I had such a lovely time making this painting, Studland Bay is an incredibly beautiful place and the weather was gorgeous, if a bit breezy - the painting got a little sandy as a result!

10x8 " oil on panel

This is a fun thing to do with a plein air landscape painting - try to line it up with the scene  after you've finished! It creates an interesting illusion. 

Here's a tiny snippet of me creating the painting - if you'd  like me to make full videos demonstrating my plein air painting approach, let me know in the comments below, I'll see what I can do!

Oil painting on panel 5x7"

Oil painting on panel 5x7"

Another bright frosty morning had me setting up my easel by the banks of the river Thames again.  This group of trees is becoming a recurring motif in my paintings. You can find it in Orleans Gardens, looking over towards the Ham side of the river.
There was a lot of haze in the air which really increased the atmospheric perspective.  Its only a couple of weeks since the last frosty painting  but the light seems very different already as the sun is now higher and the light  stronger.
Maybe because of the smaller panel size, I didn't feel in such a rush this morning.  I remembered to step back and consider the overall effect a lot more.  I've been thinking about how to create colour harmony and researching this in Edgar Payne's book, Composition of Outdoor painting. I used a lot of blue and yellow today, it seems to tie the piece together quite well.

Original oil painting on mdf panel 9x6"

There was still a slight frost on the grass when I got down the river this morning, the air was very cold and the river still enough to allow some beautiful reflections to form.  I was absolutely frozen by the time I had finished. In spite of this I'm really hoping it snows soon - I will be ridiculously excited - I love snowy paintings and would love to have a go.    Getting out to paint is making me really enjoy January - it has always seemed like such a dreary month but the subtle colours and light are great for painting.

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Original oil painting on mdf panel 9x6"

Having a go at painting the russet apples on the 8x6" the other day gave me the courage to try out a 9x6" panel outdoors. It is still a relatively small painting but I felt much more conspicuous and also unsure if I could pull it off. Could I cover a board this size in an hour? Had I bitten off more than I could chew with all those foreground trees?  In fact I think it turned out pretty well (unless it turns out to be one of those I like at first and then gradually realise is not so great!). I think this was due in part to the weather being kind to me - the sky remained clear the whole time.  I'm feeling confident to try another tomorrow if the weather allows. 

To get the painting  home in one piece I tried a tip using a wine cork that I found  here on Marc Dalessio's blog. It worked a treat, and perhaps because I only had a ten minute walk home there was no smudging at all where the corks had been.
 
​And after squinting into the sun for a whole hour, tomorrow I will definitely try to find a cap to wear!

oil on primed card 5x4"

Making the most of the clear weather I got down to the river Thames today and produced this plein air study. I'd forgotten how hard it is trying to pin down values in changing light conditions. I love the challenge though- got to get out and do some more soon.

I painted this from the steps near Orleans Gardens, Twickenham, looking over to the Ham side of the river.