August already

Well into August now and the weather has been a mixed bag so far. There have been a few excursions into the great outdoors for en plein air and all prima painting sessions along with quite a few snatched moments for getting the basics in place before the weather breaks and finishing in the studio.

At this time of year the tourists arrive ‘en masse’ so it’s a time for seeking out those little known places that have been found during the winter months. This allows a little more solitude and views not interrupted by folks doing their thing.

Tough day at the 'office'.........

Crow Point, Braunton Burrows.

Having said that, there have also been plenty of occasions to paint while people do exactly what they love and this has provided some great new ideas and projects from a bunch of friends sat enjoying the view on a beach, mums playing with youngsters at the waters edge to the odd surfer and paddle boarder and riders on the beach and Exmoor.

I have added a few quick snapshots of some of the works in progress and a sketch or two snatched before the weather changed.

Greys On Exmoor, seemingly the middle of nowhere but a beautiful place for a ride out.

A Secret Place, I found this place on Exmoor and neglected to make a note of the name it so it's staying 'A Secret Place'.

Crow Point, painted at the 'office'.

In terms of the videos that I mentioned beginning in the last Blog, these have been a bit of a slow burn.

Getting over myself has been the major challenge. I’m getting there, but years of making sure I’m the one holding the camera, to being the one in front of the lens has proved a more difficult obstacle to get over than I had imagined.

I’ve invested in some new gadgets for sound and supports as well as working on video creation on the Mac. I’m getting there so I’m hoping I’ll have something on the Youtube Channel for you to check out soon.

A few people have asked for some video’s on process and set up outdoors so they will most likely be the first offerings. I’m also creating a few little time lapse videos but avoiding the dreaded annoying music in the background that so many people seem to use. That drives me nuts while watching a video so I won’t be adding that to my videos. Besides, my musical tastes might be a bit heavy for some.

In addition to painting and figuring out the joys of video production I have also been doing a little woodwork in the shed.

When I take my kit into the outdoors, the result is usually a fresh, wet oil painting. Getting wet paintings home is always interesting; just trying to stop it getting covered in sand, bumping into something and smearing, not to mention getting wet oil paint all over the car’s upholstery is always a challenge that I often lose.

There are some ready made storage solutions available, however they are often limited by size, and you can guarantee that the support (stretched canvas, wooden board etc) chosen on a given day won’t fit in your ‘wet painting’ holder. So, I built my own.

I’ve added a few pics of the job. It took a few hours and required some fiendishly difficult template creation and a lot of jigsaw work but I’m happy with the result. I can now store several sizes of board or stretched canvas and keep them separated and safe in the car all day long. It has been a real boon having it, and well worth the effort to make.

To wrap up, over the summer I have suspended the monthly Print give away. There just has not been the time to keep up with it.

However it will resume in September so if you aren’t on the list make sure you have subscribed, and if you are on the list make sure you stay there, as you might be the winner in September.

On the ‘Print’ front I am just in the process of updating the website and preparing new collections so keep an eye on the Prints website at chrisgillgallery.com for the updates coming soon.

For now, enjoy the rest of your summer and say hello if you see me out and about.

Speak soon,