The last three weeks have been eventful, with the joyous mayhem of the impending school holidays about to descend upon the calmer working day, there has been a flurry of activity with a mixture of art materials and subjects trying to get as much creative splurges spent before my energy is depleted!

In particular, I’ve been determined to improve my landscape art so have been trying to relax into a style that I enjoy.

There is the obvious advantage of painting a scene plein air but this is not always possible hence the camera is an invaluable resource, however, often a photograph lacks life and atmosphere (for the novice photographer such as myself) and it can be frustrating to mimic a moment that doesn’t replicate how it ‘felt’ at the time captured. However, I finally have understood that If I didn’t try so hard to mimic what a camera lens portrayed but instead try to portray only what my own eyes perceived, then the experience of replicating a landscape I admired would be more worthwhile.

I think I have had a breakthrough! I changed my usual painting medium of oil paint or watercolour and delved into my box of soft pastels. It was chancy because the palette was confined to limited colours but it was so much fun! Hence I have produced a number of new coastal scenes that are compiled with quicker, shorter strokes of broken hues to portray a livelier scene. The results are not that much different, (we do, after all, have our own ‘character’ that is evident even when we adapt our styles and methods) but I’m more satisfied with the end result and I think it is evident that the process was an enjoyable one!

I am sure it won’t be long before I set off again on my trusty bicycle (called William, he deserves recognition carrying my bulk) around the Kent countryside with a backpack full of pastels and paper. The possibilities are endless and it is without doubt, going to be an enjoyable creative adventure that will be recorded in colour!