The pleasure of painting for me is the direct experience in front of a subject that has caught my eye. Spending time sitting for hours and trying to make a picture out of it. So my landscape pictures are always portraits of a place and done from life, never from photographs. I prefer oils, but acrylic or watercolour can be easier sometimes as they can't be smudged. One is often battling against the elements. Painting on cliff tops means clutching on to your work as the wind tries to whip it over the edge. Sand grains stick to your oil paint. Someone's dog runs up excitedly and tramples on your painting. Layers of clothes are needed to try and keep warm or keep the sun off. Someone asked me why do artists always wear floppy hats? It is not just to keep your eyes shaded, but to keep the sun from burning the back of your neck. The best thing is to have a painting friend to go with you which makes it more fun.
Cliff-side painting at Portloe Harbour, Cornwall, in September 2014. I had to tie on my hat to stop it blowing away.
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