Veteran and Vintage

 

Castrol can....

 

Shell lubricants

 

Playing around with items seen recently in the Motor Museum at Bourton-on-the-Water while sheltering from the rain. These may well form part of a new series of vintage and veteran items that I come across on my travels Strange how the more UN-restored something is, the more interesting it is to paint.

Thatched cottages

 

Thatched cottage at Minster Lovell

 

sketchbook ink drawing

 

Some lovely old buildings at Minster Lovell near Witney, Oxfordshire. Blink and you miss it, although there is a pub at the end of the road which would be a good place to meet after a sketching session !

Nostalgia

 

Castrol Cans

watercolour on paper

8.75 x x12.75 inches

(14 x 18 inches mounted)

 

Visited my local Motor Museum earlier in the week and was bowled over by the amount of things displayed in a small area. There might be a series of paintings in the pipeline as a result...

Clouds over the barn

 

Clouds over the barn

watercolour on paper

5.75 x 7.75 inches

(10 x 12 inches mounted)

 

It is wild, wet and cold so this was painted from the car. I took a few liberties, for example there was another building on the far right, but I decided I didn't want it.

 

 

Misty morning

 

Misty morning

watercolour on paper

5.75 x 7.75 inches

(10 x 12 inches mounted)

 

One of those mornings when visibility comes and goes and hedgerows melt away into nothing. Around the corner and a little further on you could see the village clearly. 

 

 

Morning Light

 

Morning light

watercolour on paper

7.25 x 11.25 inches

(12 x 16 inches mounted)

 

It was the light hitting the top of the long hedgerow on the right which made me want to paint this - along with the winter trees ! 

On Salmonsbury Meadows

 

On Salmonsbury Meadows

watercolour on paper

7.25 x 11.25 inches

(12 x 16 inches mounted)

 

There is evidence of human habitation in this area as far back as the Iron Age before the Roman invasion of Britain. The meadows then were tended by farmers much as they are today.

Now a nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), it is awesome to be able to stand and paint in a location which would still be recognised by those ancient tribesmen nearly two thousand years on.

Cold but happy

 

A quiet February morning

watercolour on paper

5.75 x 7.75 inches

(10 x 12 inches mounted)

 

Almost alone save for a distant dog-walker, an unseen tractor behind me and a young inquisitive fox on the edge of the field. A soft wind, enough to rattle the drawing board on my easel, and a slight drizzle were not enough to dampen either paper or my enthusiasm for painting watercolour - despite being achingly cold.

In need ...

 

In need of some modernisation.

watercolour on  paper

7.25 x 11.25 inches

(12 x 16 inches mounted)

 

The snow may be gone for the moment but it is still perishing cold. I found this lovely old barn across some fields near my home. There were a couple of men working on it. I hope they are not going to modernise it too much. 

 

First Fall of snow

 

First fall of snow

watercolour on paper

5.75 x 7.75 inches

(10 x12 inches mounted)

 

The first fall of snow this morning although it didn't settle on the fields as much as it did the roads around here. Managed to paint this from across the pond when I turned up a bit earlier than usual at the village hall. By lunchtime most of the snow had gone.

 

Blue Monday

 

Blue mug with onions

watercolour on paper

8.75 x 12.75 inches

(14 x 18 inches mounted)

 

A small still life in preparation for this week's class.

It's been more of an office day today - it happens sometimes, when you can't put off all those things you have to do any longer.