Roy Connelly

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 Blossom
8 x 10 inches, 20 x 25cm, oil on board £480

This is one the the paintings I am currently showing at Island Fine Arts until 2 July 2011.

Island Fine Arts Ltd
53 High St, Bembridge, Isle of Wight P035 5SE
Tel: 01983 875 133

Josephine Harpur’s Summer Exhibition is on now at the Edmund Gallery, Angel Hill in the beautiful Suffolk town of Bury St Edmunds.  I popped in to see the show on the opening Saturday and was just in time to meet the buyer of one of my paintings.  It is always a pleasure to meet one’s collectors, without whom artists could not lead the lives they do.

Bury St Edmunds has an amazingly well preserved mix of medieval and Georgian architecture and is well worth a visit.

The exhibition features the work of Roy Connelly, Sarah Coghill, Paul Curtis, Kate Denton, Katya Gridnev, Valery Gridnev, Veda Hallows, Kevin Hughes, Pamela Kay, Peter Kelly, Ffiona Lewis, Ronald Morgan, Charles Rake, Mike Speller and Tim Woolcock

The Edmund Gallery, St Edmundsbury Cathedral
Angel Hill, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 1LS
Saturday 11th to Thursday 16th June
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Enquiries Josephineharpur@aol.com
tel 01359 269692 mob 07946 523285

Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace.
Oil on board, 12×10 inches, £580.

The Trooping of the Colour ceremony takes place in London on Saturday, so I thought I would post this picture from my current show at Island Fine Arts. It was painted in The Mall a few days before the Royal Wedding of William and Kate.

The police were happy for me to set up my easel in the middle of the road, which was closed to traffic that day.  Each time the troops marched to and from the Palace I had to pick up my box easel and kit and quickly move to the side to let them pass, before reclaiming my spot.

To paint the marching band as they passed I had one brush loaded with red paint and another loaded with black.  I hadn’t account for the brass instruments they were playing and had to quickly get another brush and more paint mixed but I got it down in one hit and was quite please with the result.

Union Flags flying in The Mall. Oil on board, 16×10 inches.

Painted earlier this summer when The Mall was lined with flags for William and Kate’s wedding, these are two of the new paintings I have on show at Island Fine Arts until 2 July 2011.  The Mall was closed to traffic so I was able to stand in the road to paint.

4 Jun- 2 Jul 2011 Harry Brioche, Roy Connelly and Sally Trueman

Island Fine Arts Ltd
53 High St, Bembridge, Isle of Wight P035 5SE
Tel: 01983 875 133

Royal Flags, The Mall. Oil on board, 12×10 inches.

River Thames at Aston near Henley, Oil on board, 20x16in.

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

Painting in The Mall a day before the Royal Wedding, London is looking great with so many flags flying and the sun shining. Some people were camping out to get a view on the big day.

A message of congratulations on the window at W H Patterson in Mayfair.
(far left is my 20x16in Regent Street painting, on the right is a very nice view of the palace by Peter van Breda)

Regent Street flags, 10x12in.  The smaller of two views I painted while standing on a traffic island in the middle of the road.

I had been painting the Union Flags and noticed this red white and blue pattern had appeared in my dipper – almost a French tricolour.

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!

Ken Howard has been in the news this week.  He has been moved on twice recently while painting the streets of London. Details in The Telegraph.

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.