Long Time Since Last Post

I've neglected the blog for a fair old while, all of the usual excuses, life, grandparenting, football relegation fight, cricket season and the joy of retirement travel. None of this means that I've packed in painting, although I've not been as prolific as I would like to be. I'm using this return to blogging as something of a kick up the backside to myself and hoping that I can both produce more images and more input for the blog. In the meantime here are a few pieces that I've worked on recently.

Clementines and Cup - oil on gesso board 8" x 6"

Figs and Silver Cup - oil on gesso board 8" x 6"

Venice Again

The opportunity to head for Venice happens every now and then, when life stops getting in the way and so it was that, earlier in the month, Sheila and I managed to get a week away.

Whilst not totally a painting trip, Mrs. C likes to do lots of other things besides watching me paint, I did manage to make oil sketches on every day that we were there. I call these sketches as they were done quickly as a means of gleaning information for studio work back home. A couple of early morning forays yielded the most interesting light conditions. one a really colourful sky and the other a soft light prior to some rain.

Surprises abound, not only in the discovery of new corners and meeting new people. One of the latter was a pleasant bit of fortune that had us meeting the wonderful watercolourist, Judi Whitton. Judi has just produced a book titled, "Painting Venice'. On discovering this I contacted her to order a copy, to find that she and her husband, Peter, were also in Venice. We arranged to meet and had a charming morning discussing the city and its joys for the painter. My friend Peter Ward has a review of the book on his blog, watercolourfanatic.blogspot.com

Pete and Judi Whitton

San Giorgio Maggiore - oil on gesso board 7" x 5"

Accademia View misty morning - oil on gesso board 7" x 5"

As ever, the city delighted and we headed home mentally preparing arrangements for our next visit.

Off on Holiday again

We are fortunate in that we have some friends who own a house on the shores of Lake Geneva and they offer us the opportunity to stay there. It is a stunning spot and I can usually sneak a few paints into the luggage. The two pictures are from our latest trip. Apologies for poor photographs and lack of cropping.

Oil sketches on gesso board 7" x 5"

Life is just a Bowl of Cherries

The new season cherries are seeming to leap off the shelves of the supermarket into my basket. Once home they gravitate to the studio where I am trying to home my still life technique, not the easiest of subject matter. To add to the complication I found a small pewter whisky measure to add to the arrangement of fruit. Challenging but enjoyable session.

Cherries - Oil on gesso board 7" x 5"

Back to Still Life

After last week's run of pictures from recent trip to Provence I decided to return to the still life table. A visit to the local supermarket had me discovering these cherries, the first of the new year. Sorry about the quality of the photograph, I'll try to get a better one later in the week.

Cherries - Oil on gessoed board 7" x 5"

Even more from Provence

Another couple from last week's trip. Wherever you look there are painting subjects all bathed in the most wonderful light.

Old Farmhouse - Oil on gessoed board 10"x 8"

Gap in the Hedge - Oil on gessoed board 10" x 8"

More from Provence

A couple more from Provence. The garden of La Madelene had all sorts of interesting nooks and crannies as well as beautiful arrays of flowers. This little group of irises caught my attention and I had  to have a go at getting them onto board.

Irises at La Madelene - Oil on board 10" x 8"

We spent quite a bit of our week travelling out into the local countryside where all sorts of buildings and farm land made for arresting subject matter.

Old Farm Buildings - Oil on board 10" x 8"