I painted this last winter.  I have posted it today because it features in an article I wrote on plein air painting in winter that has just been published in The Artist magazine.

Its quite big for a plein air painting, 20 x 36 inches on stretched linen, and it was painted in a single rather cold session.

Above: A very early stage in the painting.  I have very roughly blocked in the main areas of the composition.

Below: My Plein-air painter’s guide to winter article in The Artist magazine.

The painting above is for sale at £2,000. Contact me for more details.

The Salisbury Art Show is on now until the 4th of June 2011.  The exhibition is helping to support the charity Help for Heroes.

Both of the paintings shown here feature in the show. To see the complete collection of my work – click here.

West Wittering. Oil on board, 12x12in.

The Salisbury Art Show
Saturday 28th May – Saturday 4th June 2011
At Leaden Hall, 70 The Cathedral Close, Salisbury SP1
Saturday 28th May – Saturday 4th June 2011
11 – 4pm Open daily Free Admission

Ken Howard painting in Richmond

I also paint in the streets of London. In my experience most people are very happy to see artists at work.  It seems to be private security, under the direction of CCTV controllers, that try to move you.

I usually try to stand my ground.  After a polite chat they will often relent and I can carry on with my work.

The South Bank however is a wonderful place to paint. I have found the management and security guards of The Southbank Centre have a friendly attitude to artists.  The buskers, artists, skate boarders and the Golden Carousel all add to the wonderful atmosphere and nothing beats a walk along the river on a sunny afternoon or evening.

Above: The Golden Carousel on the South Bank by Roy Connelly.
Oil on board, 10×20 inches. Private Collection.

One advantage of working outside throughout the year is being aware of the changing seasons.  It definitely feels as if spring is here at last.

I thought I would share a few of the photos I have taken while out painting over the last few days.

Clockwise from top left: The Chess Valley, Richmond Bridge, A friendly heron at Richmond, a tiny bee that settle on my painting kit.

I worked pretty fast on this 24 x 30 inch canvas to try and catch the light before it changed.  The whole scene became gradually more blue as the sun moved around and I stopped work just before lunch.  After a bite to eat with friends at a nearby cafe I returned to my easel just before the rapidly rising tide reached it.  I will go back to the location tomorrow to finish it off – light permitting.

Update:
I returned the following morning hoping to finish it off but the light was totally different.  I worked a little on the foreshore then left it to finish another day.  I am now waiting for a day when the tide is lowest at 11am and with a clear sky but before the leaves come out on the trees.  Hopefully that is not too much to ask for.  Below you can see the picture as it is at the moment.

I have two exhibitions opening this week – London Seen at Llewellyn Alexander Gallery and Venice in Peril at W H Patterson.

London Seen, is the work of 9 artists with a passion for our capital city.  This introduction is taken from the exhibition brochure:

“Artist have always loved to paint London – from Whistler to Hogarth, from Monet to Sickert – each one capturing the mood and atmosphere of our great and diverse capital city.”

“Familiar and unusual scenes of London by this group of 9 well-established artists. Dianne Branscombe, Roy Connelly, Lisa Graa Jensen, Mark Harrison, Terry McKivragan, Liam O’Farrell, Nancy Petley-Jones, Nadia Tsakova and Robert E Wells each reveal their own personal interpretation of the city they know and love to paint.  London by day and London by night, as the city wakes up and as it goes to bed, in the sunshine and in the rain, empty London streets, busy London squares are all seen through a painter’s eye.”

“Important city landmarks are documented in richly painted oils or highly detailed watercolours – the London Eye, the Gherkin, Trafalgar Square, the Great Thames bridges, Regents Park in the summer and the Embankment in the spring. London is revealed with the vitality and virtuosity that it deserves.”

London Seen. 10 January – 10 February 2011
Llewellyn Alexander Fine Paintings Ltd
124-126 The Cut
London, SE1 8LN
(opposite The Old Vic Theatre).
020 7620 1322

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.

My painting Wittering Light has been short-listed in a competition to choose a cover image for the next Ken Bromley Art Supplies catalogue.

To see all the shortlisted images  click here and don’t forget to vote for your favourite!

Another of my paintings, Watching the Thames,  has also been long listed for the London Lives painting competition.

Update: This picture has now made the shortlist and will feature in the exhibition at Bankside gallery in September.

These are a few of the locations I have been painting in this week.  I spent several days painting by the River Thames in Richmond then worked on the beach at West Wittering yesterday.

This afternoon I painted in the company of the Wapping Group of Artists.  The “Wappers” as they are affectionately known are a group of painters who get together once a week in the summer months to record life along the River Thames and its estuary.

Above is my painting of the Golden Hinde.  This 12×10 inch study is in oil on board.  The two small figures hidden in the middle distance are Bert Wright and Geoff Hunt both of whom are Past Presidents of the Royal Society of Marine Artists.