Roy Connelly

Roy Connelly painting at Cookham. Picture: Rowan Griffiths

Its been a while since the snow melted but I thought I would post this photo of me painting at Cookham in Berkshire.  I was working on my final picture of the day when I was spotted by photographer Rowan Griffiths.

I have written a brief guide to keeping warm while painting in winter. You can read it here.

Snow at Marlow. Oil on linen, 20 x 36 inches.

This series of photographs was taken over a period of two hours on 21 December – the winter solstice.

The first stage was to apply an imprimatura of raw umber and ultramarine blue to the canvas.  Then I very roughly marked out the composition with thin paint – also using a rag to draw into the wet paint.  A glaze medium was used to ensure the thinned paint was not underbound.

I was lucky that the quality of light changed very little through out the afternoon so I was able to keep painting for a couple of hours.  I will look at it again in a few days but I think it is finished.

I have been painting out in the snow again so thought I would pass on a few tips to keep you warm on your winter plein air painting trips.

The key to staying warm when you are painting in the cold is to dress in layers.  Several thin layers will trap more warm air than one thick layer and can be easily adjusted to suit changes in temperature.  Start with a synthetic (or silk)  base laser with long-sleeves -  I use Paramo‘s excellent and seemingly everlasting thermal clothing.  Next, a number of thin mid-layers, fleece jumpers etc, and finally a water/wind-proof outer layer.

A lot of heat is lost from your legs, so fleece-lined trousers like those made by Craghoppers and Rohan will really help to keep you warm.  Otherwise, get some long-johns.  A pair of waterproof over-trousers can be useful too if it is raining or windy, or just as an extra layer on very cold days.

Don’t forget to wear a hat!  Mine is fleece lined and waterproof, with a peak to keep the low winter sun out of my eyes.  Most importantly it has ear flaps!

I usually wear gloves to paint in winter.  I use thin liner-gloves. These are designed to be worn inside mittens or over-gloves but they are warm enough to be worn on their own and thin enough not to interfere with brush handling.  If it is very cold I will wear another thin pair over the top.

A thermal ‘headover‘ or neck warmer is a great asset.  If your neck gets cold you tend to hunch up your shoulders – making it difficult to paint.  Avoid scarves if you don’t want the end to dangle in your paint!

The secret to warm feet in the snow? Make sure your boots really are waterproof.  If the damp gets in your feet are going to get cold.  I use Muck Boots which are completely waterproof and have a good solid sole.  Avoid ordinary wellies, they might be waterproof but they are not designed to keep you warm.  If you wear leather walking boots make sure they are regularly treated to maintain their waterproofness.  Thermal socks are essential and it’s important to make sure your boots are big enough – you should be able to wiggle your toes even with a thick pair of socks on.

As well as having the right equipment it is also important to make sure you have food and drink with you.  A flask with a hot drink can be a life-saver, but don’t forget that even just drinking water will keep you hydrated which in turn will help your circulation and keep you warm.

After an hour and a half working on this picture my feet were just as warm as when I started and if it wasn’t getting dark I would have carried on with another painting.

Painting the snow at dusk yesterday evening.

The picture on the easel. Oil on board, 8 x 10 inches.

Painting Santa Maria Della Salute at night.

I recently spent a few days painting in Venice with fellow plein air painters; David Bachmann, Paul Rafferty and Karl Terry.   This photo was taken on the day I arrived.  I had been up since 3am to drive to Gatwick in the snow and not even darkness was going to stop me painting.

It was an eventful trip with flights home cancelled by the snow in the UK and an unusually high acqua alta of 140cm left more than 55% of Venice flooded.

Rising water in the Piazzetta San Marco

Painting the Salute in the rain.

The fishmarket at night. Oil on board, 10×8 inches.

Yesterday I painted at Moulin Huet Bay on the rugged south coast of Guersney in the Channel Islands.  Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted around 15 pictures here in 1883.  The scene is pretty much unchanged and Renoir would have made the same steep descent down to this stunning bay. You can see my painting above, and below is a view of the bay from further down the hill.

Above: Molly tastes the water while I paint nearby.

The River Thames has won the 2010 Thiess International River Prize.  The world’s largest environmental award was given to the Environment Agency for its outstanding achievement in river management and restoration.  The $350,000 AUD prize will go to The Thames Rivers Restoration Trust.

The Thames was declared biologically dead in the 1950′s  but has recovered to the point where 125 species of fish have been recorded and sea trout, salmon and otters are returning.

In the last week I have spent three days painting by the Thames – two days between Marlow and Henley (see photos) and one day in central London.  Its a great place to work!

Painting by the River Thames.  The picture on the easel is 24×30 inches, in oil on linen.

Here are some of the paintings from my trip to Bath last week.  I was there for 2 and a half days and painted 19 small panels.  The smallest was 6×8 and the largest 12x16inches.  There are several I am quite happy with and a couple that were not finished due to changing light and heavy rain, but overall it was a good trip.

The heavy downpour on Friday afternoon resulted in one of my favourite pictures from the whole trip.

Above: Downpour in Queen Square, 6×8 inches, oil on board.
Below: Busker outside the Pump Rooms, 6×8 inches, oil on board.

While I was painting I met up with the winner of last year’s Bath Prize Plein Air award, Adebanji Alade. He has posted photos of several  painters he found at work on the streets of Bath on his blog.  You can see me, Karl Terry and Michael Richardson as well as plenty of Adebanji at work on his own marathon painting project.

Last week was a busy one, painting in London with Paul Rafferty and Karl Terry along with David Bachmann and Julian Barrow.

We painted at all of the following locations: Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, St James’s Park, Strand on the Green, Royal Academy, Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, House Boats at Chelsea, Sargent’s Studio in Tite Street, Aldwich, Trafalgar Square (again) Strand on the Green (again), the Old Vic Theatre and Hammersmith Bridge.

The pictures above show us painting in Julian Barrow’s Tite Street studio previously occupied by John Singer Sargent.

Just a couple of photos of me working at some fabulous locations on my recent trip to Dorset.

Top: At Old Harry Rocks (spot the Artist!)Above: Painting on the beach at Lyme Regis.

I will post some of the paintings as soon as I get round to photographing them.