Dungeness paint out part 2

The next morning I was ready to go at 5.30am. The sun rose, only to disappear rather annoyingly behind a huge cloud bank, where it remained for a few hours. So I took a 4" x 12" board and did a second painting of Prospect Cottage( below).

Some two hours later and a few photos on, coffee and breakfast safely inside, I moved the van along the road to complete my third painting of Derek Jarman' s cottage, this time from the other side and including the wreck of an old fishing boat that I assume Mr Jarman had acquired.

By the time I had finished this painting lunch time was upon me, and against strict dietary orders from Catherine, I nipped into the well known restaurant and bar called  the Britannia. There I enjoyed a plate of chips and a Guinness, after which I took a few shots of interesting things before a rest in the van and to plan my next image. I actually met another artist living at Dungeness called Paddy Hamilton and his partner Helen. A great couple and great art, worth checking him out on Blogger.

So where to now, well the sun had vanished and overcast was now the order of things. I decided to trek out to the actual shoreline and paint a wrecked fishing boat, its glory days well and truly, it has to be said, sadly behind it. FE180 is now just a shell, rotting in the elements, sun and rain doing their equal best to reduce the vessel to a pile of timber. Part of a once proud fleet that extended to many boats that had dominated the skyline, FE180 was set against storm clouds forming over my home. As Hythe could be seen from Dungeness and visa versa,  I watched across the bay as the land slowly melted into sea and sky alike, clouds deepening with every brushstroke. I had to work diligently to maintain an even momentum and lay the paint down accurately and fast. As the sky was changing I was in danger of breaking a cardinal rule in plein air painting, that was chasing. Chasing the changing scene or light, always a wrong thing to do. Another reason was that the storm clouds were gathering at a pace above me.

I think I was down to my last ten minutes of work when the rains came, I was not going to be beaten into retreat, instead painting on until I was ready to call it a day. A little wetter that I had planned I returned to the van, tired , happy and having stowed everything correctly away I drove home to a warm welcome from Catherine. Five paintings completed and a whetted appetite for more.

You can be the judge on these plein air boards. I will in time develop some studio images  from these studies. In the meantime I hope that you enjoy these studies as much as I enjoyed creating them.

Best wishes for now  Paul ...