The story of the Lewes Christmas card for SASBAH

I sat and painted in the field on a sunny spring day

sprinkle a little snow with my imagination

For the last 4 years I have supplied the charity SASBAH with one of my paintings of Lewes to be produced as a Christmas card.
Here is the development of this year's.
Baxter's field is a piece of land that is privately managed for public use. It has some nice slopes that are just right for sledging so is the place to be when Lewes does get the rare amount of snow needed!

I went and found the field on a sunny spring day. It was lovely and warm and I was full of the promise of summer to come when I sat there and sketched the view to the castle. A few people were sitting around and sunbathing.

At home I worked from my sketch and imagined how the view might look when it was snowy and people were sledging.

Once I had the rough sketch sorted and had chosen my colours I worked it up again. Had to change my dog to a cat though, no dogs allowed in the field!

It has been to the printers now, so hopefully the Christmas cards will be in packs in Cards for Good causes on the High Street later this year.
My original painting will go to Chalk Gallery in November.

Rehab Dress Agency

Some time ago I painted the lovely building that housed The Pine Chest, on the Corner of Market Street in Lewes. The shop is now moving online, and Rehab dress agency will be moving in to this prominent corner. They are not in yet, but with a little imagination, here is how it may look at the beginning of September!

The Christmas Swim, Eastbourne

Here is a closer look at the detail and and the finished painting for the Christmas Swim.

Work In Progress - The Christmas Day Swim at Eastbourne

All drawn up in pencil

inked in and the pencil rubbed off

At last some colour!

Here are the next stages on my Eastbourne Christmas picture. I worked all over the scene in pencil. When I was reasonably happy with my drawing I inked it in. Lovely to remove all the smudgy pencil marks! Now I have a nice clean surface ready to paint. I used some blue mask to splatter snow in the sky and to preserve a few other areas. It was a bit too fiddly to paint around that plane trail!
Then the fun begins with my first wash of the end of the day sky. Next, the sea!...

sketching the Sussex School of Archaeology digging for Romans

The Romans are coming!

The Sussex school of Archaeology have been excavating the remains of a Roman villa at Plumpton, and it was a great time for me to combine my two big interests, and sketch the process!

You can read more about it here...

http://www.archaeology.co.uk/digging/fieldwork/the-sussex-school-of-archaeology.htm

I hope to go back later in the year when they return : )

Eastbourne Beach at Christmas drawn

A whole day spent drawing and I am now ready for pen. I will probably make more changes as I go along and maybe add more people. But its pretty much as the finished picture will be I hope!

Planning for a christmas card, Eastbourne

I have been busy with painting and neglected my blog!
Must get back to blogging or I will never keep track of how I do manage to fill every spare minute with my painting.

Chalk Gallery will be celebrating ten years this year, with a big exhibition at the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne.
I painted a view of Eastbourne Bandstand a couple of years ago, and it proved very popular as a Charity Christmas card, so I thought it would be a good idea to paint Eastbourne seafront again for christmas, and exhibit it, all being well, at the Towner in October. (bit early for Christmas, but I know that the cards will be in the shops by then!!)

so...here is the planning sketch. I think my bathers will have blue feet!....