I have sold a number of beach scenes at Formby of late, so stocks of this subject were low and I wanted something not too taxing to paint as I worked on a more difficult painting.
It puzzles me why a local beach scene is such a popular subject but I suppose sunny days at the seaside are always uplifting and can hold happy memories – that is, until you have to paint masses of marram grass and footprints in the sand.
Staying with the beach theme started on my last post; another view of the Sefton coast, this time at Formby. I did this in acrylics and I am happier with the depictment of the vegetation compared to what I achieved with the pastels. I am tempted to repeat the previous post of the Alt Estuary in acrylics.
The painting comes from a watercolour sketch I did a few weeks back, one sunny morning when I visited the beach.
In the distance ( through the gap) on the acrylic painting are the impression of some seabirds which I thought I saw as I sat painting. When I blew up the images I saw that it was litter left by the previous day’s tourists – still, the white blobs are birds in my eye.
Maybe I’m undergoing some sort of epiphany or, then again, perhaps not, but I am painting a number of churches of late. I have a couple more in the pipeline, but this is a completed one.
I had been over to the sand dunes at Formby to do some early morning painting and was making my way back to the road when I glimpsed the church through the chestnut and sycamore trees. I squeezed in under a dilapidated fence and sat and painted the back of the church, though it was the light coming in through the leaves of the trees that adds the punch to this painting and I didn’t do that justice in my sketch. So here is my second go at home, sat in comfort, listening to a spot of Mozart – you can almost feel the sunshine.
Other churches and local paintings are available for sale on my website grahammcquadefineart.com
My daughter and her boyfriend came up the other day and we went for a walk along the coastal path north of Liverpool. This is another place where the path brushes the beach – at the end of Lifeboat Road in Formby. What little remains of the lifeboat station are some well washed bricks down there on the beach.
I am a sucker for the broken fences and the shadows that they cast – perhaps I could make a bit more of them here. And with the windy day came the churning waves eating away more of the sandy beach.
Yesterday I decided to join a painting club on one of their summer site visits. I had just joined this club, mainly for the exhibition possibilities, and they sent me their summer schedule which contained some places I had not been before in the area. Marsh Farm was one, and as it was a nice day I thought I would get out and give it a go.
Apart from my old wooden stool falling apart from under me as I painted, it was a good day. Above is the group painting the farm, whilst I sat on a bank by the track – one of the few comfortable places left with the demise of my stool.
Other landscape and townscape paintings available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com
The coastal path from Southport to Crosby takes you along sandy beaches, through Pinewoods and skirts an army rifle range before depositing you in front of Anthony Gormley’s Another Place. Here, in the painting, the path leaves Formby as the morning sun breaks the scrubby, wind sculpted trees and dances over the long grass.
This is another repeat of a painting I have posted before. I hope I have got the light in the grasses better and improved both the contrasts on the pathway and the textures in the bracken and brush.
Getting ready to go on holiday, I got an email from someone wanting a painting of a local golf course for a present. Unfortunately I had sold it some time ago, but suggested I could do another version. The client seemed to be happy with the result above.
And the pressure continued as I also agreed to change my small exhibition at the framers. It’s only a few paintings but you need to reframe and sort out labels etc. The photo I took is marred by reflections, unfortunately.
When I get back from holiday I have quite a big exhibition at the back end of March so I was putting paintings in what frames I had left, though I will need the frames from this exhibition and some that I have ordered to put on the exhibition – 30 paintings in all. With all the running around at least I am fairly well sorted and have sold a couple of paintings this year to boot – so we are off to a reasonable start. Now Thailand beckons – hopefully I will be able to paint a few pictures to put on the blog.
I did a sketch of this last year and posted it. On this more considered piece at least I got the tracks not looking like something from a model railway and inserting the man with his briefcase adds a touch of anticipation.
Another sketch just to get the feel of the subject. I had come out of a life session and was getting the train home. The sunshine was bright and the figures were set in deep contrast making me get my camera out. If I do it again I must get the tracks right – it looks like a model railway and there isnt a conductor rail but the use of masking fluid to get the glinting tracks worked better than I thought it would.
Paintings of Formby and other townscapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com
The other week when I went to get some reference material for an upcoming show, low morning sun-light exploded in between the leaves and branches of the willow trees which sat in the drainage ditches along the road I travelled on. Fortunately I had my camera beside me and I was able to snatch a few snaps. Even better was the fact that I managed to keep the car on the road at the same time and no passing motorists were harmed in the taking of these images.
I have been assembling and framing the paintings for the show and will be taking them in next week for hanging. I had forgotten about these images until I came across them the other day when I thought that I might make something out of them.
Other paintings of Little Crosby and Formby are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com
