Plein Air Painting

An area of work I have neglected over many years is painting from life outdoors. It poses its own set of challenges over and above the relatively straightforward task of capturing a likeness of an object or scene. Have you brought the right kit for the job, if not can you improvise? Is that weather front coming our way and have you settled down on an ants nest without realising it?

To get the best out of the exercise I also set myself a time limit in order to focus on the important elements only and avoid delving into too much detail.

I intend to try and make this a regular exercise in order to speed up and sharpen my technique.

Below are the most recent sketches.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich

St Jacu de la Mer, Brittany

St Malo beach, Brittany

Intramuros and fort St Malo

Fort at St Malo

A mile from Glory

The latest work is a study centred on the race to be the first to fly the English Channel in a heavier the air flying machine.

The history books will tell you that Louis Bleriot was the first pilot to cross the channel in July 1909. He was not the only one to try, another Frenchman Hubert Latham made two attempts and ditched in the Channel on both occasions, the second only a mile from the English coast.

Hubert Latham ditches a mile from the English coast.