Cliffe Bridge, Evening Stargazing

Here is number two of my Cliffe Bridge paintings. It is actually number three, but number one missed being scanned! photo to follow later...

Cliffe Bridge, Afternoon tea

Here is the afternoon view of my Cliffe Bridge. Almost finished. Harveys is brewing!
I whizzed my morning view off to the framer without scanning it, woops! so that will have to be a photograph through glass, later.
One more to finish, which is the night time view. I have been trying to paint it this evening, but it is too dark to paint the dark!! my eyes are aching and telling me its time to stop! It will be a lot easier in the morning!!

The bench on Cliffe Bridge

For a little project for our wall of smaller pieces for Chalk Gallery for Artwave, I have taken the same view, and am painting it with different visitors during the day.

The Cockpit Pub, Blackfriars, London

Finished!

The Great Escape!

Here is a look at the finished painting. The pub is tucked into the narrow old roads of the city that have survived their medieval layout. It was built around the area that Shakespeare frequented and of course, which pub in London did Charles Dickens NOT visit? ...
I hope this gives a feeling of the way the pub is hemmed in, over looked by other buildings baring down, but still standing proud on its little corner.

The Cockpit Pub gets paint

Here you can see the development of the picture. I started with the pub colours, and then worked my way around it. In the second picture most of the basic colours are on, and although it has a blue sky, it still doesn't look very sunny. the addition of shadows and shaping on the third picture anchors the pub and gives it that golden afternoon glow.
Flower baskets and windows next, which should brighten it up some more.

The Cockpit Pub, London

It's a big one this time! But another traditional, historic London Pub that was crying out "draw me!!"
I can start painting it now... exciting!

Watching over baby

Here is a little pencil illustration to a song, for a fund raising project. It was nice to work in simple pencil for a change, also I could do it in the evening when the daylight had gone.
Back to the painting tomorrow, its time to get on with some new work for Chalk Gallery.

sketching in London

Can you guess where we sat yesterday?
My daughter and I went up to London to see my eldest daughters work in the DandAD New Blood awards. (she couldnt go as away on a well earned end of degree holiday!)
We then spent a couple of hours in the city sketching, and having coffee (again!)

The top sketch was the wonderful view opposite Liverpool Street Station, looking across Liverpool Street old rooftops toward the modern sky scrapers. The iconic gherkin is gradually being surrounded with more and more new development around Bishopsgate.

Sad that what remains of Liverpool Street Station architecture is now McDonalds. But at least some of the station has been saved. We were perched against the Jewish Kinder memorial to sketch this.

We then wandered down Bishopsgate, admiring all the new architecture, until we reached Leadenhall market. A special place in my family history, as a (several times) great grandfather was the landlord of a pub here in Bulls Head Passage. The pub survives but now as an Optician... and was disguised once again as a pub for the Leaky Cauldron in Harry Potter number 1. Interestingly, when it was originally a pub, it was called the Green Dragon.

sketching in the sea mist

My daughter, currently studying illustration, is sketching every day...and so I intend to join her, at least some of the times!
We had intended to go to Brighton beach, as the day was hot and sunny. But over the downs we were greeted with a grey damp rolling sea mist...so we ended up at the Marina, and instead of the intended ice creams, we had coffee at Cafe Rouge.
My daughter sketched the boats, and I looked up at the cafe. I resisted the pen today, but it was hard!!