Praia Mole, trees near the sea

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Praia Mole, trees near the sea

 oil on card, 26 x 28 cm   SOLD

 

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View of Praia Mole

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View of Praia Mole, oil on card, 25.5 x 30 cm

An attempt to create the mood one of those "mythologizing" images seen in classical landscape art, such as in Claude.

I more work with a closer more intimist scale, following Bonnard or Vuillard.

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Praia Mole, April, 2020, hazy

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Praia Mole, April, 2020, hazy, oil on card, 24.5 x 30 cm

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Praia Mole, trees in sunshine

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Praia Mole, trees in sunshine  AVAILABLE

 oil on card, 29 x 24 cm

This one is rather like one of the Scottish Colourists

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Praia Mole, from the hill

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Praia Mole, from the hill, oil on card, 28.5 x 23.5 cm  AVAILABLE

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Praia Mole, April trees

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Praia Mole, April trees, oil on card, 28.4 x 23.8 cm  AVAILABLE

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Praia Mole, October

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Praia Mole, October, oil on card, 20 x 23.5 cm - available

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Praia Mole, late morning

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Praia Mole, late morning, oil on card, 22 x 18 cm damaged, unavailable

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Praia Mole, August

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 Praia Mole- headland, August, oil on card, 12.5 x 11 cm  NOT FOR SALE

Praia Mole- August,  oil on card, 12.5  10.5 cm  unavailable

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Praia Mole, December 4, 2015

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Praia Mole, December 4, 2015, oil on card, 18.5 x 24.5 cm  available

The first painting since my return from New York. 

The weather has been difficult, and I've been in the process of moving flat.

 Hopefully now I am more settled into my new place,  I shall be able to get back into the rhythm.

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Praia Mole, August 2015; Andrew Marr on Churchill: Blood, Sweat and Oil Paint

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Praia Mole, August 2015, oil on card,14 x 22 cm   SOLD

Today was a particularly lovely day at the seaside with a delicate, flickering light.


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I enjoyed very much Andrew Marr's BBC programme about Winston Churchill as a painter (Andrew Marr on Churchill: Blood, Sweat and Oil Paint).

 The programme focussed, rightly, I think, on how painting helped Churchill to deal with stress and depression. It conveyed well the sense of escape that Churchill must have gained through concentrating on his craft, patiently working in Morocco or the South of France, and the energy with which he worked,

The art of painting is akin to cooking in that it offers many relatively simple activities, such as mixing colours, which are soothing and sensual. The actual manual skills involved in painting are generally slight, so that persons with disabilities- such as Marr, a stroke victim, can work successfully. Contrast this to writing, where concentration has to be almost absolute, and which is utterly a-sensual; or, playing a musical instrument, where manual skills must be honed through repeated exercises if the artist is not to alienate his audience.

There is often something odd about Churchill's work- particularly with regard to spatial descriptions and his acidic colours. It is curious how highly intelligent people often cannot paint well: despite considerable dedication and the advice of excellent teachers Churchill's pictures are often awkward, and now seem dated. I find them, nonetheless, very enjoyable- they are so self-evidently a product of genuine enthusiasm.

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Praia Mole, through shrubbery

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Praia Mole, through shrubbery, oil on card, 12.5 x 13.5 cm  - available

There are damp stains on this picture, alas.

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Praia de Gravatal, blue

Praia de Gravatal, blue, oil on card, 14 x 15.5 cm -  -unavailable

Painted from the trilha that runs above Praia Mole to Gravatal.

It has really become summer here and is very hot: insects everywhere.

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Perhaps the finest painter using blue is Matisse. His blues are exceptional in the way that they convey warmth rather than cold.

Praia Mole from above

Praia Mole from above, oil on card, 16 x 12.5 cm  SOLD

Painted from the heights accessed via the trail to Praia Gravatá. 

A wonderful day for painting: I shall revisit this trail.

Whizz! A car descending a hill

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Whizz! A car descending a hill, oil on card, 12.5 / 13.8 cm - available

Painted from near where Saturday's painting was made.

A dull, hopeless sort of day.

Overlooking Praia Mole

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Overlooking Praia Mole, oil on card, 12 / 13.5 cm   - available

A windy, sun-filled day, not too many tourists as yet. Painted from the hills above the beach, working quickly, not worrying too much about accuracy.

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Praia Mole- a bright day; London, Tunisia and Scotland

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Praia Mole- a bright day, oil on card, 11 x 13cm   NOT FOR SALE

I have bought my tickets for the UK and Tunisia in February. 

The weather is likely to be cold in the UK: if it snows I shall be happy as painting things in the whiteness is so delightful. I shall be in Scotland and in London.

If you are there and wish to meet, drop me a line.

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A road through woodland

A road through woodland, oil on card, 12 x 9 cm

Painted from near Praia Mole.

When I see copses, and woodland like this I think of Seigfried Sassoon, whose beautiful, ironical prose has affected me strongly. I love his sensiblilty of being within events, and yet so cooly, laughably, indifferent to them, and I love his love of nature too.

The Sea, Praia Mole

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The Sea, Praia Mole, oil on card, 12.6 x 10.3 cm  AVAILABLE FRAMED

Here, the best beaches for painting, I think, are those that face the Atlantic Ocean, not the continent, because the waves are more impressive.

It's very relaxing watching the sea, trying to follow the rythm of the waves. I would reccomend it to anyone who's feeling anxious.

I shall visit the sea more, perhaps later in the evening when the light goes down, and do a small series this week- depending on how the weather holds.

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