The River

I have just finished painting another few nocturnes. I realised as I was painting this one that it must be one of my favorite painting sites, tucked away from prying eyes with a commanding view. I paint here often and so I thought I would show a couple of other paintings of the River in other guises. By night as a winding ribbon of moonlight, with a troubled sky affording only glimpses of the wintry landscape. The old oaks are so thick going down to the water that even when they have lost most of their leaves they present a solid mass folding themselves down the gentle sloping fields towards the river.

In high summer under a blue sky she presents quite a different face, bright greens and yellows and air filled with bird song and insect noise.

Then in early spring, just waking up after a long winter, the tide far out leaving a few channels in the estuary mud and a soft purplish haze of budding leaves on the trees.

The other thing that I have been doing is making a "fan" page for my work on face-book. It is a test really to see how effective it is and although it is only two days old I have already got two commissions from it. I will report back on its effectiveness as a marketing tool later. So far I am pleased with it and it seems quite easy to use as far as putting images on goes. If it is worth doing I will let you know and in the meantime have a visit and become a fan, please!

It is on facebook and it is called Sarah Wimperis Paintings.

My Sneaky Plan

I told you that I had a sneaky plan...this is the result.
I wanted to be able to make a painting of the lake and her reflections, in Trebah Gardens by the light of a silvery moon.
In order to do this I had quite a bit of planning to do, I needed a canoe, a clearing night and of course a full moon. A way to get into the gardens, which I wont divulge, and a bit of nerve. Well I did it, I was extremely careful not to cause any rumpus or damage. I did my memorising trick and made some sketches, got wet, and cold, a bit scared but I got this!

I think it is an accurate depiction of what it was like and having done a few night pictures now I am becoming a fan, there is nothing like not being able to see every detail to sharpen up ones senses.

I think also it has taught me a few lessons, about how to "look" and really observe and absorb what I am trying to paint. The biggest thing is not to make any assumptions, about colour, form, anything. Look as if you have never seen such a thing before and try to catch that, to describe that new thing as well as you can. This is what I shall try to hold true to as long as I paint.

Plus, I have decided, made my choice. For me it is watercolour that holds my heart.

Night Painting

Helford Regatta. Watercolour. 40cm x 40cm or 16 inches x 16 inches.

Helford Fireworks. Oil. 15cm x 15cm or 6 inches x 6 inches

Here we go again, with the old oil or water question, actually its not much of a conundrum for me this time, the watercolour has won. I have been trying to paint water at night, with the aid of fireworks!

This time of year, down here by the sea, there are a lot of carnivals and regattas. When all the games and sailing competitions are over, after a lot of fine Cornish ale, the evening is usually rounded off with a fantastic firework display. I needed to do some night painting and this provided just the right challenge. With night painting I find that the best thing to do is to fill your senses, pack it in, think, think and feel. Then rush home, or into somewhere that you can see, and scrawl a lot of notes.

The paintings are essentially memories. I found doing these that watercolour won hands down, it provided the exuberance that I felt watching the display, it showed the colours in the water the best, it gave me the accidental marks that I was looking for. I am however slightly seduced by the bit of pink smoke by the trees in the little oil...

I am working on a few more night pictures, there is a full moon coming up in a couple of days and I have plans, quite sneaky ones which, hopefully, I will achieve without being eaten by guard dogs, arrested by police for trespass or falling over and breaking my neck...

or meeting any ghosts!

I made it to the sea!

... I've been very silent here for the past two months... all the while sitting in sunny, hot and very lovely Berlin and all the water features I got to see were the occasional heavy thundery downpours. But they usually caught me by surprise and so weren't captured on (wet) paper.

But finally: in week six while in Germany I've made it to the sea - the Baltic Sea - and if you have been following my visit on my own blog, it wasn't just any old place on the Baltic Sea but CALIFORNIA. Well - not strictly true - it's Kalifornien, the German spelling, complete with a camping site called CALIFORNIA.

While my friend Ate was busy filming her final project for her art school degree (on the confusions between Kalifornien and California) I did spend a bit of time sketching among the assisting with sound, interviewing, generally keeping our camping van clean and proper and a lot of swimming in the sea.

This is what the Baltic Sea Kalifornien looks like:

And here some of my sketches at night, and one morning just as the seafog was going to lift.

Kalifornien Nocturne No 1,
35x25cm, soft pastel on board


After the fog,
35x25cm, soft pastel on board