Olivia

I had a very enjoyable Thursday painting at the Mall Galleries during the ROI 'art event' evening.  I was still catching up on sleep from the Venice trip but thought I would give it a go anyway.  One of the 3 models was Olivia Wileman, Peter's daughter.  Her father was also a model that evening - as well as running the event - but I chose to sandwich myself between Lucy McKie and David Curtis in front of Olivia, so I could see how it should be done whilst painting my version.  I made her narrowish shoulders a little too narrow and had my usual problem with over-stated shadows (as noticed by David, inevitably) but at the end of the session felt that I had made a reasonable stab at it.  Actually one of the best things about the evening is the chance to meet up with members and non-member friends over wine and mincepies before we all become buried in the Christmas extravaganzas.

Venice

We had a fantastic time.  Eleven of us went and most of us stayed 5 nights, so we had 4 full days and one morning before the journey home.  As we had nothing to do but eat, drink, sleep and paint each of us seemed to get through quite a few painting panels!  I did 17 small plein air paintings, which was probably just above average.  Fanatics like Roy Connelly and Karl Terry did many more.  Others such as David Pilgrim hit the happy mean of about 14 and probably benefited from the less frantic pace.  The trouble is there are things to paint everywhere you look so you just keep going!

I was quite pleased with some of my efforts and there were no complete duds, so I went home happy.  The others all seemed to produce lovely work, which was displayed temporarily on racks in Ken Howard's studio where 4 of them were staying.  They were a great gang and it was a privilege to be with them.  The abiding memory for David and me is of Roger Dellar painting on the Accademia Bridge with Lynn (the world's only plein air knitter?) sitting beneath him making a jumper.  We also caught a 'brain worm' (a tune you can't get out of your head) from some old guy playing an accordion in Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo.  He played it for most of the 4 hours we were there, each having two gos at the Colleoni Monument.

I want to leave most of the sketches completely alone to retain their freshness.  I might risk adjusting some of the remainder but one often loses more than one gains.  Here are a few of them:

My first effort:

Later that day:

More Accademia-Salute the next day!

Into St Mark's the same day:

Finally we reached the Riva, looking at the San Giorgio Maggiore:

Two more in Dorsoduro that day and then it started to rain, so on the third day I tried Campo Santo Stefano:

Even heavier rain in the Piazetta:

The traghetto stop at San Samuele allowed me to get in the obligatory palazzo across the Grand Canal:

Finally that day (still on my own), the Redentore from the Zatterre:

On the fourth day we did the Colleoni but I became rather tired of it!

Then down to the Molo for this view of the Dogana with Redentore behind:

A final go at the Salute from the Molo finished off the last full day and on the morning we left I had another wet 6x8 session in the Piazetta:

By this time I was 'painted out' and David and I spent the rest of the day Christmas shopping.

With The Wappers

Michael Richardson, who is a member of the prestigious Wapping Group, invited me to join in the 'Brass Monkey' sessions that they have in Winter.  Last Wednesday the venue was Green Park.  I set off from Oxford at 6am on a cold and overcast-but-dry day and for 3 hours appeared to be the only painter in the park.  Then John Killens came by and reassured me that I was indeed painting with the Wappers, even if only he and Rob Adams had turned up for the morning session.  I guess others came later as the weather brightened but I had to head off after a particularly enjoyable pub lunch in Ye Grapes, Shepherd Market.  The Market used to be the red light district of Mayfair but now has an air of respectability - at least in the daytime.

I managed two small panels.  This was the first one:

And this the second one:

I could have done with another inch on the bottom of the second one as the foreground figure is too near the lower edge.  I tend to add the figures after the rest of the composition has been developed (and so risk this sort of problem) whereas one ought to include them from the start.

Palette-Easels

That's what I call them anyway: they hold a panel (like an easel) and have a built-in palette.  I started making them when I needed a 6x8 pochade box.  Eventually Maddy (who had bought me my first pochade box) got me a proper box for Christmas but not before I had made good use of my lashed-up version.  I wanted something really light that would take two boards and mount on a standard photo tripod.  This is it - still in regular use.  Of course it doesn't have anywhere to store stuff but sometimes that is actually an advantage.

Now I think of it, this is not the very first palette-easel I made.  Eight years ago we had a short stay in Barcelona.  I made a very crude palette-easel out of two pieces of marine ply, hinged using piano hinge and kept rigidly open by a piece of coat-hanger wire.  I used it for several small acrylic sketches when we weren't being Gaudi-ed to death or rambling the Ramblas.  I now keep it set up for very lightweight acrylics work - with formica sheet taped to the palette part:

My next effort was early this year.  I built it so that I could use up all those odd-sized panels that don't fit in pochade box slots.  With the two panel carriers of similar design I can return from painting with three, wet, odd-sized panels stored safely.

The impending Venice trip has set me off again on the quest for a very light, 'high-capacity' palette-easel: one that can take panels up to 14 inches high and 15 inches long.  Here is my latest effort with a 16x12" board in place.  I bought the marine ply in Lydney 37 years ago!  The worst technical problem is making the screw-set that bears on the top panel gripper.  The gripper slides in a channel at the back and has to be locked by pressure from the screw. 

I reckon I could do better but I think I am getting close to the limits of what is achievable with a schoolboy carpentry set!  The alternative is to buy a commercial pochade box - expensive but labour-saving and the good ones are very good indeed: the two that Maddy bought me 11 years ago are still going strong.

Bob

Yesterday, as I tried unscrewing the tops of my paint tubes in the middle of Bernwood Forest, I realised how long it has been since I have used them - over two weeks.  Apart from sketchbook work the only painting I have managed in all that time has been a quick portrait of Bob Bixby at our village art group last Friday.  Bob is Liz's husband and she founded the group.  He kindly agreed to sit for us and was so good at it that he could easily get a job as a professional model.  Otherwise it has been a lot of necessary socialising and going to other people's shows - good fun but does not 'feed the rat'!

I did Bob's portrait in acrylics, which I have not used for a while.  It took just over 2 hours.  I still find the marked tonal shift when acrylics dry a serious disadvantage.  It was painted contre jour and has a distinct blue cast to it:

Royal Institute of Oil Painters

To my surprise and delight I had a painting selected for this year's Open Show in December.  I was equally delighted that David Pilgrim got 4 in - the maximum for a non-member.  I also had another small oil through the initial trawl (ie a 'doubtful') that was cut out of the final selections.  Both paintings were the ones that David P and Maddy my wife had tipped for selection.  Having betted Maddy that I wouldn't get any selected this time, I am now ten quid the poorer!

The one that got in (8x10 inches) was dashed off on a cold afternoon early this year:

The 'doubtful but not selected one was Clearing Snow (6x8 inches):

I thought this little one with the bronze hare was good fun (about 7x8 inches I think) but I can understand why it was not selected:

I also submitted one of the recent Punts paintings, a Radcliffe Camera scene and this 8x10 of swans nesting in front of the new hide on Otmoor:

I have not submitted for 3 years so think myself lucky to have got another one in at this attempt.  The standard is phenomenally high and the only way to have the slightest chance is to submit one's very best work.  In the past I have overworked paintings in an attempt to make them more selectable but of course that just has the opposite effect.  It was also interesting to look at the ROI blog and discover that the selection panel consisted almost entirely of my 'heroes' in the Society - their approval, and that of my painting pals, means more to me than anything else. 

This and That

I have been so busy with submitting to shows and with helping at the Affordable Art Fair (AAF) and Art In Woodstock  that October has almost slipped by.  First I submitted to the Bath Prize.  Then an Oxford Hospital decided that they liked a pastel of mine enough to buy it and wanted to look at more.  Then we had the AAF, closely followed by Art In Woodstock (where I have been the resident street painter).  I am submitting to the ROI open show tomorrow.  In between all those I have actually managed to get some painting done - 19 new small panels and about 20 'revisions'.  Mid-month I had a day's painting with Michael Worthington at Boars Hill (where he showed me the monument to the last wild boar killed in England) and Bernwood Forest.  Then I managed to slip out during the AAF to sketch in Battersea Park. Finally I have managed 7 panels in Woodstock.  I don't think there is a work of staggering genius among these but it was important to keep painting.

Maddy liked this 30-minute sketch of birch trees in the final light of an Autumn day:

I was quite pleased with the Battersea Park Pagoda:

Woodstock was a difficult location - Half Term - cars and people all over the place.  Michael W painted with me the first day.  First we tried the town:

Then we escaped to Blenheim Park:

I had to 'invigilate' in the Methodist Church where there was a very striking installation by Diana Forster and string hats by Sharon ('Hattie') Hayes.  As I had 2 hours to kill I amused myself with the string-top-hat lady:

These roofers were interesting too:

On my last morning I caught 'Man and Dog' in a tiny panel:

Edges a bit hard maybe but I was in a hurry as usual!  I only got really wet once - on the final afternoon.  I seemed to be an object of curiosity - a outdoor painter painting outdoors.  How does one begin to explain to people who suggest taking photographs?  When I was painting in the rain a passer-by said 'it must be difficult'.  I replied that the suffering was important.  He seemed satisfied!