Plein air painting 72

The ornamental lake on Southampton common is shown in this plein air work done in late September 2022. Although the early morning weather was quite bright for the time of year, as time went by it became quite a gloomy day, with rain eventually moving in.
Painted on cardboard sized at 12"x 9.5", and done with oil paint. 

Graham Chapman (Lucie Ash Invisible Portraits exhibition)

During my stay at the Southampton City Art Gallery in spring 2022, I was invited to provide a small painting to be included as part of a larger artwork for the Lucie Ash Invisible Portraits exhibition. 

This larger artwork was to contain a large amount of small portraits done by artists and non arts, as a part of a celebration of the LGBTIQ+ community. The artwork, split over two panels consisted of 646 separate pieces of artwork, done in a variety of styles. My contribution was one that featured Graham Chapman, a member of Monty Python who had died in the early 1980's. 

It is painted in oils on a supplied, cut to size canvas (8.6cm x 7.7cm), which I sanded down and re-primed to make as smooth as possible as the weave was crude at that scale. As reference I used a screen capture showing Chapman in one of his many Monty Python characters, the army general who would typically interrupt a sketch and cancel it for the next one in the programmes running order. 

The exhibition ran from September 2022 through to January 2023.

still life 15

A clear plastic recycling bag filled with re-usable containers was used for this still life. It was painted in oils on cardboard sized at 12" x 9.5" during mid February 2023.

Head painting exercise - 'The Vikings' 02

A further collection of characters from the TV series 'Vikings'. Shown are top left Queen Aslaug, top right Björn Ironside, bottom left King Aelle and bottom right Judith.
Each one is painting in oils on cardboard sized at 12" x 9.5" during early 2023.

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.

still life painting 13

Display Mannequin life size head with hat and scarf still life. Painted alla prima in December 2022 in oils on a 12" x 9.5" piece of cardboard.

 

Plein air painting 71

Holyrood church can be found in the city of Southampton at the junction between the High street and Bernard St. Built in 1320 it is one of the oldest structures in the city. Unfortunately during the November 1940 blitz the building sustained major damage. In 1957 the church ruins were restored and given the status of an ancient monument. An annual Merchant Navy Day memorial service is held here once a year and the church is dedicated to those who have worked and continue to, in the marine industry. In addition, one of a number of "Titanic" memorials held in the city can be found here in the form of a fountain.

My father created a plaque within the church commemorating the 1981 Falklands war. To the left of the church can be seen a very large anchor positioned on the pavement. This belonged to the earlier RMS Queen Elizabeth 2, and weights 13 tonnes.

The landscape painting is done on mounting board sized at 12"x 9.5" and painted in oils during mid September 2022.