Blue Boat, The Saltings Tollesbury, Essex

Oil on canvas 20 x 30 inches.

This is an area where the sea covers the land at high tide so the boats  appear stranded . I chose oil for this painting  as the technique of alla prima suited the crusty old paint on this old rowing boat in the foreground. I enjoyed capturing the foreboding sky and the  special kind of light just before a rain storm.

Early morning Fishing boats, Luxor

24 x 18 inches. Acrylic  on linen

I painted this image once before but was never satisfied with it so i have re-visited  it and apart from the little boat in the foreground it is completely re worked. The light here is reflected on the Nile which at this early hour ( about 6. am ) is almost pearlescent and the houses on the far bank shimmer with their pastel painted walls.

Behind them just discernible is the pinky stone of the Valley of the Kings

Buff and Raspberry

Acrylic on canvas 20x 24

Just could not resist this chicken in amongst the green leaves of the raspberry bushes  contrasting with the blue grey of the leeks. The hen’s red comb ties in with the pink raspberries nicely. I did find this a bit of a challenge in patience as I began to get rather bored painting all that green!

alla prima  =

in one sitting or as in this case before the paint is dry.

Moving On

Acrylic on canvas 24 x 20

The fair is over and the business of taking it all down and moving on is beginning. Come back in a few hours and all that remains are a few black bags in the corner of the village green. Steam fairs like this one are rare now and some London boroughs have deemed them a pollution hazard.