Roy Connelly

I’m very pleased to say I’ll be teaching my Craft of the Landscape Painter course at Assington Mill in Suffolk again this September.

Working in the grounds of the mill and the surrounding private nature reserve we will focus on producing a series of completed landscapes by direct observation. For those nervous of working out in the open the secluded location is ideal, at the end of a long track down into one of Suffolk’s beautiful ‘hidden valleys’ between Constable’s Stour Valley and Gainsborough’s home town.

When: September 2013, 10am – 5pm with the option of staying on in the evening
Where: Assington Mill, Assington, Suffolk, CO10 5LZ
What: Take a look at the pdf brochure

Below: Click to read the brochure (pdf)

Last November on my annual trip to paint in Venice I was joined by quite a few friends from the UK, Spain and even the US.
There were 13 of us in all and this is a short film I made between paintings.  We are all in it somewhere although I didn’t catch everyone painting.
It is intended to be a reminder of the trip for those that were there but I though I would also share it with everyone else.

It’s in 720HD so watch it full screen and turn up the sound. I hope you enjoy it.

Paintings by myself and several others on the trip are on show at the Mine Gallery in Carshalton. Impressions of Venice runs until 30 March 2013.

Artists on the film that are in the show are:
David Bachmann
Roy Connelly
Tony Dakin
Tim King
Valérie Perlot
Michael Richardson
Haidee-Jo Summers
Karl Terry

Who could resist a sign like that?  Earlier this year I spent some time in Cornwall painting from the cliff tops. Although the days were sunny there was often a strong wind blowing across the cliffs from the Atlantic Ocean. I was using my Open Box M palette/panel holder on a Velbon tripod to keep my boards steady. Here are some photos from the trip.

Below: Painting the view along the coast to Pendeen Watch lighthouse from Levant Mine.

Above: Pendeen Watch Lighthouse from Levant Mine.
Oil on board, 8 x 10 inches.
Sold by The Little Picture Gallery in Mousehole.

Above: Painting Land’s End from the cliff top near Sennen.
Below: Sunset on the last evening..

I found this idyllic spot by the River Stour between Bures and Nayland. I was standing in Essex and painting the view into Suffolk.
The painting is in oils and measures 10×12 inches, 25 x 30 cm.

Top: Painting blackthorn.  Working on a 36×36 inch canvas on a windy spring morning.  The guy rope is to stop the canvas from blowing over. The next stage was to paint the white blossom.

Middle: Towards the end of the first stage of this scene near Stoke by Nayland. It’s the hottest day of the year so far and the light has an Italian feel to light.

Bottom: Apple blossom in the orchard behind our cottage.

Saturday Morning in Hammersmith.
8×10 inches, oil on board.

The warm summer mornings seem to draw everyone down to the river. This view towards Hammersmith Bridge and The Rutland Arms was painted from Furnival Gardens. One of the challenges of painting on location is capturing moving figures. Fortunately, fine days on the embankments of the River Thames provide the artist with a countless stream of figures to paint.

Rye Harbour, oil on board, 8×10 inches.

Rye Harbour – Summer Afternoon, oil on board, 6 x 10 inches

painters at work

A five minute sketch in oil on board. 6×8 inches

At the weekend Karl Terry invited a group of friends to join him for a day’s painting. He arranged access to a private stretch of the river at Rye in East Sussex then, in the evening, showed off his skills at the barbeque.

The 5 minute sketch above was the result of a challenge.  We all went over the time limit – this one took me about 10 minutes.

Thanks Karl

Above: Ken Howard, Peter Brown, Roy Connelly – click to view

This is a recent interview with Ken Howard RA in which he talks about the difficulties encountered when painting on the streets of London.  The problem is not one of perspective,  capturing the light or changing weather but of being moved on under the spurious excuse of ‘health and safety’.

I was pleased to get a mention in the article, along with Pete the Street – Peter Brown NEAC.

The Health and Safety Executive saw fit to respond with a letter defending common sense:

“Real health and safety is about dealing with risks that are likely to cause serious harm or even death to those in workplaces. I would urge you to challenge those jobsworths who persist in devaluing the real and important stuff by using “elf ‘n’ safety” as an easy excuse for spoiling everyone else’s enjoyment.”

You can read their letter in full here on the HSE website.

Finally, in a humourous response to the original story in the Telegraph, The Guardian newspaper found 10 ‘serious menaces’ in Trafalgar Square that were apparently missed by the wardens.

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!