Tuscany hills - 4 weeks into trip

So I've been out here in the Tuscany hills for about 4 weeks now, it's been fairly warm and like stepping back into early autumn just in time to escape another cold, wet winter in England...
I've indulged myself with painting in sketchbooks mostly for the last 4 weeks as a 'warm up' and have spent most days painting apart from when serious distractions prohibited good painting vibes. The entire catalogue of sketches day to day is here > Tuscany watercolours if anyone wants to see warts and all progress (or not) I had a very sticky patch after week one..but things are picking up again I hope.
I'll upload a few of the best paintings so far with this post.

Also I just found some lovely paintings by Robin Purcell, an American watercolor artist - check out the link to her blog in the blogs list. Very interesting style and great use of colour, the do look modern, something I'm trying to achieve in my own paintings, but in my own style.

Back to Prees, Shropshire

Back at Prees again and a walk around the back field, winter wheat has been planted, but it's very shallow, there are nice lines streaking across the rows of planting.

Forgot my paints

Whoops, forgot the paintbox, but why not just work in tones?

More of St Dominick, Devon

More landscapes of the hills around St Dominick.

Drawing people on Seaton beach

A bit of a windy one on Seaton, people get stuck trying to cross the stream coming through the beach, so it's a great place to sit and sketch them.

Whitsands Bay coast path

These two images are up on the coast path near Whitsands Bay golf course. Hole number 5 has a great bench right on the clifftop with views to the left to Rame Head and to the right to Looe. Just managed to finish as it starts to get dark.

On the beach at Downderry, Devon

Any overcast and blowy day on the pebbly beach at Downderry, lots of dog walkers out, a labrador would have run right across my painting if I hadn't pushed him off.

Bridge near St Gennys

Had to stop and paint this bridge, lovely wide river, trees on the banks, with splashes of rain coming off the trees when the wind blew and the light dappling through onto the water.

Halton Quay, Devon again

Another hour down at Halton Quay, this time a sunny but amazingly still day, the water is like glass. Fisherman on the bank. Colours are different today.

Abstracted landscapes

Tried out abstracting some of the landscape shapes I was getting in my images, got so used to working from life, it does seem like a bit of a cheat, I don't know!?

Saltash - Brunel's bridge

A half pint on the side of the Tamar sketching this great bridge on a hot day.

More sketches at St Dominick, Devon

Pippin the collie I'm walking on this housesit must keep wondering what I'm stopping for, but a few minutes and a new sketch is done. Getting into the outline shapes of the hedgerows, trees and curves of the land.

Palette changes

Out with the gouache, they seemed to be muddying my paintings, especially in the greens and giving a lifeless dull effect. I try to stay away from the traditional landscape colours like burnt umbers, raw sienas in favour of mixing my own fresher landscape colours in the page.
Painting of Devon countryside at St Dominick, near Saltash.

St Dominick views over fields, Devon

12th October 2009 Watercolour, gouache, ink pen of Devon countryside.

Holston Quay, Devon

Finally a good day for a walk and a paint after 3 days of drizzle. Such a quiet place, lovely light and interesting colours of mud banks, reeds, trees, water, hills.

Welsh hills

Welsh landscape - moors and reservoir

Prees Heath to Ash

Prees ride to Prees Heath and Ash. I sat on a concrete bunker to paint the first image looking South across Prees Heath to Hawkstone Park. The second painting I sat in a hay bale whilst Canada Geese came flying overhead, a very noisy affair. Going dark sooner these days and riding home earlier than I'd like to.

New exhibition by Kurt Jackson

New exhibition by Kurt Jackson in Truro called Enesow: An exploration of the islands of Cornwall. On from 5th September – 3rd October 2009. Probably my most favourite artist of all time, truly inspiring landscapes..

View new catalogue pdf here:

Fields at Quina Brook and Coton, North Shropshire

North Shropshire is very flat, and not so many trees as South Shropshire, apart from in the hedgerows. I like the slight curve to some of the fields around here.

Wet walk on Long Mynd - Shropshire

A very wet walk with my dear Ellie (collie-lurcher), unfortunately she's not really my dog, but we love walking together. Walked from Church Stretton car park to Pole Bank on the Long Mynd, and back through Little Stretton. Had my paints out a couple of times but the rain soaked us both completely at least 3 times. Ah well..2 views of The Lawley, and one across the mynd plateau.

Walk through the wheat field

Walk through the wheat field behind my house, North Shropshire, a bit windy, but a good sunset at the end of the night.

Sunsets behind the house

Sunsets behind the house - really difficult to get the effect of the sky with the fading light, the trees in the distance are all in silhouette.

Cycle from Wem to Prees via the lanes

Today 'the heatwave' has started. I left work at 5 and got home at 8pm. It's only 5 miles in a straight route to cycle home, but a winding ride home via Lee Borckhurst, Hodnet, Hawkstone took me 3 hours with a few stops for sketching. I love these long evenings with a bike and my paints...

Hundred Steps meadow near Wem, North Shropshire

A hot hot day, I took a long cycle ride home from work, down the back lanes to 100 Steps on the Shropshire Way. The footpath of 100 stone steps leads down a hillside overgrown with hawthorn and hazel, across a meadow to the small River Roden. You could see the grass seed blowing across the meadow, and twinges of hayfever started to come over me. It's a lovely hidden hillside banked by a corridor of woodland, and the sound of water.

British Camp, Malvern - 28th June 2009

Another walk up to British Camp for tea and a cloudy view of the Malverns.

Hill view from Clissett Wood - 26th June 2009

Sat eating rice crackers and drinking red wine whilst painting this one from the edge of the wood.

Wheat field behind the house

A hot still evening, with few clouds and the smell of the green wheat in the air. I walked through the tracks in the wheat field to cheer myself up and spotted a hot air balloon (a virgin too). The first sketch was probably overworked, I stopped looking at the scene. The second was most interesting, really bold landscape shapes were all around me, and needed drawing. Must come out here again to paint for longer.

Fields around Whixall, Shropshire

View from Clissett Wood

Malverns - 5.30am from British Camp to Pinnacle Hill - 30th May 2009

Haze rising off the rape seed fields in the early hours of the morning. Two bird watchers walk past at 7.30, they'd been out counting the number of birds they could hear.

Malverns - British Camp - 29th May 2009

Evening walk up to British Camp, painting of the reservoir with the sun going down created all these great orange shades and dark shadows across the hills.

All previous sketches and paintings...

are here ...

North Devon coast walks - April 2-7 2009

View this Sketchbook here