Ponte San Agostin - stage 5

Still keeping within the confines of the blue/orange complementary I painted in the bridge with the colour getting a bit warmer as it gets nearer using some more Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Violet in the mixes before going onto the lit area at the right. I used mixes of Lead Tin Yellow Lemon, Cadmium Yellow Light, Yellow Lake Deep, Permanent Orange, Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Violet for here. Because the blues and oranges are complementary each makes the other look more saturated.
I am writing the article for the Artists & Illustrators magazine as I go along which is just as well as the deadline of July 3rd is fast approaching and I need to let the finished painting dry before I can scan it so I can send all together to the publishers.

Ponte San Agostin - stage 4

I first gave the lit areas a wash of some warm Yellow Lake Deep and Permanent Orange which gave me a better idea of what to paint in the buildings in Moonlit shadow as well as making the blues look more saturated due to the orange being complementary to the blue. 
I left it like this to dry overnight and then I will run some slightly more opaque paint over areas of detail that I don't want to show very much tomorrow morning. I should be able to get all the buildings and bridge finished tomorrow so that I can make a start on the reflections in the canal on Sunday.

Ponte San Agostin - stage 3

I finished off the sky by just keeping the thinner paint around the moon and blocking in the rest so that it has a more magical feel to it. Then I painted in the furthest buildings keeping the edges soft and leaving little gaps where the warm underpainting shows through to suggest lights in windows.
In preparation for tomorrow's session I painted in the windows in the other buildings; a lot of them will disappear as I go along but I want them all in at the moment so that I can decide as I go along how many I want to see of them.

Ponte San Agostin - stage 2

I have now blocked in some transparent colour over the buildings and put in the sky. The picture is based around an orange/blue colour complementary to which end the sky is a mix of Prussian Blue, Permanent Orange and Zinc White with a dash of Lead Tin Yellow Lemon for the Moon. The transparent colour washed over the buildings is a mix of Prussian Blue and Permanent Orange and when nearer to the light areas is a mix of Ultramarine Violet and Permanent Orange.
The "design" of the painting is now becoming more apparent.

Ponte San Agostin - stage 1

This is the tonal underpainting for a painting that will be the subject of a step-by-step demonstration article for Artists & Illustrators magazine called "Combine Shapes Lose Edges". This is where I put into practice those mantras from earlier in the year "Lose Edges! Join Shapes!" and "It's The Painting Not The Place". I have chosen a location in Venice and am working from a photograph when I was there a few years ago. I am going to keep the tempting detail down to a minimum and instead develop it into larger shapes which should give it a stronger design but will nevertheless have the atmosphere of a Venetian night through the colour and lighting.
This first stage was "drawn" up with a small bristle brush using a mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin in the morning and then in the afternoon when it was largely dry I put in the tonal underpainting mainly with a rag and an old Flat brush using the same paint mix.
16" x 12" oil on linen.

Oliver's Island Autumn Sunrise

This is the last of the quartet of paintings of the same location, Oliver's Island on the Thames at Strand On The Green, under different lighting and season etc. I was dismayed to find that when I went to visit the location in West London last week the poplar trees were no longer there but I decided to paint them in for continuity's sake to fit in with the others. I was originally going to have a Summer blue sky with white fluffy clouds but again didn't feel that it would fit in with the others so I went for a warm and dramatic feel, two cold pictures two warm.
All four paintings are actually based on a blue/green - red/orange colour complementary, each one being a variation within that range of colour. 
I must now get on with writing the next article for Artists & Illustrators magazine that will be incorporating aspects of these paintings and other recent pictures.
16" x 12" oil on linen.
There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Oliver's Island Autumn Sunrise - stage 3

I have actually already finished the painting and am waiting for it to dry so I can scan it but in the meantime here is the stage from yesterday when I had finished the sky and island etc and I had started to block in the colours for the water reflections. As you can see I use a flat brush to lay in vertical strokes of darker versions of the colours in the sky into the water area. When all the area is covered I run a dry brush horizontally across the surface of the paint to give the impression of light reflected on water.

Oliver's Island Autumn Sunrise - stages 1 & 2

Stage 1

Actually I did these a few days ago but have been away for the weekend where there was no wifi or phone signal so the is the first chance to post them. This is the last in this series of paintings of the same location in different lighting and season etc. I was going to do a Summer one with blue sky and fluffy white clouds but I didn't think that would fit with the others so I went with another more dramatic tonal one instead. I actually have a bit of a dilemma with the poplar trees on the island; I went there last week and was mortified to see that they are not there any more but for continuity's sake I have decided to keep them there for the last one. 
Stage 1 was "drawn" up first with a small bristle brush using a mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet with some Liquin and then with a rag I rubbed in the tonal underpainting over it using the same paint mix.
Stage 2 is the first colour pass on the sky and in common with the rest of this series it is based on a blue/green - red/orange colour complementary. Colours used were Phthalocyanine Turquoise, Pale Violet, Permanent Orange, Burnt Sienna, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon, Yellow Lake Deep, Zinc White and Warm White - all Michael Harding paints.

Stage 2

Oliver's Island Winter Sunrise

This is the third in this short series of paintings of the same location in different lighting conditions, season etc. As the first two were cold in colour I thought that I would paint this one in warmer ones in this case a sunrise in the Winter. All these paintings are basically Tonalist in palette with this one based on a blue/green - red/orange colour complementary using relatively desaturated mixes of Prussian Blue, Naples Yellow, Permanent Orange, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon and Warm White with some Permanent Sap Green later on - all Michael Harding colours.
I now want to paint the last one in the Summer and have just got back from a generally frustrating trip to West London to photograph the island in Summer foliage. I managed to get the photo's but achieved little else otherwise!
I have been trying to apply the mantras stuck to my easel from trying things out earlier in the year, "Lose Edges, Join Shapes!" and "It's the Painting not the Place" (see posts on this earlier in the year on this blog). Indeed I have to start writing very soon an article for the Artists & Illustrators magazine on this very subject...
16" x 12" oil on linen.
There is a short step-by-step progress through this painting in a previous post on this blog.

Oliver's Island Winter Sunrise - stages 1,2 & 3

Stage 1

I have now moved on to the next one in this short series of paintings of the same location in different lighting conditions, time of day and season. The first two have been cold in colour so I thought I would paint one in warmer ones, in this case sunrise. It's based around a blue/green - red/orange colour complementary.
Please go to earlier posts for information on the location in West London.
The first stage, the Tonal Underpainting was painted first with a small bristle brush and then with a rag using a mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin.
I added colour in the second stage using mixes of Prussian Blue, Naples Yellow, Permanent Orange, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon and Warm White - all Michael Harding paints.
The third stage used the above colours plus the addition of Permanent Sap Green with which I roughed in the Island and water etc.

Stage 2

Stage 3

Oliver's Island Winter Storm

Before getting on with "Dawn Of The Hamadryad" (and as a change from more branches and twigs) I am going to paint a series of probably four pictures of the same location under different lighting conditions, weather and time of day. I have chosen Oliver's Island on the Thames at Strand On The Green in West London and have already painted the first a few months ago, now retitled Oliver's Island Late Dusk". The Island or Ait as they are known in this area was supposedly where Oliver Cromwell stayed for a while during The Civil War but probably a myth, the London Underground bridge to Kew and Richmond can be seen at the left of the island. I have chosen a London location with one eye on entering them in the Royal Institute of Oil Painters juried show at the Mall Galleries, this year's theme being "London" - I have been accepted a number of times previously.
I'm fairly happy with it but think it's a bit too photographic for my intentions and will try and make the next one look a bit more "painterly".
Based on a blue/orange complementary I have tried to keep it relatively desaturated and cold looking in keeping with the season.
16" x 12" oil on linen.
There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Oliver's Island Winter Storm - stages 2 & 3

Morning Session

Managed to paint most of the sky this morning and the rest this afternoon. It's based on a blue/orange complementary and was painted with mixes of Prussian Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Permanent Orange, Zinc White, Warm White and Naples Yellow - all Michael Harding paints.
I blocked in a thin mix of Prussian Blue and Permanent Orange over the land and water in readiness for tomorrow's session. The lightest part of the picture will be the large white cloud directly above the boat and jetty, roughly composed using the Rule Of Thirds for placement. The overall colour of the painting is to be kept cold and relatively desaturated.

Stage 3

Oliver's Island Winter Storm - stage 1

Before getting on with "Dawn Of The Hamadryad" I fancy getting away from twigs and branches for a while and will be painting a short series of the same location under different lighting conditions and weather. I have chosen Oliver's Island on the River Thames of which I have already painted the first a few months ago and have retitled it to "Oliver's Island Late Dusk". I have chosen a London location (it's an island or Ait near Strand On The Green in West London) with one eye on the upcoming Royal Institute Of Oil Painters juried exhibition at the Mall Galleries for which I will enter these if they work out OK. The theme of the show is "London".
This first tonal underpainting stage was "drawn" up with a small bristle brush using a mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin and Lukas Number 5 Medium so that it would be dry for the afternoon session when I put in the tones with a rag and flat brush using the same paint mix but without the Lukas Number 5 Medium.

Oliver's Island Late Dusk

Winter Hedgerow

Well most paintings work out some don't, you have to take it on the chin and move on. The idea for "Winter Hedgerow" arrived out of the blue and I felt duty-bound to paint it. It's a follow-on from the recent small tree paintings which are studies for a larger upcoming one called "Dawn of The Hamadryad". This one was meant to be a low key piece kind of showing the complexity of Nature in an ordinary hedgerow, which it is.....but it lacks the lightness of touch that I was hoping for from using a way of painting that involved erasing highlights with a brush dipped in clean turpentine. Luckily I have only spent a few days on it and I must admit that I have learned something from doing it so all is not lost. 
Before going on to the larger painting I fancy doing a few looser, more expressive ones to have a break from the finicky brushwork of these recent tree pieces...and to put into practice those mantras that are stuck to my easel - "Lose Edges, Join Shapes!" and "It's The Painting Not The Place".
16" x 12" oil on linen.
There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.