Under September Skies

During the month of September I decided to create a painting a day. I also made the decision to extend my plein air painting season and so committed to paint all of them outdoors. This was of course with the best of intentions and I stuck with it for the most part but in the end I ended up painting a few indoors – either because of the rain or as I just needed to take it easy for a day.
All of these paintings were created with gouache medium, which over the course of the month I got to know a bit better and I have to say I’ve grown to love it.
Being as it is September I got some really extreme weather changes, talk about 4 seasons in one month, from the windiest day (when I had to learn somehow to hold all my brushes, pallete, water jar and my easel at the same time, if I ever give up art I know I could make it as a juggler) to a summer hot day when I spent nearly the whole day at the beach painting wishing at times I could just abandon all and jump into the sea to cool down. And everything in between.

The short evenings were also creaping in and with every day I had less and less time for my daily plein air. And so it happened that one day I left it too late and ended up painting just after the dawn. My first noctrune. It was a fortunate necessity as I thoroughly enjoyed it and want to do more!

Because these paintings are smaller than i usually do with watercolour or acrylic, It made it possible to take on painting sunsets and sunrises. Using other mediums I found it hard to stare into the sun long enough to then be able to mix the desired colour on the pallette. But with the smaller canvas it was just about possible.

On day 28 I started a sunset painting in Castletown but too soon light gave way to darkness so I decided to come back the next day at same time to finish it. And I did, only to be faced with totally different colours and what was nothing like what I’d seen on the previous day. As a plein air painter I know that colour changes quickly outdoors but this still surprised me. How standing in the same place in the same conditions just a day removed could be so different. It made me appreciate and feel very lucky to be able to record these fleeting moments, moments in time that will never be repeated. And then only when I succeed of course!

Enjoy this selection which I called Under September Skies. Wherever and whatever and whenever I was painting it was always under a magnificent sky.