Car park mum

Today it rained. Well, drizzled actually, although some serious rain is promised later. Our plein air group met at the Montgomery Square car park to paint today, as there is always some shelter somewhere handy.

There are a surprising range of subjects in a municipal car park. I was tempted to paint reflections in the plate glass windows, but in the end genre proved too tempting. I really enjoy painting cars anyway, and a car park has endless vignettes of people going about their business.

Today my attention was caught by this young mum wrestling with a child's car seat as the drizzly rain set in. Blokes have their own challenges in contemporary life, but this is a peculiarly modern mum one.

In the event she was ultimately successful and drove off. I managed to get most of the action down, and finished it in the studio.




15079. "Car Park Mum". Oil on panel. 8x10 in. $150.

Any painting from this blog may be purchased by emailing me at

rosswhitlock@inspire.net.nz


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Miss Otago Redux

You really don't know what to expect. The weather forecast was for drizzle turning to rain later. Instead the clouds cleared away and we have had a lovely day. Quite a strong breeze down at the marina, but a good day for painting, and apparently cricket too.

The old lady is still sitting there, so I followed my old friend Tony's advice, and having found a subject I like, to concentrate on it, and paint it to death.

Well, she's not dead yet. Some life still left in the old girl. I really must paint her in the autumn mists still to come, and given an adequate brolly, perhaps even in the rain. Grin.



15078. "Miss Otago. Redux" oil on panel. 8x10 in. $150.

Any painting from this blog may be purchased by emailing me at

rosswhitlock@inspire.net.nz


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Rain over Moutere.

Ok. Here it is then: the first painting of the changing season. Sigh. Right on the equinox, the weather has turned South.

It was not too bad standing in the subdued afternoon sunlight on the edge of Rough Island, looking over the Waimea Estuary, but the Moutere hills looked a bit battered. Heavy clouds, wind stretched, with passing showers loomed over them, and I had the feeling that it would not be too many hours and the meadow where my easel was set up would be catching it too

Rain due any time now. A lovely bowl of quinces on the table in front of me. I think that tomorrow's subject may well be a plein air still life painted on the porch.



15077. "Rain over Moutere". Oil on panel. 8x10 in. $150.

Any painting from this blog may be purchased by emailing me at

rosswhitlock@inspire.net.nz



Tomorrow's still life?

Clouds over the Maitai Valley

One of the things I have learned about clouds is that they tend to repeat themselves. Today was a case in point. I saw these amazing clouds building over the ridge behind our house, but by the time I was set up,they had dispersed.

Even so, I scrubbed what I remembered into the sky and started painting the hills. By the time I had finished them the clouds as I remembered had reconstituted themselves. Never exactly the same, but then, painting clouds is not an exact procedure.

By their nature they are fractal, and ever changing. It is rather like painting water, which they in fact are: You have to paint the process, the flow, rather than try to nail the precise shape and edge.

Great day today. It could have been apples, they looked good too, but I settled for the clouds.



15076. "Clouds over the Maitai Valley". 8x10 in. $150

Any painting from this blog may be purchased by emailing me at

rosswhitlock@inspire.net.nz


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Apples

Today I headed out to paint more clouds, but there was almost nine tenths cloud cover. Quite gloomy. Not enough blue sky. Poor light. Even the boats in the marina looked sad. Never mind. I went back home and painted this apple tree.



15075. "Red Apples". Oil on panel. 8x10 in. $150.

Any painting from this blog may be purchased by emailing me at

rosswhitlock@inspire.net.nz

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Location:Maitai Valley Road,Maitai,New Zealand

Mt Arthur behind Clouds

It rained quite a lot today, so the trip to Nelson Lakes was postponed. Never mind. The rain cleared later in the day so I went down to the port and painted this view of Mt Arthur, looking through the cut, across the Bay.

As usual, when I had finished I noticed a cheeky seagull watching me, perched on a post, so I included him. (See detail).

One of the interesting observations about my painting practise is how it changes with different subjects. Normally I have a bad habit of painting most of my work with just the one brush. Painting clouds though requires such a range of different mark makers I find myself using a dozen brushes ranging from a large flat bristle to a very small sable. Has to be good for me.



15074. "Mt Arthur, Behind Clouds". Oil on panel. 8x10in. $150



Detail of "Mt Arthur behind Clouds." Cheeky seagull...

Any painting from this blog may be purchased by emailing me at

rosswhitlock@inspire.net.nz

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Cloudscape

I really don't know why I put myself through it. Painting clouds is one of those subjects that seem so fixed, yet change so dramatically in minutes. Forms in light that seem so massive yet evanescent. Edges that are clearly marked, yet fractal. Tonal structures that stay the same tone, but very subtly change in temperature, modelling the form. And don't get me started on translucence.

But I really love them. It is just that outdoors, on the spot, my efforts seem so clumsy in the face of nature, but back in the studio today's effort doesn't seem so bad after all.

This is the season for dramatic cloud effects. The equinox is at hand. I'm off to Nelson Lakes tomorrow, so I'm hoping to find Mount Robert wreathed in clouds.



15073. "Clouds over the Maitai Valley". 6x8 in. $100

Any painting from this blog may be purchased by emailing me at

rosswhitlock@inspire.net.nz


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