Day at "Art in Action" via the Cotswolds
2007-07-20 17:28:00
A thankfully sunny day for the first day of the "Art in Action
" festival at Waterperry, near Oxford. The huge car park was filling up fast, even before opening, I think most people had heard the forecast for bad weather over the next few days and decided to come today. I'd like to include more pictures but they would take too long to load.The first picture is David Curtis at work on the second painting of the day, seen here in the initial stages. He's using the watercolour painting of Staithes as reference material.The second picture is Tom Coates in action with the crowds. He was working on a portrait.There was lots to see and take part in. Painting, drawing, sculpture, glass, pottery, printmaking, woodworking, metal work, crafts, materials, music, practical classes for adults and kids, the list goes on...This combined with a trip through the Cotswolds, on the way down and back, the usual search for more reference material for paintings which thanks to another very early start I wa
Winter Snow Scene, Froggatt Edge, Derbyshire Peak District
2007-07-20 14:56:00
"Along the Edge" Froggatt Edge, Derbyshire16"x12". Oil on board. Alistair Butt © 2007.I was first attracted to this view by the stunning contrast between the warm colours of the trees and bracken against the snow which had a warm glow where it was catching the late afternoon sunlight and some lovely cool shadows. The small groups of trees and shadows also produce a nice 'z' shape across and down the path with also helps lead the eye to the two walkers coming along the path.I really enjoyed painting this picture especially the areas of snow and ice on the path. Well worth the walk, even though it wasn't very warm. Hopefully time will allow me to produce more paintings from the other reference material gained during the afternoon.
Read more: District
Winsor & Newton Artists' Water Colour Sable Brushes
2007-07-18 04:44:00
I have been kindly asked by Winsor & Newton
to test and comment on their recently introduced range of Kolinsky Sable brushes. As all of you that have met me at festivals or seen the brushes page on my web site I only use Winsor & Newton Series 7 Brushes and then only two sizes within the range for 95% of the painting. I'm testing the Pointed Round and Riggers.The range of Winsor & Newton Artists
' Water Colour
Sable brushes:Round: in 12 sizes, from 00 to 12.Pointed Round: in 6 sizes, from 3 to 8.One Stroke: in 6 sizes, from 3mm to 25mm (1/8" to 1")Rigger: in 6 sizes, from 1 to 6.Leaflets are available giving more information.I will post further comment/conclusions after I have completed a series of paintings as that will give a true reflection of these brushes capabilities.
Hastings, Sussex. Fishing boats landing morning catch...
2007-07-16 17:00:00
"Landing" Hasting, Sussex12"x16". Oil on board. Alistair Butt © 2007It was a bright warm but still morning (it broke record temperatures later in the day) with the last of the fog burning off when I arrived at Hastings
on the Sussex coast after a very long drive down from the Midlands. Thankfully I arrived in time to see the first pair of these lovely traditional wooden boats return from their fishing trip. The boats beach themselves and are then hauled up the shingle beach either by winch or the yellow caterpillar tracked tractors (seen in the background) while the crew place wooden planks or plastic tubes underneath for the boats to slide across. The fish is then unloaded and taken to the fish shops which are located to the left hand side of the picture.The under painting was completed in one sitting and then working both downwards and background to foreground the final detail was added.I wanted to retain the slight foggy feel so kept the distant cliffs simple and slowly increased c
Read more: Fishing
, landing
Staithes, North Yorkshire Coast
2007-07-12 18:20:00
"Along the Beck" Staithes, North
Yorkshire
16"x12". Oil on board. Alistair Butt © 2007An interesting view looking down from the Nab onto the beck and part of the North Yorkshire village of Staithes. Both the road and the series of highlights on the water lead the eye through the picture with lots of visual interest on the way e.g the bridge crossing the beck. The highlights on the water first attracted me to this view, followed by the interesting line of cottages that cling to the hill side and finally the hazy light in the distance.
Read more: Coast
Keld, Swaledale, North Yorkshire
2007-07-12 17:57:00
"Keeping Watch", near Keld, Swaledale, North
Yorkshire
Dales.8"x8". Oil on board. Alistair Butt © 2007A typical scene to be found all over the North Yorkshire Dales from lambing time onwards. It was a very warm day and the lamb is doing the sensible thing and staying in the shade while mother keeps watch.A simple oil painting done in two stages - under painting followed by the final details. I wanted to get the contrast between the softness of the sheep and the hard stone wall , typical of the North Yorkshire Dales, which still isn't enough to stop them jumping over as posts and wire fencing have been erected.
Staithes, North Yorkshire
2007-07-12 16:19:00
"Playing in the Beck", Staithes, North
Yorkshire
.8"x10". Oil on board. Alistair Butt © 2007A warm day in the North Yorkshire village of Staithes. The mid afternoon sun is creating some interesting shadows from both the cottages and cliffs. Two girls play in the beck which being low tide runs all the way through the harbour.
Reminder - Art in Action
2007-07-10 11:31:00
Art in Action
. The best in visual arts. Demonstrations and exhibitions.Thursday, 19 July - Sunday 22 July 2007, inclusive Waterperry House, Waterperry, Nr Wheatley, Oxon OX33 1JZOpening Times: 10.30am - 5.30pm each dayDetails below are from the website: http://www.artinaction.org.uk/ which can be viewed for more details. Artists (over 200 covering for example, art, pottery, sculpture, printmaking, music, craft plus much more) that will be demonstrating at the event can be viewed along with all the other events and activities.Demonstrators - PaintingAccording to their nature and ideas, every artist’s work reflects the depth of vision they experience in creation. The Painting section attempts to show something of the great variety of ways - be it in abstract or figurative form- in which this beauty and inspiration can be magnified.Artists demonstrating at this year's event: Brian Wright, Charles Hardaker, David Curtis ROI RSMA, Emma Hockley, Etsuko Montgomery, Francis Bowyer, Jeffery
Read more: Reminder
Finished oil paintings from Patchings Arts Festival
2007-07-07 15:31:00
Having had time to dry, shown below are the two oil paintings I completed during the four days at the Patching Art Festival
."Yorkshire Coast", Whitby, Yorkshire.8"x8". Oil on board. Alistair Butt © 2007"Still Morning", Morston, Norfolk.12"x16". Oil on canvas. Alistair Butt © 2007 Thank you to all who came up and asked questions and also to the kind comments you passed on. It was a real pleasure to meet you all and I hope you all gained some inspiration from the festival… all being well, we’ll meet again next year.
Finding reference material on the East Anglian coast
2007-07-06 16:21:00
A day trip to a section of the Suffolk & Essex coast that I know very well, having visited for many years, in search of some 'new' marine subjects for paintings. The Suffolk and Essex coasts has some wonderful villages/countryside/wildlife and well worth exploring. The day started at Southwold with a wonderful clear morning sunlight produced long shadows from the huts and boats. The boats and their moorings produced some wonderful reflections in what was at that time almost high tide in the River Blyth. Having done two hours work I moved down the coast to Aldeburgh, just in time to watch one of the old wooden inshore fishing boats being launched from the beach. This was all done single handed and thankfully still going on as over the last few years the cut in fishing boat numbers has more than halfed, along with the huts selling fish. There are some art galleries in Aldeburgh as well as the usual food shops, pubs etc...Moving on, I visited Snape Maltings. Better known for its music b
Read more: reference
, material
Welcome to all...
2007-07-03 15:49:00
Welcome to the 'New and revised' Landscape and Marine Painting Blog
Read more: Welcome
Watercolour/Watercolor Painting - early stages
2007-07-27 15:32:00
Watercolour/Watercolor
painting - Staithes, North YorkshireThe picture above shows the early stages of one of the watercolour/watercolor paintings currently in production. A background wash was first applied covering all the painting, apart from the areas that I had masked, these being the areas of white on the boats and buildings. This wash was applied loosely and wet using the lightest colour/color or underlying colour/color for each area working quickly before it started to dry.Next to be painted was the background cliff and vegetation using a number of layers to develope the texture and form. Just started on the left hand side are some shadow details from the foot bridge that crosses the beck and some of the small dingies on the slipway. The middle section, bridge, cottages and the far beck wall will be completed before moving to the foreground boats.
Read more: Painting
A few days away visiting: County Durham, Northumberland and Cumbria
2007-07-25 18:20:00
A few days with changeable weather in the beautiful area where the borders of County
Durham
, Northumberland and Cumbria
almost meet. Exploring, not for the first time, or the last, Teesdale, Weardale and the routes between the two dales before moving further north to follow the River Tyne and Hadrian's Wall between Corbridge and Brampton plus visiting sections of Northumberland National Park and Kielder Forest.The two pictures above give a 'flavour' of the landscape, rolling hills, winding narrow roads, some stunning farms but 90% of the time the light and/or rain resulted in marking the locations for another trip and better light. I usually record all potential subjects with the following details: time of year to return (early spring, late winter etc), time of day (morning, evening etc), sun position in relation to subject (for light direction). Like all things, nothing stays the same, I have returned to some locations to find new farm barns blocking the view, 7 very large trees c
Watercolour/Watercolor Painting - middle stages
2007-08-01 15:08:00
Watercolour/Watercolor
painting - Staithes, North Yorkshire The middle
area was painted next. This included the buildings that line the beck in Staithes, the beck wall, the footbridge and finally the distant boats and water. The buildings were painted almost individually apart from areas that matched in colour/color, for example the roof colour/color which were painted together. The walls etc are just simple washes using different colours/colors, with overlays of more washes if require. Likewise with the window and door detail, single wash for the glass followed by the frames in one or two washes to create the form and then a wash for any shadows. Finishing off the building with the small details like chimney stacks and pots again using up to three washes (light, medium and dark).The bridge was a combination of wet-into-wet and overlaying washes. The basic underlying washes were put down followed by the detail. Starting on the left hand wall the vegetation was painted first, followed b
Read more: Painting
Watercolour/Watercolor Painting - final stages
2007-08-02 13:34:00
"Into the bright sunlight" Staithes, North Yorkshire 9"x13". Watercolour/Watercolor
. Alistair Butt © 2007.Watercolour/Watercolor painting - Staithes, North YorkshireThe final parts to complete this watercolour/watercolor painting were the group of foreground boats along with their reflections in the shallow water and wet mud.Each of the small wooden boats was painted individually, working from left to right, starting with the interior followed by the external areas. Being painted in an array of colours/colors meant lots of mixing but all areas were treated the same with the colour/color being built up using overlaying layers (from 1 to 5 - light to very dark) to create the form of each part or area.The area of low water with the boat reflections, the wet mud with it's reflected light and the shadow cast from the buildings to the right of the picture frame was a real joy to paint. Using wet-into-wet washes as a starting point followed by further washes as this dried until painting wet
Read more: Painting
Watercolour/Watercolor Painting of Polperro, Cornwall - early stages
2007-08-05 16:41:00
The initial stages of a watercolour/watercolor painting of the delightful Cornish village of Polperro.After the first wet wash, which was really just to establish the sky, some of that colour/color was brought down into areas that are either shadows or water (almost high time at the time).The next stage was to complete the background hill of trees with the occasional house before moving down into the distant buildings of the village of Polperro. The trees were painted in three or four layers. Each layer had varied colour/color mixes for each area, sometimes each tree. Along the lines of a wet against wet before allowing to that to dry and then the next darker areas were painted, again wet against wet. This continued until I had enough depth of tone in the shadows. Once completed and dried a wet wash was applied to soften all hard edges.The buildings on the hill side needed to be painted separately but thankfully the colour/color of the roofs on most of the distant buildings was similar
Read more: Watercolor
, Painting
, Cornwall
Watercolour/Watercolor Painting of Polperro, Cornwall - middle stages
2007-08-08 18:40:00
The middle
stages of a watercolour/watercolor painting of the delightful Cornish village of Polperro.These stages involved painting the middle distant buildings, some of the boats along with some refection's. A good contrast between the buildings, on the left hand side and the distant hill of trees was essential to create depth and impact.Starting on the left hand side and working across, the left hand group of buildings was painted individually. While doing this, areas for the boats mast, rigging etc were left unpainted. Each building was built up using a number of layers to achieve the correct colour/colour, tone and texture beginning with the walls, then roof areas before adding details like windows, pipes etc. A unifying shadow wash was then applied to areas in cast shadow.The buildings on the right hand side were much simpler to paint, again like the previous buildings, starting with the walls, then the roofs, almost all variations, warm or cool of one colour/color followed by th
Read more: Watercolor
, Painting
, Cornwall
Watercolour/Watercolor Painting of Polperro, Cornwall - final stages
2007-08-12 16:09:00
"Warm September Day" Polperro, Cornwall
9"x13". Watercolour/Watercolor
. Alistair Butt © 2007.The final stages of a watercolour/watercolor painting of the delightful Cornish village of Polperro.The final areas to be painted were the foreground quayside with the fishing equipment, the boats and the water.The quayside was painted in the same manner as the buildings (see previous post) and was a joy to paint as the details and shadows developed.Most of the water was painted before the boats, the alternative would have been to paint the boats then mask a ring around the edge (this can lift some colour/color) to protect the boats as the water was painted. Two washes provided the background colour/color, then layers of slightly darker washes produced the ripples/waves. The reflected colours/colors from the buildings, windows, boats were then painted on (wet on dry). Once all was dry, a wet wash was applied to all the water area to soften the edges. Final detailing of refection's and water m
Read more: Painting
Aldeborough, Suffolk coast. Watercolour/watercolor of fishing boats on the beach
2007-08-19 18:25:00
"Early Evening" Aldeborough, Suffolk
9"x13". Watercolour/Watercolor. Alistair Butt © 2007.Aldeborough, on the Suffolk coast with a wonderful warm glow from an evening sun, casting lovely shadows from the boats etc. This painting has been produced from a combination of reference material. The evening light and foreground boat are from a detailed drawing done a few years ago and added to drawings and reference photos taken on a morning visit in July (see post).The shape of these wooden boats is wonderful but I also wanted to show the 'internal' elements, hence the view point and the combination of reference material. It was lovely to paint all the bits and bobs in the boat making sure that shapes, shadows etc looked correct. The rest of the painting was kept as simple as possible to balance the foreground boat and its detail.
Report on Winsor & Newton Artists' Water Colour Sable Brushes
2007-08-19 06:17:00
The most noticeable change from other watercolour/watecolor brushes is the handle. Not only the shape but also the matt finish. I liked both of these, the new handle with its unique profile with 'two bellies', felt both secure and comfortable in the hand even after a full days painting.The Kolinsky Sable in the 'Pointed Round' version of this range held it's point very well and continues to do so after a number of paintings. At the beginning it felt and acted longer than it actually was, but, and this is only a minor concern, was the fact that I don't think it held as much water/paint as the Winsor & Newton
Series 7 Brushes that I normally use. I feel this is down to tapering 'belly' to make the elongated point rather than a holding problem, less volume of sable therefore less capacity to carry at the tip.I had little or no use for the rigger as both the No: 3 and 6 'Pointed Round' did a very good job, but the rigger was very good to use having very long hair and would be ide
Read more: Artists
, Colour
Watercolour/Watercolor Painting of Girvan, South Ayrshire, Scotland - early stages
2007-08-27 15:54:00
The initial stages of a watercolour/watercolor painting of the harbour/harbor area of the South
Ayrshire town of Girvan.After doing the masking (for the boat rigging) the sky and distant hills could be painted. Two wet washes created the overcast sky, the colour/color of which was brought down into the hills. When dry, the distant hills were painted using three washes to gain the weight and colour/color before a clean wet wash softened it all and helped with the mood and recession. The sun had just come out and was catching the foreground harbour area but not the background hills creating a nice contrast of warm against cool colours/colors.Following the above, the painting of the building along the harbour area was completed, again keeping them simple, both for detail and contrast, again softening some edges.
Read more: Watercolor
, Painting
, Scotland
Looe, Cornwall. Watercolour/Watercolor of a boy and his father fishing on the harbour/harbor steps.
2007-08-25 15:27:00
"I've got a Crab" Looe, Cornwall
9"x13". Watercolour/Watercolor
. Alistair Butt © 2007.What first attracted me to this scene, apart from the two main figures was the sparkling highlights on the water in the harbour of Looe. Looe, a wonderful Cornish town, is still thankfully doing well with regards to its small 'day' fishing fleet, which being freshly caught are sought after by restaurants and markets all over the country and therefore command a better price.Painting the water. The figures were masked so that the water could be painted freely. The first wash was for the reflected light on the water, the pale blue. This was followed by progressively darker blue/green washes to create the gently waves/movement on the water surface, in some places four or five washes were applied. A wash using a damp brush containing clean water was then applied all over the water to soften any hard edges. Some lifting out was done using cotton buds to bring in some addition highlights.The figures were
Read more: steps
Hand Painted Frames for Oils
2007-08-23 17:21:00
A selection of the hand painted frames for oil paintings that have been done over the last few days. Each one is coloured/colored to match the painting using up to seven layers of paint.
Read more: Painted
, Frames
Return to central London for more painting subjects...
2007-09-23 17:29:00
A return trip to collect paintings from the Mall Galleries allowed for another day in London. At least that was the hope but due to maintenance work on parts of the London Underground 3-4 hours were lost. This resulted in very little time left and planned location visits scrapped until a future date.The two images above are from either end of the day. The morning was overcast but some breaks in the cloud gave hope for later on. It did clear but with bands of cloud moving across.The top picture is of St Katherine's Dock, which is situated just east of Tower Bridge and the Tower of London but center stage is a lovely Thames Barge. There are usually several barges in the dock but not berthed in the best position for a nice painting, being backed on all sides by tall modern buildings. This one was moving slowly to the lock and then to exit into the Thames, in doing so this allowing for a better backdrop. A pity the light, at the time, wasn't better... maybe better luck next time, should
Read more: Return
Royal Society of Marine Artists
2007-09-21 05:43:00
Confirmation that three Watercolour/Watercolor paintings from the full allowance of four were selected for this years Royal
Society
of Marine
Artists
(RSMA) exhibition to be held at the Mall Galleries, London in October.Futher details of the RSMA society and the RSMA exhibition can be found in the posting two down from this.
Subject finding in Central London...
2007-09-16 18:10:00
Having delivered the six watercolour/watercolor paintings to the Mall Galleries for the RSMA exhibition the rest of the day was spent looking for new locations and subjects for future paintings.As usual on a nice sunny day, London has a lot to offer. Scattered long the river Thames are many house boats and the top two images give a small snapshot of what's available and some interesting subjects presented themselves in the morning sunlight before it climbed too high in the sky. Return to more central London and the area around Covent Garden. This small area has a wonderful mix of shops, cafes, market, buskers and other entertainment all under a wonderful building, only one third of which can be seen in the third picture. Moving to the final objective of the day, this was the Regents Canal as it looped around Regents Park and London Zoo and then on towards Kings Cross via Camdon Lock. A real mix of subjects, from quite views with just canal craft to the noise and life of Camdon Lock Ma
Read more: Central
Royal Society of Marine Artists handing in...
2007-09-16 13:22:00
Friday and Saturday (14th and 15th) where the handing in days for the 2007 Royal
Society
of Marine
Artists
(RSMA) Exhibition to be held at the Mall Galleries, London in October.This required a trip to London to submit six watercolour/watercolor paintings. You are allowed to submit up to six paintings, though only a maximum of four, if selected by the commity, will be hung in the exhibition. Within the next week confirmation of how many have been selected will arrive through the post and a return trip to collect those not selected.Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA) Exhibition 2007The Exhibition opens on the 16th of October with a Private View and then runs through until the 27th of October. Virtually all the work on display is for sale and for collectors and those interested in Marine Art there is no better opportunity to view what is generally considered the finest show of the genre by contemporary painters and sculptors. The Exhibition will also feature demonstrations by various M
Watercolour/Watercolor Painting - Looe, Cornwall - Children fishing for crabs on the quayside.
2007-09-14 15:31:00
"Enjoying the Summer Holidays" Looe, Cornwall
9"x13".Watercolour/Watercolor
. Alistair Butt © 2007.The towns of East and West Looe in Cornwall are divided by the river with connections by the bridge, seen in the distance and when the tide allows, a small ferry that crosses the river.The objective was to capture a number of facets that make up Looe, while it's a thriving tourist town, with a wide variety of shops selling local produce e.g. Cornish Pasties, Cornish Ice Cream, plus amusements, fishing trips etc, it is also has a growing fishing industry (the line of fishing boats alongside the fish market), the river (with a variety of craft) plus the bridge that connects the two different sides to Looe. The children fishing for crabs were an added bonus and add the human side but also tell a store hence the title "Enjoying the Summer Holidays"
Read more: Children
, Painting
Watercolour/Watercolor Painting of Landsend, Cornwall - final stages
2007-09-10 17:20:00
"Rocks at Lands End" Lands End, Cornwall
9"x13". Watercolour/Watercolor
. Alistair Butt © 2007.The final section to be painted was the foreground with its mix of rock and vegetation. Some masking of the stone was done after a light stone colour/color wash. A light vegetation colour/color followed, then darker greens and green/browns were added to build up the texture of the vegetation on the cliff side. After removing the masking the stone areas were painted with their darker tones, some shadows and finally the longer grass could be painted.
Read more: Painting
Watercolour/Watercolor Painting of Landsend, Cornwall - middle stages
2007-09-10 16:06:00
The central band of rocks were completed next. Starting with two underlying colour/colour washes. The first being the colours/colors for the light tones followed, when dry, by a shadow wash to define all areas in shadow and start creating the form. Then a number of washes brought out the detail on the rock (texture, lichens, etc) working light to dark before overlaying some warm or cool washes (depending on reflected light etc) over the whole area but working in small areas at a time.
Read more: Watercolor
, Painting
, Cornwall
, middle
|
Recommend Site To A Friend
