Plein air painting 146

At Victoria Park, on the suburbs of Southampton, a vintage bus and coach rally was held on a very overcast day. I estimate there were probably 45 or so public transport vehicles, plus a number of vintage cars. The single decker bus situated in the center of the painting is an ex- London Transport.
This event was all held in the imposing shadow of the Royal Netley Hospital Chapel, very close, on the banks of Southampton Water. The rain on this summers day did manage to hold off for most of the time painting this scene, apart from one brief but hard shower.
Painted on Sunday 14th July 2024. It is painted on mounting board sized at 9.5 x 12", in oils.

Below is a photo showing the easel set and work progressing.

Plein air painting 140 23th june football bus festival

Plein air painting 140

The Bedford Place summer festival was held on the 23rd June (2024) within central Southampton. Two vintage buses, ex Southampton corporation were in attendance, amongst the stalls, one of which was used by the 'Saints' (football team) in 1976 for a parade around the city after winning the F.A. Cup Final. It has the characteristic red and white stripes as used on their kit, applied to the long radiator, on this 1949 Guy Arab III vehicle.
Painted in oils on mounting board sized at 12 x 9.5".

Standard 4 locomotive at Poole Station - oil painting

Class 4 standard steam locomotive at Poole Station, awaiting to depart on the up line for Bournemouth. Based on a blurry B/W photo taken at an unknown time and by an unknown photographer, probably early 1960's.
Painted on mounting board sized at 33 x 23" in oils during 2024.

Plein air painting 123 14 april

Plein air painting 123

On Sunday 14th April 2024 a classic car event was staged at the city wall, Southampton. It was named the 'Lord Mayors classic car display' and was for charitable causes. This view shows an Austin open road tourer from 1929. Behind is a Rolls Royce, ex- royal family.
The painting was done in oils on mounting board, sized at 12 x 9.5". It took longer than expected because of a high number of passers by taking an interest.

Plein air painting 108

This ex - Southampton bus was displayed at a summer street festival held at Bedford Place, Southampton. The bus is a Guy Arab with Gardner engine and Park Royal body, and dates from the 1950s'. Painted on the 2nd July 2023, the bus looked very well presented during the festival. The painting, which was sold on the spot, is 12" x 9.5" on mounting board, and done in oils.

Light the South - 'Solent Ships'
2024

During 2024 I was involved in the 'Light the South' trail, held in Southampton and Cowes, UK. It consisted of a large number of plaster 'lighthouse' casts which were sponsored by local companies to allow local artists to design and paint their design on the them. The lighthouses would be displsyed for the summer season on the streets of the city, followed by an auction in the autumn. The object of the project was to raise money via the Southampton Hospitals Charity, for the Southampton Children’s Hospital.
40 full scale sculptors were shown on the streets of both locations with 40 mini versions, mainly produced by schools, and shown indoors at public buildings.
My sculpture is called 'Solent Ships' and shows various types of craft to be seen either now or in the past, including some aeroplanes. To add some interest the bottom half showed the underwater world. Here could be seen a submarine, a sunken galleon and a giant squid!

Southampton Central railway station signal gantry1950's - oil painting

The end of the platform at Southampton central station (Hampshire) is shown in this oil painting, created during late 2021. It is based on a B/W photo taken by J Bailey that was taken at some point in the 1950's.
One dominant and famous feature of the station is the large semaphore signal gantry situated at the western end of the station, which was removed in 1981. A small Victorian build 0-4-4 tank locomotive is receiving water before continuing with its journey to Fawley, on a branch line, with the main line running to Weymouth in Dorset.
The painting is sized at 33” x 23” and dome on primed mounting board. It can be seen in greater detail on this link. 

Plein air painting 38

Painted during one late August afternoon in 2021 this plein air artwork shows a view of Southampton Docks, as seen standing on Town Quay. Looking toward the river Test, a few miles beyond, we can see the 'Western Docks', built in the 1930s with some large cruse ships moored. The closest one is unknown, but is run by 'Royal Caribbean Cruises'. The second one with the red funnel is 'Queen Mary 2'. The third ship in the distance is a car transporter. The weathered and dilapidated wooden/ metal structure in front of the scene is the remains of the late Victorian Royal pier which closed after a troubled history in 1980, although there are plans to restore it.

The painting is done on a small piece of cardboard from the back of a sketch pad, sized at 11.5" x 8", and done in oils.

Departure of large steam punk Victorian butterfly - digital illustration

Painted in the winter of 2021 this digital illustration shows a scene of a 'steampunk' inspired view of a large mechanical butterfly. It is taking on passengers while stood in its elegant hangar before take off. A number of well healed observers are watching with interest. The captain is surveying the final checks before departure from his observation platform by the 'eye'. This illustration can be examined more clearly on this link to an external site.

 

M7 Steam engine in the Southern Countryside - WIP stages

Railway painting featuring M7 tank locomotive in the country WIP.

A steam railway engine is shown running through the southern English countryside in a 1950s setting. The artwork is sized at 22" x 16" and painted in oils on mounting board. It was done for reproduction as a greeting card, sized at 7” x 5”, for a railway society.

The panel above shows three stages of the paintings evolution. In the first panel the drawing, done in dark brown acrylic paint can be seen, which is painted on a brown wash. White paint has been added to indicate tonally lighter areas, such as the sky. Moving on to the second panel a basic set of colours has been added using diluted oil paint. This is done to indicate where the colours and tonal variations are within the artwork, and act as an underpainting. The third and final panel features the finished oil painting. Here the paint has been applied over the underpainting in a thicker and more refined manner, and detail added. This nostalgic railway scene can be seen in better resolution by following this link.

 

M7 Steam engine in the Southern Countryside - oil painting

Painting of locomotive in the countryside, set in the 1950s.

This nostalgic painting, measuring 22" x 16" and painted in oils, shows a traditional scene of an M7 Southern railway locomotive in the English countryside, during the 1950s. It is based on an old black and white photograph, possibly showing the Fawley branch or Hawkhurst branch/ Pooks Green, in southern England. Elements have been slightly rearranged in the composition from the photo and figures added.
The locomotive type itself, a 0-4-4 passenger tank locomotive, were built between 1897 and 1911, the last one in service in 1964. Two examples are preserved. They were built for the LSWR by Dugald Drummond at Nine Elms locomotive works, in south London.
The artwork was done with the intention of it being reproduced as a 7” x 5” greeting card for a railway society.  It can be seen in larger detail on this link.

 

 

Working on closeup 81

Snippet of a railway based oil painting...

 Plein air painting 03

Tractor oil painting sketch

A Massey Ferguson tractor is shown in this plein air painting created late August 2020. It was parked in a boat yard along the river Itchen, in Southampton. It has no licence plate and spends its life going up and down the yard. The artwork is done in oils on a piece of mounting board sized at 12" x 9".

 

Voyage of the Mayflower in rough seas - oil painting

The voyage of the Mayflower in 1620 is depicted in this oil painting. It is seen in stormy weather in the North Atlantic on its way to the New World, after leaving Plymouth with Pilgrims from Holland and England. It is a small cargo ship, about 100ft long and it would have been a rough journey for the passengers as it was not built for people. It was also quite cramped as the original plan was for a second ship, Speedwell, to have also undertook the journey but it was found that it was to be unseaworthy at Plymouth, so the Mayflower had to take the extra load. The journey took approximately 2 months.

The painting is created in oils on a 24” x 36” canvas during September/ October 2019. As no one actually knows what the ship looked like various pieces of reference were cobbled together to create the most version of the design. Composition wise the image was at first designed on a computer art program where the initial drawing was envisaged and then painted digitally to find a good combination of colours. Once a suitable solution had been found it was then redrawn on a canvas and painted in the traditional manner. It was intended for the painting to be displayed as part of the celebrations held for the event at the Southampton City gallery but the COVID19 pandemic meant that the exhibition did not take place as planned and was substituted by an online one.

The artwork can be view in close up by going to this site. XXXX

Ship and ice creams at Mayflower Park Southampton - oil painting

Ship and ice creams at Mayflower Park Southampton - oil painting

Finished art of the ship docked at Mayflower Park

Mayflower Park, in the city of Southampton is the subject of this painting, completed during early spring 2020. The park is on the waterside and it is here that the public and easily view cruse ships and other ships using and docking at the port. The ship shown is a Freedom-class cruise ship operated by the Royal Caribbean cruise line. She is named 'Independence of the Seas'. The landscape painting is based on a photograph taken during summer 2012. A popular attraction at the park is the 'Mr Whippy' ice cream van, a very colourful sight compared to the drab colours of the cruise ship. This Hampshire based marine painting is painted in oils on a section of mounting board, sized at 20” x 16”. Details of the painting can be seen on this link.

Working on closeup 75

Working on closeup 75

A small snippet of a cruise ship at port based painting...

closeup working progress 11

closeup working progress 11

A small snippet of a stream punk Edwardian couple in an action scene...

Terrier Tank railway locomotive at Havant Station - oil painting

Terrier Tank railway locomotive at Havant Station - oil painting

Painting of a 'Terrier' locomotive taking on water at Havant.

This railway themed oil painting shows a small tank locomotive (called because of the water tanks mounted each side of the boiler) at a station. The engine is being topped up in the station bay in the English town of Havant, on the south coast. The locomotive crew consisting of the driver and fireman are to be seen preforming checks before departing for another service, and refilling the water tanks. Based on an old blurry and contrasty photograph taken in 1957, some research was made in to the engine (a 'Terrier numbered 32661) and the surroundings, including the cars. In addition the figures were reposed and then redrawn, but based on the ones in the picture. The locomotive itself is a LBSCR/ SR class A 0-6-0T, commonly known as a 'Terrier'. These small but very popular locomotives were built during the 1870s, and have a very elegant design. Many were still in service in to the 1960s, and a number can be found still running on preserved railways.

Painted using oils in November 2019, on mounting board sized at 33” x 23” approx. The artwork can be seen in greater detail on this link.

Working on closeup 70

Working on closeup 70

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

Fantasy big railroad locomotive departing city - digital illustration

Fantasy big railroad locomotive departing city - digital illustration

Finished artwork of a giganitic steam locomotive at a big city fantasy illustration

The subject of this scifi/ fantasy scene is a extremely large steam locomotive about to depart a city comprising of some very tall skyscrapers. Some employees of the railroad are having a meeting before departure. The landscape has a retro/ 1940s vibe in terms of the design of the buildings, car and locomotive sitting on the monorail railroad track. The main engineer is dressed in a classic uniform for the job.

Auto Sketchbook pro was used for the creation of this digital illustration. Initially it was started using a Samsung tablet to rough out the idea up to a certain stage. It would be nice to continue using the tablet but it has technical limitations as digital work is processor and ram intensive. It is exported to a windows desktop computer, still running the same program but with the power that is now available. One of the first jobs is to resize the whole image to something that can be printed up to a large scale, the initial image being too small for anything other than screen viewing. Then the whole painting is redrawn/ painted to the final required details/ colour for final output.

The illustration was completed during early December 2019, and can be seen in detail by following this link.