TWO CHURCHES – WATERCOLOUR PAINTINGS

I did warn you there were more churches to come. These are local country churches. I did a sketch of Halsall Church, above, one quiet morning during the lockdown. Normally the road in the foreground is very busy, but on that morning there were only a few passing vehicles and a couple of pedestrians. Even so, I wedged myself over a wall on the steep bank of a stream and painted into the light. On this version I widened the field of view, to put the Church into context.

This second one is of Sefton Church and I have presented a version of this before, but I wasnt happy with the washes and I felt I had too much foreground at the expense of the subject. So here is a second go. I feel happier with this version.

Anyway, that concludes my ecclesiastical excursions – well at least for now.

Other local scenes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

SKETCHING ON THE SPOT – WATERCOLOUR

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Well, the weather has broken around here and my early morning outings have stopped. Here is the result of my last foray on the first day of this month.

It took me a while to find a suitable subject that day and eventually I selected the view on Clieves hills across the fields to Aughton Church which is just outside Ormskirk, With the cottage in the foreground it might be one worth working up in the future.

As I painted I noticed another view to my left with the far hills shrouded in mist.

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So when I completed the Aughton Church view I turned in my seat, replenished my water, had another cup of tea and started the view over the valley to the far hills. On this one I think I went a bit too dark too soon but again it could be one to work on later.

And then, as I was thinking that one more painting might round off the morning well, I turned to look up the hill and saw the weather blown trees. I decided to select just a few of these trees which stand high on the ridge and with a second twist of my stool and another cup of tea I started on the final painting of the morning.

Three paintings without moving – so it was a good morning and the cycle ride home was helped by a following wind – what more could you want?

Landscape paintings are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

PAINTING OUTDOORS AT LAST -WATERCOLOUR SKETCHES

I was going to display some more sketches of my garden, but on Wednesday the sun rose early and I decided to get out and do my first painting of the year.

I had decided on the location but on my way I spotted that a mist was coming off the moss and that would have made painting very difficult, so I swerved off beachward and tried to find something interesting to do on the dune belt.

The first were the pines lit by the morning light, above.

Then I spotted this pine on the edge of the woods. I liked the colour of the bark in the light against the darkness of the woods behind,

I had one more sheet on my painting pad so I decided to head towards the sea and sat on top of a sand dune and painted, the admittedly rather mundane, view to the sea.

Not an exciting bunch of sketches, due to the location being forced on me by circumstance, but it was great to get out and just have a chance to sit and meditate for two or three hours in the sun. There was also one advantage of this social distancing – no-one bothered me as I worked – not that there were many out at that hour and location.

Local landscapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

THE GARDEN FROM THE DECKING – WATERCOLOUR SKETCH

Tuesday dawned bright and sunny – just the day to get out to paint. Though I am reluctant to do it – despite having seen someone painting outside the other Saturday.

So I thought that I would do the next best thing and settled down on my deck and painted one of the flowerbeds. Even the blue tits came to the bird table feeder. Once to allow me to sketch the shape and then obligingly they returned to give me some colour hints later. The result isnt that clear, a shame after all the effort that they made.

I may even do another view if the sun gets out again..

Other landscapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

BARE WINTER TREES – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

As winter draws to its cruel close I came upon this view over the Brede Valley in East Sussex. It was from a dark photo, into the sun, looking over a church cemetery – where some of my maternal family are buried, and on into the valley beyond. I liked the skeletal tree and added another on the right. I lightened the foreground up and created some rough ground instead. Winter coming to an end.

The creation of the branches was a therapeutic exercise, with rain thrashing the window and a spot of Bach on the stereo. It filled a wet morning perfectly.

Other landscapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com at very reasonable prices.

AFTER THE HARVEST – PASTEL PAINTING

With a recent spell of bright sunshine we went for a walk along the canal a couple of days ago. It was the fields nearby that caught my attention. This one with the light on the top of the hill and the deep blue of the sky setting off what remains of the autumn leaves captured the day for me. I was thinking of putting some crows in it – but so far have resisted.

Other landscapes are available for sale on my website grahammcquadefineart.com

DOG WALKING 2 – ACRYLIC PAINTING

Back in July last year I was sitting in a gallery, doing my stint;  looking after the shop and trying to sell some paintings. It can be pretty slow around here,  so I set up my easel and started painting the picture below. It was based on  photos I had taken on a day walking in the Yorkshire Dales.

I used acrylics and square brushes and painted it during the day.

I was quite pleased with the result. I felt that the subject matter suited the style of painting. Unfortunately the punters dont agree. The painting stayed at my side, despite many attempts to shake it off. So the other day I decided to change the subject matter around and have the people walking towards me.

The actions of a desperate man . …

This, and other paintings are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

SUNLIT CLEARING – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

Another reprise. A more finished version of our pinewoods in autumn with their mix of conifer and birch. I am not sure of the shaft of light – that might get amended before I frame it.

Other woodland scenes are available on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

SUNSHINE IN THE PINEWOODS – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

Regular readers may sense groundhog day, but this is a more finished version of an offering I produced a few weeks ago as part of a set of woodland scenes. As I scratch around for suitable work for a couple of upcoming exhibitions, there may be more of that set coming – so those of an unforgiving disposition should switch off now…

Other woodland scenes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

BACK TO THE WOODS – WATERCOLOUR SKETCHES

I had a bit of time to play around with some forest scenes I had collected from recent visits to our local Ainsdale and Formby woods. On the top painting I did the colour mixing on the paper adding water to push colour away from the top right and then push and reinforce the dark mixtures on to the bottom right to get contrast and mystery.

This, above, was my first try. I like some of it, but feel that I need some colour contrasts to highlight the point of interest and break the monotony.

This got a bit obvious with streams of light, but has the area of interest I needed in the painting above. Again, with a few tweaks it could be worth another try. I think if I push the bottom area up into the `middle it might enliven it a little.

There may be more if I get some spare time.

Other forest scenes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com