The Mill at Lower Slaughter

I hold an annual exhibition in this beautiful little Cotswold village and this building is about 200 yards further along the lane from it. The exhibition space is in the village hall facing the stream which runs through the middle of the village.

The Mill at Lower Slaughter.  OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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Across the Valley

A view looking across the valley in Sibford Gower, it's a fairly loose oil painting with a strong composition, I made the most of the cool blues in the trees in the foreground and balanced that with the rusty oranges throughout the rest of the painting and allowed some of the underpanting colours to show through. The strong kelly green of the field creates a new energy with the pale blues.

Across the Valley.  OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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Retired

The iconic Citroen HY van, the French equivalent of the English Ford Transit. It was introduced at the Paris motor show in 1947 and production stopped on the 14th of December 1981 after 473.289 were produced.  And you still see them, this one is rotting away in a nearby farm yard, and providing me with a gorgeous subject to paint. I've painted it before

Retired.  OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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Still Water

Same pond different time of day, and with a slither of ice still resting on the surface. I think it's trees that stir me, it's not actually the water, it's the trees at this time of year!  Linear and expressive, in the Summer it's fine they look wonderful but in the Winter they draw shapes and lines all over the place and perhaps the reason I tend to paint water a lot is because you see more of them and in a different way. I don't know maybe I'm nuts, but this subject just wouldn't have the same appeal if the trees were full of leaf.  That said I'll keep painting in this place and maybe I'll find I contradict myself!

Still Water. OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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Cold Water

This place ticks many boxes for me subject wise. In the Winter the water takes on a cool ethereal air when the frost and cool blues take over, and in the Spring early sun wakes the young plants and flowers, insects buzz around the surface of the water, it's where I painted many times last year and did a small series of lily pond paintings, and although the lillies have been dredged (I hope they return) I'll return this year to just enjoy the space and hopefully make some nice paintings...

Cold Water. OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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A place in the Sun

I must be getting nostalgic for the Old Country, this is a painting of a garden I once knew back in Sibford!  But also I'm in a sunny frame of mind, something brought on by the few days of beautiful weather we've had here recently. Still very cold though and I'm clearly still reluctant to  go and paint outside.

A Place in the Sun.  OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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Winter's Light over the Pond

This is a marshy part of Lambs lake, a small nature reserve near to where I lived in the UK. I painted there several times through the seasons and usually found the cold winter's day the best and most interesting for me. The summer time provided a superb destination for a picnic!

I enjoyed the subtle colours and limited palette I used for this and the challenge of the negative shapes made by the branches and sunlight.

Winter's Light over the Pond.  OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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Spring Blossom

Slightly early with this painting I know but couldn't resist. I got lost within the candyfloss of the tree and the soft honey colours of the stone in the cottage behind, quite enjoyed the dreamy-ness of it.

Spring Blossom. OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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SOLD

Evening Sun on the Falkland Arms

Another painting of Great Tew this time the Falkland Arms.

I loved the way the sunlight gave an even more golden caste to the rich warm amber stone of these buildings.

Evening Sun on the Falkland Arms. OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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SOLD

Old Thatch in Great Tew

I got a bit carried away with this one, I had to put the brush down and call it a day after several hours! I was getting lost in the detail and for these small works thats the devil's work!!

So a small painting old cottages in Great Tew in Oxfordshire

Old Thatch in Great Tew. OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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Cottages in Bibury

Continuing the Cotswolds theme this is a painting in Bibury, once dubbed 'the most beautiful village in England' by Wiliam Morris.  The river Coin runs through the middle of the village and these cottages overlook it.  I remember my parents taking me there to throw bread into the river for the trout that swim in it. Im not sure whether trout still run through the river or if children are taken there to feed them, it may be that they would prefer the ice cream available for the many visitors the village now attracts.

Cottages in Bibury. OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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Garden Tools

Two old garden shovels rusting away against a crumbling wall...

Garden Tools. OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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Bourton on the Water 2

Another little painting of that very popular town in the heart of the Cotswolds, Bourton on the Water known as  'Little Venice'.  The river Windrush meanders through the town crossed by very low elegant bridges and sheltered by beautiful trees.  During the Summer months of course it's very busy and the ice cream and souvenir sellers do a very good trade.

Bourton on the Water.  OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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Snowed in

Still plenty of snow here in Central France, and it's ten below most of the time, so no prospect of it clearing anytime soon.
I Saw this little building while on a walk with the dog yesterday, it's in a nearby village and obviously inhabited. I tried to imagine how warm or cold it was behind the door. These little cottages look very pretty in the summer but at this time of year life can be quite harsh for some.

The snow was caste with a beautiful cerulean blue which complemented well against the warm amber of the stonework.

Snowed in. OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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The Kitchen Sink

Sarah's sink again, love the shapes and mix of cool and warm gray's in this image. This is a series of squares; in the window frames, the tiles on the wall to the right, the sink itself and the reflections in the tiles. I quite like the wonky diagonal of the leading edge of the sink, it's grabbing my attention and I'm following the line of cast sunlight on the right up the wall and across the middle bar of the window and down again to the sink. I had lots of fun with this.

The first version of this was watercolour

The Kitchen Sink. OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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Thatched Cottages at Great Tew

These were once farm workers or estate workers' cottages built in the 17th century on the Great Tew Estate in Oxfordshire,

Thatched Cottages at Great Tew. OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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Bluebells and Tall Trees

I know, it's not Spring yet!

No excuses I just wanted to paint something other than a winters day or a still life.

Although it isn't so clear on the photo I've used a palette knife to render the highlights in the sky and some of the foliage, I love using thick buttery paint, just the feel of it as it's applied!

Bluebells and Tall Trees. OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

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Winter Sunlight, Bourton on the Water

Bourton on the Water is a very popular destination in the Cotswolds in England here with the pretty river Windrush running through the town.  I hold an annual exhibition in nearby Lower Slaughter in the Autumn

Winter Sunlight, Bourton on the Water. OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, 

SOLD

Afternoon Sunshine

Another loose watercolour, painted in the studio of course, I recon the watercolour might freeze before it reaches the paper if I was outside at the moment. I'm having mixed reactions to this loose style, for me it's liberating, but its really difficult to work this way especially when part of me wants to make an accurate representation.  Painting has to be about progress and change for me, I'd find it difficult to work within the same perameters all the time, I always want to change and find new ways of doing things and hope that leads to improvement and progress

Number 500...

Afternoon Sunlight. Watercolour, 

9" x12" click image to see larger

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St George's Church, Brailes

This beautiful building stands proud in the middle of Lower Brailes in the Cotswolds.  It's an enormous structure and dominates the relatively small village. But Brailes used to be an important town to the sheep industry.

Again I am enjoying this loose watercolour technique, I'm happy that the painting isn't a very acurate representation of the subject after all I'm making a 'painting' and not an illustration, been there! I can do that but I'm looking for something more from my work, always searching and learning...

St George's Church, Lower Brailes. Watercolour, 

9" x12" click image to see larger

SOLD

Bright Sunlight, Stow on the Wold

This is an older painting from my archive of Stow in the middle of Winter, just for fun...

Bright Sunlight, Stow on the Wold. OIL 5.5 x 7.5 inches, click image to see larger

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