Summer and the frustrated painter!

Well here I am right in the middle of the Summer.
 As a landscape artist I should be in my element......but I 'm not!
I'm surrounded by beautiful countryside and wonderful beaches, so many places that I wish to walk, so many views that I want to paint.
It's the weather that frustrates me so much. Each time I venture out to explore, the clouds appear, the light dims and my quest becomes futile. Yes, there have been some wonderful sunny days but they have either been far too hot for walking or I have had other commitments .
(I don't drive and as the busses are so few and far between my trips need planning in advance . I can't just jump in a car when the sun comes out. )

So I sit here at odds wondering what to do .....
I  make so many demands on myself  ...
perhaps too many ?
Should I persevere ? Change my artistic direction? Explore new ideas?
It's hard to think clearly when your head is full of clouds and your journey ends in disappointment.

I did manage to get to the Lewes Downs on a day when the sun broke through . It's a stunning area in the Summer . There is such a vast array of colourful flowers and so many beautiful butterflies and insects  .
 A frenzied dance on a warm scented breeze. ...

The Southerham nature reserve on the Lewes Downs

My trips here never fail to inspire ....
                                              
                                             "The Butterfly Path" 

"The Butterfly Path" Acrylic painting on canvas 

 After a few fruitless outings I decided my best dose of self medication would be to spend a day at the beach. A colouful and fun filled trip to Brighton.
 Seaside, sticks of rock, deck chairs and the new up-side-down house was sure to put a smile on my face! 

Brighton Summer 2019

 It was a good day and just what the doctor ordered!
 It also reminded me that as we near the end of July that my painting "Joan and Nancy's trip to the seaside" is the August picture in the Artist and Illustrator's 2019 calendar .....now that's a bit special :) 

My painting in the Artist and Illustrators calendar :)

 To mark the occasion I thought I would have a similar bit of fun including the old West pier .....
                                   
                                               "Sun, Salt and Seaworn" 

A fun seaside painting "Sun, Salt and Seaworn"

The "Sun" is for sunbathing.
The "Salt" is for the tattooed sailor .The tattoo says "sink or swim", which I felt was very apt in regards to the fragile state of the pier.
The "Seaworn" refers to the West pier ruins


For now though I shall go back to watching the weather forecast ...
back to thinking....
thinking of what to do .

"Large Cod and Chips" Painting Brighton pier and the launch of Cass Art

Cass Art store and Brighton paintings

 Not only has Spring finally arrived but my trips to Brighton have just got so much better!
Last weekend saw the launch of the new Cass Art store in the Lanes of Brighton so we popped down to have a look.
The store looks great. It's bright , spacious and easy to navigate. The products are easy to find and are at exceptionally good prices. Up until now there's been very few places to buy art supplies, just odd bits and pieces in various shops and all rather expensive . I have been ordering online but it isn't the same as actually seeing and feeling the colours and textures.

Cass Art,  Market Street,  Brighton

I had an interesting chat with the manager Stuart

a very nice man that kindly took the time to explain the vision of the future which will include coffee mornings to enable artists to meet up and share their news and ventures. I was also delighted with a gift of a goody bag to take home with me containing a selection of sample products ...

Then I found the ACRYLICS!   :)

Cass Art acrylic range

Oooooooh! The full selection and £2 a tube (150ml) cheaper than I can buy locally ! Check out their full range
https://www.cassart.co.uk/
 Oh how much brighter my trips to Brighton will be!
Now onto the painting...
 There is of course nothing quite like a Springtime trip to the seaside for blowing away the Winter cobwebs.
Wrapping up snug and warm in the chilly sea breezes whilst being mesmerized by the turbulent waves crashing down on the pebbled beach,
then warming up with a portion of steaming hot traditional British fish and chips.....perfect!

I loved the challenge of this painting. A mixture of detail and different angles. The colour combinations work really well and has a real feel of Brighton beach .
                                              "Large Cod and Chips"
                                                        Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18"

"Large Cod and Chips" Painting of Brighton pier and beach



I'm looking forward to the return of the Spring sunshine and continuing to add to my Brighton series of paintings (all of which are already sold.) and of course popping in to Cass Art as I pass .

Acrylic paintings of Brighton by me.... Paula Oakley

So far It's been an amazing year...
Not only have I sold 11 paintings in 10 weeks but last week .......
                                                              I got married :) <3 nbsp="" p="">                                                         

 

"Under the Arches" Painting the cafe and Smoked Fish shop on Brighton seafront

Brighton seafront, Sussex

One of the things that I like about Brighton is the abundance of Victorian architecture . It's so flamboyant and colourful !
On a recent trip I spent some time just west of the pier, here the Fisherman's museum is situated under one of the Victorian arches of Kings Road. It's an interesting spot with  fishing boats and fresh seafood for sale as you can see in the photo above.
Next to the museum is the Smoked Fish shop and cafe where I decided to stop for lunch.
Sitting on the wall outside I was kept amused by the mischievous antics of a seagull.

He would take a few steps into the fish shop, look either way then quickly run out again. He kept this up for about ten minutes until he eventually realized that he wasn't going to be able to steal anything. The seagulls must be a real nuisance to them but it was very comical to watch.
The fish shop is adorned with a variety of signs and boards just like the cafe next to it. They're both a little quirky in appearance and blend it perfectly with their Victorian surroundings.
Originally I was going to paint them separately but because of the sloping path above them it meant that the dimensions would not work well. So I am painting them on a canvas 24"x 12" ....
There's quite a bit of detail to cover and although progress is slow it's very enjoyable to paint.
Work in progress......

                               "Under the Arches"

 Painting in the main parts of the composition

 

Today was spent making a start on the shadows and signs

Painted a little bit here, there and everywhere. It's slow work but it's now starting to come together.

....and finally after an awful lot of painting, it is all finished ....

"Under the Arches" Painting of the cafe and Smoked Fish shop on Brighton seafront

Close up view

Wall view

                                   

"Sea Spray and Sun Cream" and "Seaside Shadows" Painting the girls on Brighton beach

As the Summer comes to an end I couldn't leave it without capturing the pretty girls sunbathing on the beach at Brighton.
I loved the way they just seemed to abandon everything and succumb to the last rays of the Summer sunshine.
 The waves crashing on the beach seemed to add to the over powering moment of indulgence.

                                             "Sea Spray and Sun Cream"
                                      Acrylic on canvas 24"x 16"

Painting the girls on Brighton beach

                                                 

Well as I've painted the girls with the emphasis on the sun I thought I would go the other way and concentrate on the shadows.
I was busy people watching on Brighton pier and loved the way that the shadows were cast and their silhouettes on the deck chairs.
I am working from 3 different photos so the first thing I had to do was to get the continuity of the railings right and the wooden planks of the pier, I was then able to start work on the deck chairs.

Getting the railings and woodwork in the right place .

The stripes on the chairs needed about 5 layers of paint to get opacity that I required.
 This can get a bit monotonous so to help me keep my concentration I started on the wooden chair frames.

Building up the layers on the chairs

Once the basic blocks of colour were dry I was able to flit about adding thin washes of paint. I also made a start on the shadows, these will transform the painting making it look really different

Starting to add the shadows and build up washes of colour

 .Finally the shadows are ....I hope you like it! :)
                                    "Seaside Shadows"

Seaside Shadows, painting of the girls relaxing on Brighton Pier, Sussex

              Tote bags and throw pillows are available from Redbubble  http://www.redbubble.com/people/poak/shop/throw-pillows?ref=artist_shop_product_refinement

"Seaside Shadows" Tote bags and throw pillows

 

 

 

Painting Brighton beach. Part 2

Brighton beach,fresh fish and West Pier

Just a pebbles throw away from the Carousel on Brighton beach  is the Fishermen's museum and kiosks selling fresh fish and various sea foods.
I spent some time here watching a man bravely feeding bread to the seagulls. They're quite alarming when swooping down for food but it was a good photo opportunity !
The view out to sea is dominated by the rusty ruins of the old West Pier that closed in 1975. It has since suffered from collapse, fire and storms leaving little but memories of times gone by.
It's now just an over sized perch for the seagulls .
I thought I would include it in my second Brighton beach painting before it disappears forever !
Sadly whilst painting it I heard news of a fire on Eastbourne's Pier 40 miles along the coast. It all seems such a shame, another part of our coastal heritage in ruins  .

Fire on Eastbourne pier, July 2014

So my painting seems very poignant at this time....


                                               "Flight to West pier"

Painting the view towards West pier at Brighton

                                     
                                Painting Brighton Beach part 1