I've been invited to advertise in the 2008 catalogue for the Royal Society of Portrait Painters exhibition which is held at the Mall Galleries in London. Here is the advert for you to see; I painted this scene in oils from a photo I took in Egypt last year.
Why not go along and enjoy the superb paintings at the exhibition when it comes around (from April 25th to May 12th 2008).
The website of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters can be found at http://www.therp.co.uk/
Venice is a fas
cinating city, full of hidden passageways that meander between tall buildings that blot out the sky, and in which you get frequently lost. Then, rounding a bend you suddenly find yourself crossing one of those wonderful foot bridges that we've all seen in paintings and photos, angular on top and arched below, and spanning the dark green waters of a canal or rio. There are more of these bridges than you can count, and sailing silently between them are jet black gondolas, only just rippling the water as they pass by.
The Grand Canal is another majestic sight, and one which is all too familiar from paintings. It is beautiful, (but daunting to paint), and is edged with a multitude of crumbling buildings, doorways and arches, that grow vertically out of the water.
But what really makes Venice are the reflections. The water literally adds a whole new dimension to the city, and the buildings and bridges are all reflected downwards, so you get twice as much to look at and paint!
I went to Venice for the first time in February 2008, ( a 50th birthday present from my wife), and I took along all my painting gear. The problem was, it was bitterly cold and almost impossible to stay still for more than a few moments without freezing, so I didn't manage to get much 
painting done. However I do have over 150 photos to work from in the warm comfort of my studio. Here's my first attempt .
I've just flown to Venice from the UK, and as the plane cruised through the cloud layer I was reminded of the first time I ever flew and saw the clouds from above. What an amazing sight; a sea of white rolling waves lit by the setting sun. It was truly inspiring!
This time there was not only the creamy blanket of cloud, but also the sparkling white snow- covered peaks of the Alps punching through it, and once again I was awed. It is scenes like this that inspire me to paint. New sights excite me.
Whenever I visit a new place I find I am seeing through fresh eyes, and suddenly there are hundreds (if not thousands) of things to paint. It is almost as if the change of light, of architecture, colours and people, invite and challenge me to paint them. It is always easy to get the sketch book out in a new place.
But what about back at home? Do I get as excited about painting the familiar things around me? Perhaps I should be looking at the everyday objects, the familiar streets, and the things that surround me with fresh eyes. For what is 'ordinary' and perhaps 'boring' to me would be exciting and stimulating to someone from another place. So I suspect it's time to look around my home town again and get the paints out!
I've just bought a wonderful new book on the watercolours of John Singer Sargent, who was painting around the turn of the 20th century, mostly in Europe. I have to say they are absolutely tremendous. He had a style that was very free and simple and many of his paintings are composed of fresh and creative brush marks that just about describe what he is painting, but no more. There is just enough information to let the viewer know what the subject is, but with plenty of room left for the imagination. And his colours are clear, crisp and clean! You can feel the sunshine, the turbulence of the rushing river, and the stillness in the woods.
When I buy books like this from leading artists I like to have a go at copying their style. There is so much you can learn from copying the masters (and after all that is how artists have learned to paint down through the centuries). So in the coming weeks I'll choose a painting from the book that inspires me, try and work out how he painted it, and then have a go myself. It's a great way to learn!
Over this last weekend (7th Feb '08) I've added a new landscape module to the end of the watercolour course, which is very exciting. It's taken me a bit longer than I thought to write, as various other commitments kept getting in the way, but after 6 months or so it was finally ready to publish. There's been a great response to it (thank you if you bought it!), especially from people who have taken the course over the last few years.
The idea for the module came from several people emailing me at the end of the watercolour course and asking for more lessons. They were sad that the course had come to an end after 32 issues and were looking for some sort of follow on material. So the idea for the landscape module came about. In the next year I want to write a colour & design module, and maybe later on a still life module, which will both continue on from the watercolour course. So look out for these, and sign up for the news-and-info mailings from me so that I can keep you in touch (you can sign up for these from the website at www.learntodo.co.uk).
