Paris

We managed to squeeze a day in Paris during last years trip to France. Its been a few years since I was last in Paris so it was an enjoyable time and for once last year the sun shone. 

It was such a warm day we stayed outdoors the whole time and did all the usual tourist sites. I just had to try and record them in paint, so below is "The Paris collection 2012".

An Eiffel of sunshine

By the Orangery

Paris from the Trocadero

The Seine

Tuileries fountain

D-Day 70 years on

The 6 June 2014 will be the 70 anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. Sadly there will be few veterans left to remember it.

The subject has fascinated me since I was a boy. Two of my uncles crossed the beaches on and shortly after D-Day and it was always a treat to be allowed to look at a D-Day map of Gold beach.

So I have begun to plan a tribute of my own for next year, in paint of course. The final idea has not yet formed but I have begun a few sketches.

My starting point has been the famous Robert Capa photographs of the first waves landing on Omaha beach. Only nine frames of Capa's photographs remain, the rest were accidentally destroyed by an over enthusiastic technician who melted the film emulsions in a drying cabinet!

But those nine frames tell the story magnificently. If I can capture an essence and mood of such a momentous event in paint I will be very satisfied.

Initial thoughts on composition

A quick colour sketch, the day was heavily overcast and grey

View from the assault boats, the first wave goes ashore

In the shallows looking back out to sea

Officer of the watch

I have long had a desire to capture the activity on the bridge of a warship on convoy duty in World War II. Despite the immense search power of the internet I have found relatively few pictures around which I could compose a painting.

The reason I think is that photography was not encouraged, except on official business, security being paramount. Therefore not many pictures exist, and fewer still that fitted the pose I wanted to execute.

I managed to find a few that approximated the angle I wanted to portray, below are the preliminary ideas followed by the final painting.

Initial concept and notes

Sketch of a possible colour palette

The final painting "Officer of the watch"

Pen Ink and Wash

Monday with the National Maritime Museum Art Club.

An enjoyable session drawing with pen and ink, a drawing technique I have sadly neglected in recent years. My first drawing was of the Soviet submarine currently moored on the river Medway near Rochester bridge.

The second sketch was a copy of a W L Wylie drawing which is part of the Maritime Museum's artwork collection.

Soviet "Foxtrot" Submarine on the river Medway.

St Ives Harbour

Painting water is a constant and ever changing visual challenge for me, its power and movement, mood and above all its reflective qualities are so transient and difficult to capture in paint.

I have a small collection of photographs in iPhoto, taken a few summers ago in St Ives Cornwall that I have flicked through a number of times. I had been captivated by the strong contrast in the primary colours of the boats and the delicate reflections on the water. I made a mental note to try to render some of this in paint.

A couple of weeks ago I took the plunge! (Pardon the terrible pun), and here is the result.

Small boats in St. Ives harbour.

No Thames Airport Artist's Group

The group was formed by nine North Kent Artists in order to reveal the inconvenient truths left out of the artist's impressions released by the pro Thames Airport lobby.

Nine artists put together an exhibition comprising painting, photography, video and printing which was called "Beauty or the Beast" at Nucleus Arts Gallery in Chatham, Kent in March and April 2012.

My illustrations and posters from that show are now on exhibition at various libraries in the Medway area.

View of the proposed airport looking west

View of the proposed airport looking east

National Maritime Museum

One of my marine paintings hangs in the Members Room of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, one of eleven works by members of the museum's Art Club.

The show lasts from March 18 until July 15.

Russian Convoy 1942 at the National Maritime Museum

Exhibition by the National Maritime Museum Art Club.

Pastels

I have had a box of pastels sitting in one drawer or another for more than thirty years, since art school in fact. Never could get on with them, dusty and messy things to use and all too often I would smear the best feature and be unable to revive it.

A short while ago in a spirit of adventure I blew the dust off the box and began to experiment. To my surprise I found the experiment quite enjoyable and I managed to avoid ruining the bits which seemed to work best. The results are posted below.

Eastbourne Pier

Evening in Green Park London

Antigua storm clouds

Sunset in Eastbourne