Beside The Seaside

oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches

I found in this painting that I had to keep adjusting my colour as I was going along as the whole effect was looking far too faded and I wanted to make sure there was a contrast between the old photos and the beach setting. In order to achieve this I ended up choosing a much warmer and brighter colour scheme than I first intended, but I think it works a lot better than the colour scheme I'd originally selected. I think the change of colour is most obvious in the seaweed in the top right of the painting, I decided to provide a balance to the orange in the shells and this also helps the photographs to stand out much more.

Hydrangea Series

Hydrangea Series - Small Painting Number Three

Another small painting, oil on canvas, 12 x 16 inches.

The subjects for this painting are a few very dried up and largely faded hydrangeas which I cut and saved from last winter. I made an attempt in this painting to recreate the faded, almost dusty look and I changed my colour scheme as I progressed in order to achieve this. I also decided to include a flowerhead in the background and try to suggest depth by blurring this background image. The underpainting was produced using a mixture of ultramarine and burnt umber with the addition of varying quantities of white paint.

A Couple of Small Hydrangea Paintings

Both paintings are 16 x 12 inches, oil on canvas. I started each painting with my usual underpainting focusing on the main shadows and tonal relationships. I've included photos of the stages in each painting and a couple of detail shots for painting one. I'm particularly interested in the subtle colours evident in the dried flowers but I don't feel I've yet captured the faded fragile look I'm aiming at which no doubt means there will be more to come in this series

Painting One

I struggled to get an accurate photo of this one, the actual painting has more depth than is evident from the photo

Finished Painting

Details

Painting Two

Finished Painting

The final stage consisted of adding glazes here and there to indicate the red tinges.

Both Paintings Together

Summer's End

Summer's End

oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches

For this painting I decided to work on a larger scale than I've been used to and I'm now keen to try some more larger paintings as there are advantages to working on this scale, not least that I can more easily add detail.

I returned to one of my favourite subjects, hydrangeas, and in this painting I wanted to focus on the changes from the fresh, vibrant summer flowers through to the faded dried flowerheads (saved from last autumn). I love the way the flowers go through a whole range of colour changes, both when left on the shrub in the garden, and when cut and allowed to slowly dry out. Last years flower heads still have slight touches of blue and pink here and there. I intend adding these subtle touches of colour using glazes later when the paint has dried, but for now here's the painting from the initial underpainting to the final result.