I’m driving down Regent’s Street, London and traffic is very slow. The blue flashing lights ahead indicate some emergency has taken precedence and we must wait. Above me, the Christmas lights display, splendiferous in brilliance sparkle along with the blinking and shimmering festive colours from the shop fronts and people rush around going about their business. The air is cold and crisp and I am reminded, this is my most favourite time of the year.
​
But this evening, this is all peripheral, I am impatient to get home, my mind is in turmoil as I think of the past 6 or so hours. I’ve been at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Paint Live event, and I want to dump my thoughts in writing before they fly clean out of my head, 

Earlier in the day as I walked round the show the thought had crossed my mind (and not for the first time) if I shouldn’t just grab my coat and shut the door on my art career gently behind me; no wonder I’ve received rejection upon rejection each time I apply to their open exhibition! I say to fellow painters, if you want to know why you didn’t get in,  seriously, go and see the show. The bar is set high!

The Paint Live day has become something of a tradition during the ROI’s annual open exhibition where artists are invited to create a painting within a half mile radius of the Mall Galleries and submit it to the competition at the end of the day. It’s a fun way to meet up with the many friends and acquaintances that have been thrown together through social media and for me another opportunity to practice painting outdoors.

I picked my spot on The Mall looking towards Buckingham Palace. My attraction was the flags which were on display all the way down the length of the mall, apparently a certain President would be dining with Her Majesty later in the week. The perfect spot would of course have been right in the middle of the road on a traffic island but with the level of police around, I thought that probably would not have been a good idea not to mention the chaos that would probably ensue as traffic whizzed past either side of me. 

Anyway, near disaster was averted when I discovered the quick release plate that connects my pochade box to my tripod was missing, Luckily,  I had a spare one in my bag (long story), which didn’t quite fit but kind of did the job. (Note to self, be sure to check and double check your plein air equipment before you leave home). 

Every year after the winning paintings have been chosen, prizes given, hands clapped, backs patted and congratulations rendered,  painters are given the opportunity to get a critique from the judges who this year were Ian Cryer. Past president of the ROI, June Mendoza OBE who’s portrait work I really admire and Haidee-Jo Summers who is arguably my most favourite living artist.

June pointed out the compositional aspects, the vertical this and the diagonal that pointing to the horizontal base line which gave it a solid grounding, “Thank you”,  I said, “now where is is weak?” “Your drawing...”,  she  came back immediately, “Buckingham Palace looks like a lump of jelly”, I laughed and thanked her. Ian had pretty much the same view about the drawing, “...if your shapes are too generic, they can look like they were just dumped there...” he told me. He was referring the the taxi in my painting.  “Also don’t forget to check where your light is coming from”. Yikes! Classic schoolgirl error! Isn’t that the first thing they teach you at art school?

Painting outdoors is so different to studio painting and I so want to get better at it and realise it takes time and practice neither of which have easy shortcuts. Painting outdoors teaches you to observe and can bring a certain freshness and spontaneity to paintings which I so admire and want to emulate. Increasingly though I feel it’s not just about being able to paint, it’s about finding and adding all those little nuances, the sprinkling of a certain magic dust that takes your painting from ordinary to extraordinary. 

I feel frustration and pleasure in unequal and varying measure as I wonder if I will ever reach my painting nirvana; frustration when once again perfection eludes me and pleasure because above all else it’s what I love to do. 

What do fellow artists think? What extremes of emotion do you feel when you paint?

​

I am insanely envious of any artist who at the moment is able to dedicate their time fully to creating their work. I mean I know it’s not easy and working at it full time doesn’t necessarily mean  they are earning a reasonable living from it but that would be my ideal situation and my one wish should some genie appear and ask to grant me one; to be able to paint full time and to produce paintings that sell consistently.

I do know in many cases even for those who practice full time, no two days are ever alike and sometimes you find yourself on a real winning streak when everything appears to go swimmingly and you produce some seriously good studio or plein air results. Other days are just bleah and hard as you try things just won’t gel. These ebb and flow moments happen to us all and many learn to cope until their mojo returns from it’s unplanned hiatus. At times like these doing some studio work; washing brushes, tidying up, drawing, sketching, updating your website or social media helps.

So what happens when like me your creative time is limited to the same three days of the week? You have a day job so the bills can be paid so you can keep up your practice so you look forward to that time and then when it arrives you find your mojo has taken a hike!

When your time and your creative flow don’t coincide it can be pretty frustrating. However this probably is not the time for guilt and frustration but more time for any kind of input... magazines, museums, galleries, web browsing, YouTube, catching up with all those book marked articles you just never got rounding to reading. Input is just as important as output, it refreshes us by charging our batteries. 

Someone once said, art should not be created in snatched moments only and whilst this is true in the main, snatched moments can produce some of the most spontaneously created and beautiful pieces. Snatching moments when your time is limited can be quite tricky and we learn to adapt as best as we can.

We may not always feel like painting but just showing up at the studio helps..

The photo is of the view of my studio from my position on the sofa. I have my iPad on my lap and for the last 2 days I’ve been updating my website, creating links, adding to my web store, blogging,  and updating my social media. Input is as important as output. I need to remember this. 

What does everyone else do? Am I unique in this situation? Drop me a line below and let me know.

Plein air painters often go out on their own so it’s always a welcome opportunity whenever events are organised that allow us to spend time with loads of like minded painters.

I’ve attended A Brush With The Broads for 4 out of 5 events it has organised so far and have enjoyed each one in equal measure. At the end of September, we all gathered again, this time at Hall Farm Cottages in Horning in Norfolk for some fun activities of plein air painting, painting demonstrations and competitions. We even got to have at least one meal together. 

This year it rained! It rained and rained and rained but for the more intrepid amongst us this did little to dampen our spirits and we forged on stoically taking advantage of the short breaks and occasional bursts of sunshine.

To some it might seem a little foolhardy but we all have our interests and the little things for which we make personal sacrifices. When you enjoy it, it does not feel like hardship. What’s a bit of rain between friends eh?

I’m certainly looking forward to the next session and as I make my painting related plans for next year one thing I am considering is making more time with fellow artists out in the open doing what we enjoy best. 

​



​
​

It’s a questions many bloggers must ask themselves, do I really need to do this? I mean who even reads them? Everyone wants to be on social media for whatever reason, some to promote a business, some to share a view or just because...

For me there are small anecdotes I want to share from time to time; nothing major but every now and again there’s something. Today I am just musing. What do artists do all day? Ha ha I think someone already made a documentary about that...

Well today was s gloriously sunny day. That’s another thing... we talk about the weather so much but then it is so changeable so a great conversation starter..

So like I said, it’s been gloriously sunny, it’s Saturday and I hooked up with my friends from Northampton Urban Sketchers to sketch sunflowers at Overstone Grange Farm near Kettering. It was fun and relaxing. The farm offers a pick your own service and was doing it for the first time this year and kudos to them I think it has been a success. In October it will be pick your own pumpkins and you know...? More grease to their elbows... long may it last.

The area would be great for plein air sessions and we have hinted we would love to come back.
in the meantime a few pictures... Have a nice day!


​

It really is quite bizarre! What is it with me and cormorants? I had no idea I had any interest in any sort of marine wildlife until a holiday in the outer Hebrides in the summer, and after a boat ride round the Isle of Lewis, lo and behold, there I was, hooked on these primitive looking creatures.

When a fellow artist told me there were cormorants on the lake at Delapre Abbey, I was sceptical at first but nevertheless grabbed my camera and sketchbook and went in search of the reptilian looking birds. I arrived to find a single solitary bird in flight just as it disappeared into the horizon.

The young father who had brought his children fishing must have sensed my disappointment. 'Birdwatching?" He was curious and up until that point I hadn't realised I was. "Well in a manner of speaking", I replied, "I heard there were cormorants here". "They are usually on that tree over there...", he was  pointing to a cluster of tall trees a fair distance away, "You will need to get here a little earlier though". 

So the next time I arrived, I found perched high up in the branches a colony of 9 or 10 birds; some flapping, some with outstretched wings and one looked like it was feeding it's young. 

I really wanted to sketch the birds but they were just too far away to do this comfortably. My camera at full 300mm zoom could just about pick out the silhouettes. Nevertheless I walked round the lake to find the closet spot I could manage and grabbed a few shots. I was over the moon. 

For the intrepid plein air artist and urban sketcher, the lake at Delapre has much to offer. It's not just the wildlife but at different times of the day and during the different seasons, the lake can look very different. I am quite excited about spending more time here. Dare I say it? Watch this space