ill and messed up the painting. A few weeks later I returned to it and shoved some more paint on it, in an attempt to tart it up and get something out of it. Various pieces of photo reference were used from previous visits.

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

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.

Cows resting at Boltons Bench Lyndhurst New Forest - WIP stages

Created in July 2021, this oil painting shows a view of Boltons Bench, an area just outside the small town of Lyndhurst, situated in the New Forest, Hampshire, UK. The picture above shows four stages of the paintings creation. Starting with the first panel, the elements of the composition that make up the scene have been drawn in brown acrylic on a brown wash. In the second panel, diluted oil paint has been applied to give an indication of colours and tonal information. Its applied thinly, using a medium like paint thinner or similar, and because its thin the paint dries quickly over a few days. Moving on to the third panel the final layers have partly been applied. Here the paint is much thicker and is the correct colour and tone is used over the thinly painted layer. Finally as seen in the last panel the painting, sized at 20” x 16” and done on mounting board is finished.

The artwork can be seen in better clarity on this link.

Cows resting at Boltons Bench Lyndhurst New Forest - oil painting

Painted in July 2021 this picture shows a view set in the picturesque New Forest, a large area of 28,924.5 hectares, first noted in the Domesday Book of 1086. This small hill is situated just outside the small town of Lyndhurst, in the county of Hampshire, southern England. On top of the hill is a large Yew Tree, surrounded by a bench, named after the Duke of Bolton, and is a popular spot for tourists to admire the scenery and engage with the freely roaming cows and horses.

The painting measures 20” x 16” and is done in oils. The support is acid free mounting board, primed to allow it to accept the oil paint. The artwork can be seen in greater detail on this link.

 Working on closeup 86

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

Herd of cattle in the New Forest countryside - WIP stages

Four stages of the creation of the New Forest scene.

Painted in late December and through to early January 2021 this painting shows a countryside scene within the New Forest, situated on the south coast of the UK. It is painted in oils on mounting board, sized at 20” x 16”.

The first panel shows the drawing of the countryside scene, done in brown acrylic paint on a lighter brown acrylic wash. The second panel shows where white acrylic paint has been added to indicate areas of a lighter tone, namely the sky area.

Moving on to the third panel shows where oil paint has now been introduced in to the process of creating the artwork. Here paint has been added to indicate the basic colours of forms within and acts as an underpainting, which will be painted over again. This layer of paint is thinly applied, using a medium (similar to white spirit, but more refined) to thin it out. The last panel displays the completed painting. Here the paint is thicker, basically as it comes out of the tube and is applied more carefully. Detail and colour are of the prime concern at this stage. Once the paint was dry (after a week or so) a level of glazing was added. This is when a wash of almost transparent colour, held in a thick, clear oil is applied to help emphasise the colours and make slight alterations to tonal values, such as making the trees darker than originally painted.

The finished forest scene can be seen on this link in greater detail.

 

Herd of cattle in the New Forest countryside - oil painting

Completed painting of cows in the New Forest.

Completed in early January 2021 this painting depicts a scene within the New Forest, Hampshire, situated on the southern coast of the UK. A herd of cows are shown on a hot, summers day with a horned member enjoying the shade offered by some trees. The location is very near a campsite situated at Aldridge Hill, not far from Brockenhurst. Painted in oils on mounting board, sized at 20” x 16”.

For those wishing to view in detail the artwork can be seen on this 3^rd party link

 

New Forest Highland Bulls at crossing - WIP stages

Four panels showing how the painting was built up.

The oil painting shows two Highland cows by a road in the New Forest, situated in the county of Hampshire. The painting is measures 35.5cm x 20cm and is done on mounting board, primed for oil use.

The picture above shows the creation of the painting in four stages. In the first panel is the drawing, done using brown/ black acrylic paint on a lighter brown base wash. White paint is then added to areas to show where the highlight or tonally brighter areas will be, for instance like the sky.

Once this initial application is done and dried, then the first applications of oil paint are made. The paint is not applied thickly, but thinned with a medium such as turpentine or in this case a paint thinner called 'Zest it' which is a safer chemical made from 'green' materials. This layer gives an indication of the placements of colours and values throughout the scene, but no details are painting at this stage. In the third panel stronger, thicker colours are applied as this is the start of the final painting. Details are added and generally care is taken to paint correctly, while in the fourth and final panel is the finished painting. It should be pointed out that an extra layer has been added which is a coloured 'glaze' applied to some of the elements in the scene. This is used to reinforce colours and add a depth to the painting that only the eye can see. The camera tends to flatten this effect.

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

New Forest Highland Bulls at crossing - oil painting

Completed painting of the two bulls

This scene features two Highland bulls enjoying the sunshine in the countryside. The location is just outside the town of Brockenhurst where a footpath meets Rhinefield Road. This is within the area of the very large New Forest, which can be found in the County of Hampshire on the south coast of the UK. The painting was done during July 2020 and is done in oils on mounting board, sized at 35.5cm x 20cm.

The artwork can be examined in better clarity on this external site.