Been a bit under the weather lately - either two colds one after the other or the same one continually mutating - but a mild malady I find very good for enforced productivity...

'Winter Tree in a Field', A3 acrylic on canvas (title may need some work!) and
'Brimlad', acrylic 290 x 290mm (an Anglo Saxon girl's name meaning seaway, fact fans)

Got the bit between my teeth the last two or three weeks and have been really quite productive - lots of painting! All boats from North Berwick harbour , and destined for various upcoming shows.

Head down this week working for the forthcoming St Andrew Blackadder Easter art show. This one is nearly finished with a bit of work on the prow and refelctions still to do. Slightly larger than my usual at 400mm square. These four buoys have featured in other paintings I have done - I find them strangely attractive :)

What I love about this time of year is that the harbour has fewer vessels in it - many are lifted out for the winter. This means there is a greater expanse of water and on a clear sunny day there are lots of wonderful reflections. What I don't love is the fact it gets dark too early, and despite "daylight" bulbs I find it very hard to work into the evening! The results of an evening's endeavour are oft viewed with dismay the following morning - when the colours reveal their true selves in the cold light of day...
Busy working away for next weeks NB Art Group Show. I hope to have this one finished tomorrow.

It has been ages since I worked on a boat painting, and with my colouring book off to the printers and a commission that I've been working on now finished and framed, I thought I'd get on with some new boats. This one is nearly finished, just a bit of fine tuning the buoys and some ropes to add

Yes it's one of my boat paintings without a boat in it! Just a bit of work to do in the reflections I think.

Been working on this one on and off for a week or so. I quite like the fact that the water has turned out the colour of rhubarb fool (in fact the harbour walls are fairly pink, in some lights) and the reflections of the granary windows made some interesting patterning - but I'm not yet entirely happy with my signwriting ribbon. Will look at it again with fresh eyes in a day or two...

Deep blue and orange is now a colour combination I wouldn't go for in any sartorial situation, but it makes for an interesting combination in a boat picture. Just blocking out the shapes and colours now, it's always fun to leave the bright orange to the last.

Progress...

The yellow boat Barry B has gone to a new home away from North Berwick now, but he was always one of my favourites. I painted a tiny version of this some time ago.

...or rather, rippling. The texture and colour of the water in the harbour is quite fascinating - almost like a textile pattern in this case. It's not until I really started paying attention that I realised it never looks the same. 

I started this on Friday at the NB Art Group drop-in session. We have two hours on a Friday morning (and a longer four hour stint once a month) in a local hall to work on whatever we like. A nice friendly group - painting, chat and coffee. There is quite a bit of work to be done in the water, with a very small brush. Next work will need to be done with a large one, for a bit of a contrast! Time to give the boats a wee break now I think...