Roy Connelly

Spring in Oxford, oil on linen, 20 x 24 inches (50 x 60cm)

Above: the painting nearing completion.  As usual, this picture was painted entirely on location.  There was a gap of two weeks between beginning the painting and going back to finish it. You will notice that when I started (photo below) the trees were bright pink with blossom. When I returned for the second session they had turned green, fortunately I had got far enough with the trees to have got away with it!

Light and Dark: The Autobiography of Ken Howard RA, is the latest book from Ken Howard.

It is due for publication by The Royal Academy of Arts on 21 February 2011, and you can pre-order a copy here: Light and Dark: The Autobiography of Ken Howard RA I can’t wait to get my copy.

This is what amazon.co.uk says:

KenHoward (b. 1932) is one of Britains best-loved painters.His cityscapes and coastal scenes reveal a deep connection with Venice, London and Cornwall; his studio interiors aremasterly evocations of space and light. In this candid autobiography he reflects on work, travel, love and loss. Recalling his early days at art school and the achievements and acclaimthat followed, national service in the RoyalMarines and the artistic commissions for the British Army that took himall over the world, Howard evokes the professional and the personal with verve and humour.

This is a very quick sketch of the Lasers setting sail at Lyme Regis.  They had sailed past me as I was painting at the end of the Cobb and I quickly sketched a couple of them before rushing round to the beach to paint the picture shown here. The intense colour of the backlit sails was an irresistible subject but one which lasted only a few minutes before they set off again. It is 6 x 10 inches, oil on board.

I painted this view of Golden Cap from several miles away on the beach at Lyme Regis in Dorset.  It is a very small picture at only 4 inches high.

South Bank Summer Evening

This picture was painted on the South Bank of the Thames in London yesterday afternoon.  It was painted very quickly to catch the effect of the light reflecting off the water between the bridge supports.  It is an effect that only occurs for about twenty minutes so it was necessary to work fast.

The background was painted rapidly in thin paint and the high lights off the water painted next in thicker paint – fat over lean as they say.

The figures were painted on location but after the sun had moved around and much of the sparkle had faded.  The shadows had to be moved back to match the position of the sun when the sparkle was painted.