Sussex paintings for sale

Saturday 23 April 2016

Painting "Lewes Rooftops" (Sussex)

Lewes town, Sussex
Lewes is the county town of Sussex. It's a town steeped in history, character, architecture and traditions.
I went to school here and live just 6 miles away but on my recent visit I decided to go as a tourist rather than a shopper.
It was a lovely sunny Spring day just right for a walk around the castle and climbing up the battlements to admire the views. They were spectacular and inspiring!
I wanted a view to paint that would capture a  typical part of the scenery and surroundings. A view that in my youth I would have taken for granted and not appreciated in the way that I do now.
Looking south west towards Swanborough hill (The South Downs Way runs along the top), the rooftops and chimneys backed by the soft gentle slopes of the South Downs was just perfect!

The painting took quite a few hours to complete but the detail kept the composition interesting and challenging to work on......
                                                 "Lewes Rooftops"
                                   Acrylic on canvas 24"x18"
"Lewes Rooftops" Acrylic painting on canvas
 Prints, cards etc now available , click on link to view the full range Paula Oakley at Redbubble
 

Wednesday 6 April 2016

"Tea and a Nobbly Bobbly" Painting The Old Bathing Station kiosk at Bexhill, Sussex

Bexhill-on-sea
I've been weather watching . This time of year is so unpredictable that it's hard to plan days out.
 For good reference photos I need sunshine and good visibility. Last Saturday however looked promising so we headed off to Bexhill-on-sea.
I can't remember going there before, it has a reputation as a retirement resort so I expected it to be small and not very interesting.
I was wrong!
The De La Warr Pavilion is a creative arts center and well worth a visit if you're in the area
http://www.discoverbexhill.com/attractions/delawarrpavilion.php

The beach is much bigger than I expected with rows of beach huts and ornate shelters. It's all very clean and very white!


Now, I have nothing against white and it all looks lovely, but as an artist that paints bright colourful paintings I wasn't feeling very optimistic about finding a scene that I would like to use in a composition. But, the weather was wonderful so we took a stroll along the seafront and enjoyed the views over the sea.
We hadn't walked far when to my delight I found just what I wanted...The Old Bathing Station .
A lovely little kiosk selling food, drinks and ice creams.
I people watched for a while.
 It made me think that no matter what age you are there is something rather special about sitting by the sea with a hot cup of tea or coffee and treating yourself to your favourite ice cream :)
This I decided would be the theme for my painting.....
                                    "Tea and a Nobbly Bobbly"
                                 ( Acrylic on canvas 24"x18")
Work in progress....It's taken quite a while to sketch out the composition as some parts were a bit complicated to focus on , but as the under painting progresses then it becomes a lot easier and clearer.
Sketching in and starting to add the first layers of paint 
Next I had to add a large amount of the shadows to enable me to start work on the foreground. Whilst areas dry I  worked on the smaller details elsewhere.
 
Starting to add the shadows and finer details to The Old Bathing Station (Bexhill beach)


 Today I had a good long painting session. The kiosk is now completed and I've made a bit more progress on the other areas. Next I shall be using some really tiny brushes and start bringing the picture to life .
Completing the detail on the kiosk.
 Finally it's finished :) ....

                                  "Tea and a Nobbly Bobbly" (Bexhill)  
"Tea and a Nobbly Bobbly" Painting The Old Bathing Station on Bexhill seafront