Sketching and Painting in The Dordogne

An Amazing special offer on this holiday!

2017 Sketching & Painting Holiday near St. Emilion at Le Manoir de Gurson

Week Starting Saturday May 6th

A Watercolour Painted En Plein Aire at Le Chateau de Gurson

Come and join me for a truly memorable sketching and painting holiday in this historic and beautiful region of France, enjoy the relaxing and inspirational haven that is Le Manoir de Gurson. I will do demonstrations and be on hand for much one to one tuition allowing you to make the most of the glorious countryside and picturesque French towns and villages. By way of celebration we are offering this holiday at an  amazing £595 per person as this will be the last one at Le Manoir. For more details please visit and book through   http://www.manoirdegurson.co.uk/art-holiday

View Toward Villefranche de Longchat 

Second Chance Sketching and Painting in Puglia Holiday

Polignano al Mare

The sketching and painting holiday that I am leading with HF Holidays in September 2017 has proved so popular that a second week has been arranged starting May 30th 2017 giving those of you who were disappointed that the September week was fully booked so early the opportunity of booking if you wish to come on this brilliant holiday with HF Holidays and me. We will be based in a luxury hotel in Altamura visiting some fantastic and diverse towns in the region. For more information and to book visit the HF Holidays site.

https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/activities/leisure-activities/art-craft/?destination=35

Open Studios Christmas Special

'Snowy'

Don't forget to come and have a look at the Christmas Open Studios exhibition at Tapnell Farm, 'The Cow Company' this Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th December. Lots to see and do! I shall be painting a few mates for 'Snowy' so you can see how I do it. I will have my full selection of Christmas and Greetings Cards of my artwork for sale and full listings of all my classes, workshops and painting

holidays available for 2017.

'Into The Farmyard, Widecombe' Final Stage

Here in the final stage I strengthened the lights and darks of the hedges and grass verges, put in the shadows, leafs, suggested some stones and detritus, painted the dappled light in the foreground and finally painted some stronger shadow lines under the roofs of the outbuildings to make them a little more three dimensional. I could have gone on fiddling but this is not a good thing to do so I signed it and called it finished!

Into the Farmyard, Widecombe Stage III

Into The Farmyard, Widecombe Stage III

I have added detailing to the foliage of the trees on both sides of the painting, put in some vegetation around the base of the buildings and indicated the tree trunks on the right. I have also put more work into the hedgerow and grass verge on the left and finally I have done a little more basic work to the track and ground either side. Next I will work up the detail of the foreground and then the highlight which will be the dappled sunlight of the entrance and track.

Short Listed on Jackson's Art Drawing Competition

I have been short listed for the Jackson's art drawing competition and it is now going to public vote on Facebook. If you like my drawing in pen and ink of Great Dixter I would much appreciate your vote! See the link below.

'Great Dixter'

https://www.facebook.com/JacksonsArt/app/535312783221815?app_data=referer_override%3D

Landscape Painting in Artisan Water-mixable Oils

My book has gone to re-print and is now available once again and can be ordered through my web site shop at www.murrayince.com at a special price of only £7.99 + P&P for the first 50. I will of course sign your copy if you like. It contains much information and some step by step demonstrations.

Into the Farmyard, Widecombe Stage II

Into the Farmyard, Widecombe Stage II

I have done a little more work on this painting since it started life as a demonstration at the Isle of Wight Art Club last month. I have worked up the buildings in the farmyard and strengthened some of the surrounding trees. Watch this space for the next stage!

Mount's Bay, Cornwall and Farmyard Entrance, Widecombe Stage I

Mount's Bay, Cornwall

Just off the easel, I think this one is finished but will need to live with it for a little while before I declare it finished, playing about with it at the moment would just be fiddling!

Into the Farmyard, Widecombe (stage I)

I painted the above picture as a demonstration to the lovely Isle of Wight Art Club having already painted an Acrylic grissaille (monochrome underpainting just so that I could see that the composition worked and so that the audience also had an idea of what it might look like when finished. I promised to post each stage here so that they could follow its progress, so more to follow

Freshwater Bay in Oils

Tennyson Down from The 'Military Road'

The three paintings that I have posted here are all in square format, this format suits many scenes and allows you to crop, cutting out unnecessary peripheral detail but equally it is a great format for printing greeting cards which seems to be a very popular choice. This painting uses the old railings as a 'lead in' (no longer there) to the Bay in the distance and Freshwater Bay House, the HF Holidays house which stands overlooking the Bay and the chalk stacks. Stag Rock and Mermaid Rock, Arched Rock used to stand between the two but was sadly claimed by Neptune in 1992.

Stag Rock

This unusual viewpoint for a painting of Stag rock is from just outside one of the caves and is looking

west towards The Needles with the far side of Freshwater Bay visible behind the stack on the top of the cliff at that point stands Fort Redoubt, one of 'Palmerston's Follies'. I enjoyed painting this one and the challenge of making the rocks and pebbles appear to be under the water with the reflections over the top.

Sunlight on the Bay

Clearly visible in this painting are Mermaid and Stag Rock. The challenge for me here was to convey the sparkle of the sunlight on the water. I used the marker buoys as a lead in to the picture.

Isle of Wight Open Studios 2016

Low Tide, Brook Beach

I will be exhibiting with members of the 5 Bells Art Group on Saturday 16th, Sunday 17th and Monday 18th July from 09.30 until 16.30 daily at the Wilberforce Hall, Main Road, Brighstone. There is plenty of parking in the FREE public car park almost opposite. Refreshments will be available and if you can't afford to buy one of my paintings you could have a chance to win one in my raffle (two original oil paintings are the prizes, £1 a ticket). I will also have over 50 different greetings cards of my original paintings on sale. Interested in  joining the 5 Bells? Come along and pick up details about the group and what we do. Also details available for my workshops, painting holidays and one to one lessons.

Sketching and Painting in Puglia, South Eastern Italy

Polignano

I don't know if any of you were interested in the Sketching and Painting holiday that I am leading for HF Holidays in Puglia next year but if you were then I suggest that you don't leave it too long before booking. I had an e-mail this afternoon to say that it will definitely be going ahead as it had just become viable as six people had already booked on it. The brochures were only sent out last week!

We would be out every day and among the highlights of this holiday are visits to; Altamura (base), Alberobello, a UNESCO world heritage site famous for the round Trulli houses, Polignano on the beautiful Adriatic coast, Trani, an ancient fishing harbour with waterside cathedral and Matera, the 'subterranean' city, one of the oldest towns in the world and surrounded by magnificent scenery.

                              

Patchings 2016

Early Morning River Yar

Award for 2016 Selection

Early Morning River Yar was this years accepted entry into the annual Patchings open art competition which now makes two successive years maybe next year I can go one better!?

Bishop's Bay, The Finished Painting

Bishop's Bay, Loch Leven

I have finished the reflections of the hills and sky, added the yachts and put their reflections in, Painted in the seaweed in the foreground and sweeping around to the Island on the right. I also painted in some darker shadows in the trees behind the yachts, tidied up the clouds and cloud shadows and then finally signed it off! It was a beautiful week in the Highlands of Scotland inspiring many a painting yet to do! It measures 20" x 16".

Bishop's Bay, Loch Leven

Bishop's |BayLoch Leven

I have Bishop's Bay on Loch Leven here to the stage where I need to paint in the yachts and then their reflections and then all of the movement lines of the water. Then I will complete the sky and sky reflections. Keep an eye open for my next post...

Predominantly Blue

Totland Pier

Here's another predominantly blue painting (Prussian Blue) The unity of this painting is created by the use of the colours in the sky echoed in the foreground and a simple composition. I am going to paint a similar scene to this again as a square format canvas, increasing the space between the left hand edge and the canvas and the end of the pier putting the light about a third of the way in from the right and up from the bottom more closely observing 'the rule of thirds'.

Latest Isle of Wight Landscape

Newtown, February

The attraction of this scene for me was definitely the reflected sky. The extraordinarily high tide cut off the footpath from the bridge to the Town hall (on the right) and created the little island tufts of grass. The thing to note here from a painters point of view is the fact that light colours reflect darker and dark colours/objects reflect lighter, a valuable tip for painting water and making it look wet! I like the unusual amount of blue in this landscape.

Painting in The Western Highlands

Bishop's Bay, Loch Leven

I very recently returned from leading a landscape painting holiday in water-mixable oils with some lovely guests at Alltschellach, on the edge of Bishop's Bay, a lovely spot on Loch Leven. The lawns of the house sweep down to the bay pictured above, inspiring scenery which I intend to do a studio painting of in the coming weeks. I did a little sketching and took many photographs whilst  helping and encouraging the guests with their paintings. My next painting holiday lead for HF is at Church Stretton in July to which I am looking forward to.


Below is my most recently finished painting which is of Waterhead on Windermere, like the photograph above I very much like the reflections which are a joy to paint.

Waterhead on Windermere

2016 Successes

Toward Bourton on the Water

I am very proud to tell you that the oil painting above is 16 x 12 inces on a stretched canvas and was painted earlier this year, has won the Light, Space and Time Gallery Landscape painting of the year 2016 it was selected from a total of 738 paintings from 28 Countries. My second success for the year so far is that the painting below 'Ox-Eye Daisies' will be featured on the front cover of the SAA's  'Paint' magazine in May which includes a two page interview. I wonder what the rest of the year might bring?  I love my job, in May I'm off to France running a painting holiday in the Dordogne come back for a week then it's off to Glencoe leading a Landscape painting holiday for HF Holidays. No peace for the wicked!

Ox-Eye Daisies

Come and Draw and Paint With Me in The Glorious Aquitaine

View Toward Villefranche de Longchat

Are you interested in coming to a glorious region of France to spend a week                                                                               drawing and painting with me? We are offering a substantial discount on the                                                                               holiday to fill the few remaining places. I have been to Le Manoir many times                                                                         now and know the area and the destinations for our fantastic excursions                                                                                 intimately, this means I can show you those tucked away subjects that are                                                                                   terrific to draw and paint as well as great places to get a coffee and a bite to                                                                               eat. On the subject of eating, the holiday includes all evening meals and                                                                                     breakfasts and four of our lunches, the other three lunches are on our                                                                                       excursions where we can discover the delights of eating out in France and                                                                           where I do this regularly I know some great places for lunch to suit all                                                                                           budgets.

Airport transfers from Bergerac are included as are the excursions. For more                                                                               information about the holiday check out the web site, here is a link...

Holidays Dordogne France

		Holidays Dordogne France Holiday Dordogne France
		View on manoirdegurson.wix.com	Preview by Yahoo

The offer..

Normal price for painters £700 - Special offer price £625

Normal price non painting partners/friends £500 special offer price £450

We have to arrange and pay for our own flights but this is very reasonable                                                                                   and dead easy as flights are direct from Southampton airport!

I really hope that some of you will join me to paint and experience this                                                                             beautiful, historic region of France and enjoy the wonderful hospitality of our                                                                         hosts,Charmaine and her family at Le Manoir De Gurson.

The flights from Southampton airport is direct to Bergerac leaving on the                                                                                     14th May at 10.55 flight number BE3643 and flying back on 21st May at                                                                                   14.10 Flybe flight number BE3644 at a return cost of around £225

Be sure to Quote special offer code MAY14 when booking with Charmaine                                                                                 at Le Manoir.

Very Best Wishes,

                              Murray

 

Final Stage

Ox-Eye Daisies Final Stage

The final stage was to strengthen some of the shadows on the petals, brighten some of the leaves, place a few yellow centres in the distant flowers and the final touch was to add the Ladybird on the closest of the blooms which I carefully placed approximately a third of the way in from the right and about a third of the way up from the bottom making it a strategically placed focal point. As you see, not just thrown together!

Ox-Eye Daisies Second Session

Ox-Eye Daisies II

The background has been worked up with the suggestion of more distant vague foliage, leaves, blooms and stems using the same basic colours for all of the mixes; Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Alizarin Crimson, Zinc White and Payne's Gray. Next I deepened the shadows on some of the petals and put in the shadows cast by the centres (Stamens) of the flowers onto the petals in mixes of Cobalt Blue, Alizarin, white and a touch of Payne's Gray. The next stage will bring the whole to a finish

Ox-Eye Daisies in Water-Mixable Oils

Ox-Eye Daisies

I started this painting by coating a 12" x 10" stretched cotton canvas with a mixed, scumbled base of Payne's Gray and Prussian Blue Acrylic and then in oils using a soft round brush I stippled the background with various shades of green mixed from Cobalt Blue and Cadmium Yellow Pale ranging from very dark blue shades and lighter, greener shades of the green mixes. You can see the under-painting in the top right hand corner showing the dark blue-gray base. Over the background I establish the basic flower forms and though the petals may look white at this point they are actually painted in a pale lavender grey colour mixed using Zinc White, Cobalt Blue, Alizarin Crimson with a touch of Raw Umber. You will see the difference when I put the white highlights on the petals and strengthen some of the shadow colours. Finally I painted the centres in a mix of Cobalt Blue, Yellow Ochre and Raw Umber.

Painting Holidays In France and on Samos

I am running various sketching and painting holidays on the Greek island of Samos and in Bergerac, France this year and have put the links to the sites for your interest, why not treat yourselves, come and join me on one of these fantastic painting holidays? 

Pastel Painting, Chateau De Gurson, France

http://murrayince.com/#/painting-holidays/4564299025

Samos Fishing Boat

http://anema.gr/art-in-aegean-samos

http://murrayince.com/#/painting-holidays/4564299025

A Christmas Image

Old Freshwater Village

This is an imaginary scene depicting a real place, All Saint's Church in what was the original Freshwater village.

Painting snow scenes from sketches or photographs can be good fun, the thing to remember though is that there are two important directional things to bear in mind firstly and most importantly is the light but secondly the snow itself is directional as it is blown by the wind and will therefore land more on one side than the other, for instance up against the base of a tree and up the trunk, you should have a go it is a very good exercise and really makes you think!