Here we go, three lots of vaccine now. I am very disappointed that the claims of it giving you internal 4g reception were unfounded. It now appears that most of the news, history and the bulk of human knowledge was also all completely unfounded. It was all made up by child eating lizards apparently. One certainty is that painting is really, really hard, especially when you are out trying to paint it when the wind blowing a gale.
This is the track leading to the charmingly named Satan’s Square, probably where those child dining lizard people hung out in olden days. The sun burnt a hole in my retinas… or would have if I hadn’t worn my trusty cap. 16in by 10in Oils,
Here’s all the snow we got, it arrived after Christmas had come and gone. You can now find out if you are virus ridden with a lateral flow test… then you have to hide for 10 days in a plastic bag. I am obviously not meeting enough people as my tests remain stubbornly negative. 10in by 8in Oils.
Kimmeridge Bay, it was almost warm sitting in the sun. I seem to be painting thicker now, the change has come about slowly. I have started painting some skies by putting solid thick white on first and then mixing the colour on the board rather than the palette. This gives a brightness hard to get any other way. It is intriguing that a adding homeopathic amount of blue to the white still produces a satisfactory hue. 12in by 10in Oils
More damage to my retinas, this early in the year the light has a brilliance that is hard to catch. This is the Stour at Hanford. 14in by 6in Oils.
A frosty morning in Child Okeford. I took a photo of the frost on my way back from getting my paper and a pint of milk from the local shop. After coffee I went back to sketch it and it had all melted away. I consoled my self by painting the scene from the earlier photo. I did a lot of dragging the paint around with a rigger on this, it seemed the only way to suggest the texture without going overboard on the detail. 16in by 8in. Oils.
Over near Shillingstone, I love the moment when the new buds bring a blush of pink to the trees. From a photo done on a socially distanced walk. You don’t walk with someone, you just keep them in sight, if you want a chat you can use your phone. 16in by 12in Oils.
I decide to do some paintings of Swanage, I miss doing townscapes. Unfortunately no one wants townscapes of small seaside towns they want cities and proper grime. 16in by 12in Oils.
More Swanage, it has very grand bits of architecture that are from buildings demolished in London and taken to Dorset as ballast. 16in by 12in. Oils.
Yet more of down town Swanage. I shall have to give up and just paint the seashore bit of the town as no one will ever want these. 20in by 16in Oils.
Here we go this is the aspect of Swanage that is more likely to be a hit. I have been messing with painted frames and now lean towards framing the frame…
Another painted frame, not sure they will sell like this I really will have to frame the frame! Inner 12in Sq. Oils.
I am losing track of the waves of virus now, it is one after another… will the seventh be the largest like in the sea? We are all avoiding each other again so it is back the self portraits. Here I made the mistake of wearing a complex jumper… I won’t make that error again. Oils.
I decide to do a Memento Mori which is a very old fashioned type of picture from when people relished being told they were going to die.
More of myself… I hung this one in my loo. Here I have framed the frame… should I frame the framed frame? You never know it could make me framous.
The hair has grown again… time to chop it off. 14in by 10in Oils.
