Skyline London

ink drawing on paper
21cm x 30cm
sold

Queen Charlotte in Fashion

collages of watercolour painting and magazine

Last week I did a little watercolour after Sir Thomas Lawrence's Queen Charlotte and while I was quite pleased with the figure itself, I totally messed up the background. As so often with mistakes like that, it lead me to an unforeseen new idea which was fun to try out. I cut out the figure and thought of integrating it into a collage. Well, I didn't actually get very far with that idea, due to time shortage, but I did at least manage to find a few different backgrounds for the Queen in an old fashion magazine. So, here's a selection of those for the time being. Maybe more of this another time. Hope you enjoy....

After Gainsborough

Another one from last week's visit at the National Gallery. A sketch of Thomas Gainsborough's  Mr.and Mrs. Andrews.

ink pen and watercolour on paper
13,5cm x 10cm on 21cm x 30cm

After Vermeer

ink on paper
15,5cm x18 cm on 21cm x 30cm

Yesterday Ohla Pryymak and I visited the National Gallery and did a few drawings after paintings by Vermeer and Gainsborough. I had never done that before and found it really enjoyable! So, next week you'll be able to find us there again. Here's the first I did, based on the Guitar Player by Vermeer. The second I'll show you in my next post.

Building Cranes behind ST.Pancras Station

ink pen and coloured pencil on paper
15cm x 15cm, 6" x 6"

Another one from our session near St.Pancras. Unfortunately my ink pen came to an end in the middle of this drawing, so I changed to using a purple coloured crayon, the darkest one I had with me. I think, surprisingly, it worked quite well.

On Regent's Canal

ink pen on paper
15cm x 15cm, 6" x 6"

On a day with fabulous weather our plein air group set up alongside the Regent's Canal behind St.Pancras Station. These boats that people live in on the canal are very appropriately called narrowboats!

Drawing

Pencil on paper 21 cm x 29 cm, 8,2" x 11,4"

It's not as if I haven't been painting at all lately, but unfortunately the results of my occasional attempts didn't turn out good enough to be presented to the public. I am a bit rusty, I must admit. So, at our last plein air sessions, nowadays rather indoor sessions due to the temperatures, I opted for drawing instead of painting, realising that that is a good exercise for me. The drawing above was done at the Geoffrey Museum here in London, a quaint little museum that exhibits the quintessential style of English middle-class living rooms. The sketch depicts a curved hallway, where visitors can sit and take a break during their visit.

A Glimpse of St.Paul's

St.Paul's again, but from a different spot. When we arrived for our plein air session, the sun was beaming through this passage way and we were inspired by the shadows of the passers by. Unfortunately that changed very quickly due to clouds coming and going. So neither of us managed to capture the first impression but the view was interesting nevertheless.

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
12 cm x 18 cm / 4,72" x 7"
Buy it here

Detail of St.Paul's Cathedral

Another study of St.Paul's, painted at a plein air session with Maryam Foroozanfar. These are the two front steeples, seen from Paternoster Square. We had fun!

oil on wood panel - Öl auf Holzplatte - huile sur plaque de bois
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold

St.Paul's Cathedral on Overcast Day

It was windy, rainy and overcast but nevertheless great fun painting this view from the rooftop of the One New Change Mall in London. I have painted it before, based on a photograph, but found it much more satisfying painting it plein air - especially in the company of my friends Olha and Maryam.

oil on wood panel - Öl auf Holzplatte - huile sur plaque de bois
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
Sold - verkauft - vendu

Lunch Break

There are sooo many restaurants, cafés, sandwich bars, pubs etc. here in London, it is unbelievable. And even more the fact that they seem to be busy nonstop, no matter what time of day. Anyway, this is a typical scene, especially around lunch time, when they all spill out of the offices in search of something to bite and have the luck to enjoy their break in a relaxed place like this one.

oil on wood panel - Öl auf Holzplatte - huile sur plaque de bois
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
Buy it here

At Leadenhall Market

Before my friend Olha Pryymak suggested painting in the Leadenhall Market, I had never heared of it, so I went there without any expectation whatsoever and was overwhelmed with what awaited me. This arcade was built in the 15th century and is absolutely stunning. Together with Maryam Foroozanfar we had a great afternoon working there side by side and while I was obviously drawn into all the details of its architecture, Olha captured the atmosphere in her painting beautifully. Maryam did a sketch of the lanterns of which unfortuntely I have no picture to show.

oil on canvas - Öl auf Leinwand - huile sur toile
20 cm x 20 cm / 7,9" x 7,9"
Buy it here

Arlington Way

Today was a good day for plein air and I had a great time painting this little street in Islington. People looking on were so friendly and interested. Two men, independently of each other, even specially parked their vans on the other side of the street in order not to disturb my view. So kind!

oil on wood panel - Öl auf Holzplatte - huile sur plaque de bois
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
Buy it here

Rainy Day

Unfortunately the weather in England is quite different to France, but at least these
incredibly dark clouds lend themselves to a good picture. I saw them last Sunday in Tunbridge Wells, a nice place in Kent, south of London.

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
12 cm x 18 cm / 4,72" x 7"
Buy it here

Red Scarf

Looks a bit too winterly for this time of year but this is a painting I painted a while ago and never got round to posting earlier on. Apart from that, temperatures in London
aren't really summerly at the moment either.

oil on wood panel - Öl auf Holzplatte - huile sur plaque de bois
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
Buy it here

Mini Stop

A vivid colour combination and a bright yellow mini that caught my eye.

oil on wood panel - Öl auf Holzplatte - huile sur plaque de bois
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
Buy it here

Barbican and Shard

Today my friend Olha Pryymak and I met up for a plein air session at the canal in Islington. At last the weather was good and it was great fun (although the light kept changing...). Much nicer than being out there on my own. The two towers on the right are the Barbican and the new Shard Tower, which is the tallest in Europe at the moment.

oil on wood panel - Öl auf Holzplatte - huile sur plaque de bois
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
Buy it here

On and Off

Just a little watercolour sketch for today, painted yesterday on a rainy Sunday.
We visited the Royal College Graduates Show today, which I found quite disappointing. Actually very disappointing! There didn't seem to be one piece of work (painting and sculpture that is)that showed either skill or originality or beauty or SOMETHING that spoke to me. Maybe I'm ignorant and just don't get it. Maybe it's really WOW for others but to me it was NOTHING! (Sorry, had to be said.)

Painting again, yippie!

La Defense by Night



It's been ages, as you might have noticed and I am very, very happy to be back.
Back here, back to painting, back to me (maybe, hopefully...)
I haven't been ill or anything like that, just occupied with other things. Sometimes I need a break from painting.
To get started again, I chose a photo that a friend of mine sent me recently. He lives in Paris and enjoyes this view from his balcony to La Defense. Lucky him.

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
12,5 cm x 17,5 cm / 4,9" x 6,9"
Buy it here

His and Her's

I am very much looking forward to the opening of my friend Karin's exhibition opening tonight at the Barbican Library. She used to be one of my pupils and it is great to see how her work has developed since then.

Also available as giclée print in a limited edition of 20.
The picture is printed on high quality "Somerset enhanced" paper 330g, format 33cm x 48cm.
The quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the image, not the printed image itself. Artist-signed + numbered certificate of authenticity included.

oil on wood panel - Öl auf Holzplatte - huile sur plaque de bois
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
Buy it here

Hot and Cold

After having painted the last pictures from photo references, I needed to do some work from a real "model" again - our tiny washbasin.

Also available as giclée print in a limited edition of 20.
The picture is printed on high quality "Somerset enhanced" paper 330g, format 33cm x 48cm.
The quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the image, not the printed image itself. Artist-signed + numbered certificate of authenticity included.

oil on wood panel - Öl auf Holzplatte - huile sur plaque de bois
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold out

Duck's End

Of course it was the red on light green that caught my eye at first. Only a little later I saw another interesting detail...

NEW!!
Now also available as giclée print in a limited edition of 20.
The picture is printed on high quality "Somerset enhanced" paper 330g, format 33cm x 48cm.
The quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the image, not the printed image itself. Artist-signed + numbered certificate of authenticity included.

oil on canvas - Öl auf Leinwand - huile sur toile
20 cm x 20 cm / 7,9" x 7,9"
or new as print
Buy it here

Chinese Biker

I have always loved chinese red and to see it popping up amidst the grey everywhere in Beijing was a feast for the eyes!

NEW!!
Now also available as giclée print in a limited edition of 20.
The picture is printed on high quality "Somerset enhanced" paper 330g, format 33cm x 48cm.
The quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the image, not the printed image itself. Artist-signed + numbered certificate of authenticity included.

oil on canvas - Öl auf Leinwand - huile sur toile
20 cm x 20 cm / 7,9" x 7,9"
or new as print
sold

Beijing Hutong II

Another impression of a "hutong" in Beijing. By the way, I found an awesome printer here in London and can now offer you my paintings also as really nice prints!

NEW!!
Now also available as giclée print in a limited edition of 20.
The picture is printed on high quality "Somerset enhanced" paper 330g, format 33cm x 48cm.
The quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the image, not the printed image itself. Artist-signed + numbered certificate of authenticity included.

oil on canvas - Öl auf Leinwand - huile sur toile
20 cm x 20 cm / 7,9" x 7,9"
or new as print
sold out

Beijing Hutong

A typical street, a socalled "Hutong", in one of the few remaining old areas of Beijing. It was a cold, sunny winter afternoon.

oil on canvas - Öl auf Leinwand - huile sur toile
20 cm x 20 cm / 7,9" x 7,9"
sold

Imperial Gate

One of the many grand gates leading from one huge courtyard to another.

oil on canvas - Öl auf Leinwand - huile sur toile
20 cm x 20 cm / 7,9" x 7,9"
sold out

Beautiful Past

Visiting the Forbidden City was, of course, a highlight of our trip. I especially loved the vast spaces between the individual temples. But then, finding a beautiful gate like this one in a "back alley" was also very impressive.

oil on canvas - Öl auf Leinwand - huile sur toile
20 cm x 20 cm / 7,9" x 7,9"
sold out

Chinese Delivery

Nowadays you don't see as many bicycles in Beijing as there used to be and therefor all the more cars. So this one seemed like a souvenir of old times...

oil on canvas - Öl auf Leinwand - huile sur toile
20 cm x 20 cm / 7,9" x 7,9"
sold out

Passing Through

Its a good feeling to be posting again, even better to be painting again! I missed both but.... visiting Beijing wasn't bad either! Yes, we went to China. And although it was freezing cold, we loved it. As usual, I didn't get any painting down while we were travelling, but I took loads of photos and hope to be able to do some good work from them. Here's my first attempt, a scene in the Forbidden City.

oil on canvas - Öl auf Leinwand - huile sur toile
20 cm x 20 cm / 7,9" x 7,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

Winterly Warmth

Another seat at Camden Passage, waiting for somebody to cuddle up in the blanket in order to enjoy sitting outside in winter. I found it difficult to take a photo of the finished painting without reflections and unfortunately it turned out too blue as well. Its actually more white than here.


oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
20 cm x 20 cm / 7,9" x 7,9"
Buy it here