The Land, The Land

oil on panel, 15 x 20cm

It got almost hot today and I had a whole studio day.  I gathered my plein air 'kit' and walked until I found a vista that interested me. I began with a tonal study.  I was on an information gathering outing.  I had two small (6 x 8 inches) gessoed panels and thought I might be able to record something that would be useful in a studio painting later. That's what I'm exploring at the moment, using drawings and oil sketches as a starting point for a painting.

oil on panel, 15 x 20cm

Back in the studio I worked for a few hours on my four-canvas painting and when I'd resolved that for the time being, I turned back to my London river view.  I really liked it in its unfinished state so was quite hestitant to return to it, but the only thing to do is to keep going… the image below isn't really true to colour.  The sky is a light cerulean and the water is a muddy aqua. I used what I had so far, tried to remember what I felt about the place, used my drawings and my other oil sketch and referred to a photo. 

oil on canvas, 22 x 30cm

A few weeks ago I I drew in the same spot as above but the barge had gone and the sun was out.

pastel on paper, 10 x 6 cm