A painting a week. Week 27

“Still life with vase and lavender flowers”

Lavender reminds me of south France with it’s purple -violet fields. I like these flowers and I have some in my garden.

From last week, I started to experiment more with still life, an exciting subject, that I didn’t do much before.

For this week I decided to try a crystal vase with some lavender flowers from my garden. I used a black background and I placed the vase on a white sheet. I have painted it in several layers, using de Mayerne medium.

“Still life with vase and lavender flowers.”

Oil on linen.

30 X 40cm (12” X 16”)

A painting a week. Week 26

“Still life with chilli oil, garlic and bay leaf”

After some landscapes and some life drawing, I was attracted again by the still life. I have to admit that this genre has got it’s magic.

This time I tried a new approach to me. Using a shadow box and a powerful spotlight. I placed the objects on a off white cloth and used a black background.

The colours used were warm white, ivory black, raw and burnt umber, cadmium yellow light, a touch of yellow ochre and naphtol red.

What I tried to achieve was to play with the light and shadows and describe the items through the effect of light on them.

Probably, during next weeks I will experiment more with still life, different styles, technique or approach.

So, this is my painting for week 26, half way through 2017.

“Still life with chilli oil, garlic and bay leaf”

Oil on linen.

30 X 40cm (12” X 16”)

A painting a week. Week 25

“River Avon at Little Durnford farm”

Salisbury is a beautiful cathedral city in Wiltshire. Home of the tallest cathedral spire in England and filled with history. We always enjoy a walk in or around Salisbury. From Salisbury, you can visit Old Sarum, or Stonehenge, or the wonderful surrounding countryside.

North from Salisbury, towards Stonehenge, hidden on the banks of river Avon is the Little Durnford farm.

Lovely gardens, a large walled garden, lawns, lake with islands and the banks of the river. Camels, alpacas, pigs, pigmy goats, sheep and donkeys are grazing next to the gardens.

The manor is not open to the public, but part of the farm, including the animals can be visited.

It is a long walk from Old Sarum, which we did, but can be accessed by car, with a car park not very far.

I painted this from a photo taken by me.

“River Avon at Little Durnford farm”

Oil on linen.

30 X 40cm (12''x16'')

A painting a week. Week 24

 “A corner of my garden with olive trees”

It has been a busy week for me at Sarum studio in Salisbury, having the first attempt at life and cast painting in oils. So, a week of holiday, being home earlier than after work. And the weather was perfect for painting outdoors.

The little olive trees I have in my garden are enjoying this summer, even have lots of tiny white flowers. So, I have decided to paint them for this week.

I painted them in the afternoons, in four sittings, painting alla prima in each session. I have used two blues (cerulean and cobalt), three yellows (cadmium yellow light, medium, and a touch of yellow ochre), titanium white, naphtol red, alizarin crimson and some chrome oxide green. For the first layer I used only turpentine; later I used de Mayerne medium, diluted at first and then more concentrated. The composition is altered a bit, I used artistic licence to change background and foreground, using other elements from my garden.

So, here it is, my No 24 of weekly paintings:

“A corner of my garden with olive trees”

Oil on linen.

30 X 40cm (12” X 16”)

A painting a week. Week 23

 “Still life with oil bottles and a jar”

Still life. A subject matter I didn’t do much of, even though I have been always attracted to it. My first five paintings were still life with vases and flowers. But, after that I only painted a few, vast majority of my paintings being landscapes.

For this week I wanted to paint a still life, but a different one. Most of my still life painting are of flowers, with three or four exceptions, so I decided to try some olive oil bottles, paired with a jar of jam. The source of light was coming from behind, and they were placed on a black table top, against a dark background. I have tried to paint loosely, using alla prima and blending on the canvas, and using De Mayerne medium. I painted it in four sittings, from an hour to about two hours each.

So, here it is:

“Still life with oil bottles and a jar”.

 Oil on linen

30 X 40cm (12” X 16”)

A painting a week. Week 22

“Cadgwith village”

Cadgwith village is a village in Cornwall, England, situated on the Lizard peninsula.

We visited the village few years ago, when we were visiting Cornwall, and we stayed couple of days on Lizard peninsula. While there, we have seen Lizard point, the southern most point of England and some little towns and villages. Cadgwith came as a very pleasant surprise, an old fishing village with a great character. Lovely cottages and beautiful surroundings. We have had long walks around.

The painting I did was inspired by one of many photos taken by us.

I painted it in three sessions, alla prima, using Michael Harding paints and De Mayerne medium.

So, here it is:

“Cadgwith village”

Oil on linen

30 X 40cm (12” X 16”).

A painting a week. Week 21

“St. Ives”

Cornwall is a county situated in southwest of England. It is homeland to Cornish people, which is one of the Celtic nations. Cornwall has a milder climate and warmer summers than the rest of UK, and is a very popular tourist destination.

There are many picturesque villages and beautiful scenery. Amongst other attractions, there is the most western point of England, Lands End and Lizard Peninsula, where is the most southern point of England. On the south coast, east from Penzance is the island of St. Michael’s Mount, which becomes separated from land only during high tides. The most visited place is , though, the Eden Project.

One of the most beautiful village is St Ives, situated north from Penzance, on the coast of Celtic sea. Near St Ives, there is a colony of seals. Because of very warm weather, one of the warmest in northern Europe, is a very popular tourist summer resort. Lots of narrow coble paved streets, little shops and fisherman’s cottages.

St Ives is also famous for the large number of artists and for the galleries. In St Ives, there is one of the only four Tate galleries in the world, and the Barbara Hepworth museum and garden.

We visited St Ives on several occasions, nearly every time we have been in Cornwall.

The painting I did this week was inspired by a photo taken by us, probably in 2012.

“St Ives”

Oil on linen

30 X 40cm (12” X 16”)

A painting a week. Week 20

“Eden Project”

Eden Project is a famous visitor attraction in Cornwall, England. It is located inside a reclaimed Kaolinite pit, one mile from St Blazey and three miles from St Austell. The main feature is a complex of two huge enclosures, consisting of adjoining domes, made from hexagonal and pentagonal inflated plastic cells supported by steel frames. This enclosures simulate a natural biome; the largest one – rainforest and second one Mediterranean. There is also an outside botanical garden.

The core, which is the latest addition to the site, provides educational facilities, incorporates classrooms and exhibition spaces. The geometry of it’s copper cladded roof is derived from phyllotaxis which is found in growth of the seeds of sunflower head or pine cones. A permanent installation entitled “Seed” is located in the anteroom. The seed is a large egg shaped stone with a complex pattern of protrusions.

There is a wide range of workshops and outdoor activities, for children and adults. For more adventurous there is the longest and fastest zip wire in England, with a length of nearly 700 meters and speeds up to 60 mph. A giant swing and a leap of faith complete the attraction.

Every year, Eden Project hosts a series of musical performances called Eden Sessions.

We visited Eden Project many times but not in the last 3 or 4 years.

The painting I did this week was done after a photo taken by us in 2012 (I think). It features the rainforest biome.

“Eden Project”

Oil on linen.

30 X 40cm (12” X 16”)

A painting a week. Week 19

“Tree in spring”

Salisbury is a lovely medieval cathedral city in Southwest England, situated in Wiltshire. It is 9 miles south from Stonehenge and is famous for being home to the tallest cathedral spire in England (123 m). Along with the tallest spire, the 13th century cathedral has an original copy of the Magna Carta and a working 14th century clock. Many pubs are scattered around the city and many buildings are reputed to be haunted. There are not many parks in Salisbury, but lots of green patches with trees shrubs and flowers. And obviously, the beautiful banks of river Avon.

We love walking in Salisbury and sometimes we take photos, one of them taken this spring inspired the painting I did this week.

For the sky I used kings blue from Michael Harding in the underpainting and Cerulean blue with a touch of Prussian blue for the layers, clouds done with warm white and some neutral grey. All the greens are done with combinations of 3 blues (kings blue, Prussian blue and cerulean) with 3 yellows (light, medium and deep).

So, here it is:

“Tree in spring”

Oil on linen

30 X 40cm (12” X 16”)

A painting a week. Week 18

“Orion with Sirius and Aldebaran above Verwood”

The night sky. A beautiful and fascinating thing. Colours always changing from various shades of dark blue to a very deep, mysterious black, sometimes showing glimpses of reflected light, touches of reds or yellows, altered by artificial light, fazes of the moon and many other little things. Because of this you can only see the sky properly while out in the middle of nowhere, far from urban lighting and even then you need a clear sky and a not very bright moon. And then is like someone sprinkled the sky with little lights in a beautiful pattern. Although it looks like random, there are the constellations, which as by magic can be seen by anyone, even without training. On of the most recognizable is the Orion with it’s hourglass shape. It is visible from both hemispheres of the Earth, being very close to celestial equator. The position depends on the time of the year and is not visible on the night sky all year round. The main features of the Orion (named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology) are Orion’s belt, a group of 3 bright blue stars, the head (a small triangle of three little stars), the club to the north from right shoulder (top left) and the shield, a group of six stars to the right. Except for the belt, the others are not always visible especially under artificial light. Hanging from the belt is the sword, consisting of two groups of multiple stars, Trapezium and Orion nebula.

The brightest stars are Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis), a large red supergiant, the eighth brightest star of the sky and second of Orion and Rigel (Beta Orionis) a blue supergiant, the sixth brightest star of the night sky. Betelgeuse represents the right shoulder, assuming that the hunter is facing us and Rigel is the left foot. Bellatrix (Gamma Orionis) “Amazon star, a blue giant serves as left shoulder. Saiph (Kappa Orionis) is a blue supergiant, similar to Rigel, but appears much fainter, because emits mostly in ultraviolet and serves as right foot.

Most of the times, Orion appears visible with two other stars, Aldebaran from Taurus, an Orange supergiant to the upper right and Sirius from Canis Major to the bottom left.

The painting I did is inspired by a photo taken by me in February, in Verwood. Because of the street lights only the main stats, along belt and sword were visible, together with Sirius and Aldebaran.

For the sky I used cobalt blue, with a touch of cerulean, for houses I used a mixture of cobalt blue and neutral grey, street lights warm white with cadmium yellow and for stars cerulean blue with warm white, and cadmium red, with a touch of cadmium yellow for Aldebaran.

“Orion with Sirius and Aldebaran over Verwood”

Oil on linen.

30 X 40cm (12” X 16”)