Painting the river at Fletching, Sussex

Painting the river at Fletching, Sussex

Sadly the Summer is fading away .
I didn't get to the seaside much this year due to the disputes of Southern rail. As a non driver I didn't fancy getting stuck miles away from home!
So instead I have concentrated more on the countryside which I enjoy just as much.
I took a stroll over to the village of Fletching the other day. It's only 2 miles away but I don't often go there. It's a picturesque village with a large church in the center.

Fletching church

It was all very quiet in the village so after a wander around in the sunshine I headed back to Newick . My route took me a short distance along te narrow country road and then a footpath across the fields.
I was almost at the footpath when I heard the sound of  babbling water coming from the other side of the undergrowth. Being curious....OK...being nosey  I couldn't resist crawling through the bushes to take a look.
To my delight the view that greeted me was just beautiful! The sun was shining through the trees and lighting up the leaves and ripples on the river as it flowed downstream.  I sat for a while mesmerized . This ......just had to be painted! ....

                                                   "Summer Ripples"
                                   Acrylic on canvas 182x 24"

"Summer Ripples" Painting the river at the end of Summer

 

"Short Circuit" Still life fun with an Aston Martin !

Once again the bleak weather has held me captive in the house! Not to be beaten or down hearted I decided to have a little fun with a still life composition.
I have a very small model of a 1922 Aston Martin that I wanted to put into a painting

1922 Aston Martin model

 I don't know why.
 I just liked it and thought it's smooth, simply shape  would look good against a more geometric background.
I was looking for something equally as small and came upon an old lap top that had just what I needed. Lots of small circuits and components that I could "build" a race track and town to complete the scene.
It took quite a while to paint as the acrylic green is quite transparent.  I had to apply about 5-6 layers of paint to get the opaqueness that I wanted...

"Short Circuit" Work in progress

I was then able to build up the depth with washes of lighter and darker shades.
 When dry the details were added .
 Finally the shading and highlights brought it all to life.
                                                      "Short Circuit"
                                              Acrylic on box canvas 24"x 18"x 1.5"

Fun still life with Aston Martin

"Short Circuit" Wall view

"Summer Green" Summer painting of the South Downs

To beat the Winter blues I've decided to go back to Summer!
Days of wonderful sunshine, blue skies and lush greens, blanketing the South Downs .
  A beautiful patchwork of fields, meadows and pastures all edged off with the gentle lace flowers of wild cow parsley.....
I know several artists that avoid green, it can be an awkward colour to paint with and can often end up looking dull and lifeless. I think acrylics lend themselves well to this, as layering with various shades of yellow and green keeps the results bright and vibrant.
I started with the South Downs in the distance where the shrubs and trees add to the softness of the slopes...

Next came the patchwork fields, each different in shade and texture...

Finally the foreground is brought to life by the wild, lace- like flowers of the cow parsley...

                                    "Summer Green"
                                  

                                                      Acrylic on box canvas 18"x 24"x 1.5"

Summertime in East Chiltington

                                                                  BUY