Antibes Walk, day 4 of the 30 day challenge

Antibes Walk

Palette knife painting

Oil on canvas MDF panel

18x24cm (approx 7"x10")

NFS work in progress

A sunny walk in Antibes. I have lots of photos of street scenes from around our local towns and villages, taken in the hope I would paint them someday. But painting street scenes is one of my many 'Bête Noir'. Well, the 30 day challenge is a challenge right?

About this painting
The challenge in this one - apart  from the obvious perspective one - was how to keep it loose and suggestive, avoiding the detail. It soon became apparent that the siz e of my support was too small for the subject. I wiped out some of detail so the focus was on the main flower basket. I also put in the suggestion of the people - another first.

I am not sure that this painting works. I like it on one level, so I will leave it and look at it for a while and maybe make some alterations later. It has made me want to do this scene on a larger scale though and hopefully edged me towards painting townscapes. So objective achieved!

Some close-ups

Shady Walk - Day 2 of 30 day challenge

Shady Walk

Oil Palette knife painting

25x30cm (10"x12") on box canvas x 2cm deep
Edges are painted black
Available for $150 on Daily Paintworks
See yesterday's painting HERE

Where has summer gone. It's flown by for me keeping busy with family around - first my granddaughter for 6 weeks, then my son and partner for the last two weeks and my brother and family for the last week. Fortunately they have their own apartment, but when they visit our normally very quiet house turns into a hive of activity (and noise!)  Unusually, I did manage to fit in some painting time. I also painted a little with my granddaughter and that was enjoyable.

About today's painting

This shady arbour at Hanbury gardens, just over the border in Italy. I loved the way the dappled light played through the foliage. I first tried this scene a few weeks ago but it wasn't successful as the support was too small for subject. This larger canvas worked well. Working small has it's advantages as well as disadvantages. Mostly (but not always) they are quicker to paint and great for practicing different subjects and techniques but I have to fight against adding too much detail and creating a too busy painting.

Some close-ups of the knife work