Well, this month the rain has continued in the UK. It really feels like it is never going to stop raining. The odd dry, if not sunny day we have had seems a rare treat.
However, I was incredibly lucky when I escaped the rain for two weeks on a trip to South Africa. I took my paints with - both oils and gouaches – along with a very small pochade (which I’ve had for years and love) and went out and painted a very different landscape in very different weather and light.
I tended to paint early in the morning. This was mainly due to the heat. I found both the oils and gouaches dried so fast. I was glad I had my little spray bottle of water for the gouaches and my medium for the oils.
I painted the mountains with early morning mists still be wrapped around them (and they change to an amazing golden brown at sunset). I painted vineyards and of course the incredible South Atlantic coast. The water is freezing by-the-way and the waves are big! Sharks add to a good reason why I chose not to swim! I haven’t painted sea scenes for a while as I’ve been focusing on other subjects and I had forgotten how wonderful and evocative they are to paint.
This was also an opportunity for me to take a departure and paint the hustle and bustle of the many local markets, using both gouache and oil. This has sparked a new interest for me and I have since painted more markets back home. The markets tended to be painted around lunchtime when the sun was high and the heat was highest! It was an interesting challenge to paint the bright light. I’m not a dark painter by any means, however I struggled with the intense bright colours all clashing in the sun, the deep shade under awnings and, of course, lots of moving people all of which were a great challenge.
Please click here for a short video of some of my work and locations in South Africa.
Work from my journey this year will be shown in my solo show ‘Times of the Day’ later this year. My aim is to paint around the whole cycle of the day, focussing on the atmosphere, mood and the light. It would be great to see you there!
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Location: Royal Watercolour Society Gallery, 3-5 Whitcomb Street, London
Show dates: 7th to 15th September 2024