Getting Out - 2 Paintings.

Whilst the weather has been okay (not great) I've tried to get out with my paints as much as I can. I love painting outside, even if I don't always like the results, because it is tricky to do and I learn more. Everything is a potential problem to overcome; changing light, which mediums to use, how greasy the paints are getting, how heavily to put the paint on, subject matter, time, transporting the painting, judging the values, getting bitten.....
The paintings that I make tend to be smaller, and are on board or unstretched canvas; they are working studies, so tend not to get mounted. It does make storage easier. Storage has been a bit of an issue as I've accumulated lots of canvases. This should get easier when we finally move house, which looks like being in the next couple of weeks.
These two painting were done on days at the river with Sara, Archie and Hugo. The boys spent the day swimming in the 'rapids' at Hewick Bridge outside Ripon. The first one is a small study of the bridge (again) and given that I've painted the bridge several times before, I opted to try painting the moving water on the second one. I was interested is trying to capture that area where the water starts to speed up over the rocks, coupled with the slower moving water above that you can see through. This painting is 'unfinished', but as it's a study, it doesn't need to be. I struggled in the end with the light glaring off the water... I will have to work out how to do that..

Hewick Bridge.

 The view.

Blocking in. This is actually my favourite stage of this painting.

The 'finished' painting.

River Ure.