Monet Seurat Balke and Maggie Hambling

It is so easy to stay in Anglia and forget about the inspiration that can be found in London. I chose to drive and parked near Kings Cross - which has cost me a Congestion Charge! But the drive was interesting and walking from the car park through the streets of Bloomsbury and past the University of London had an exciting feel, the students the people the shops and restaurants. Then onto the tube to the National gallery. The Monet rooms were closed but there were lots of wonderful paintings and I spent a long time studying and sketching with special focus on the way these great artists portrayed water.

The use of the brush was significant and the range of colours to capture the water. I thought about using the brush in the same way with wax and with multiple dipping into the dye vat building up a blend of marks which become a whole. I do like reflections in water and later photographed the reflections in the water at Paddington Wharf. Some of my recording can be seen at the end of the previous Post.
There was a special exhibition of Peter Balke's work. His turbulent painting of the North Sea were in contrast to the Impressionists work and the use of brush strokes to create movement is something I can try with wax.

I found Maggie Hambling's latest exhibition at Kings College on the embankment - War and Requiem which included some of her 'water' work. Her energy comes across strongly, these giant waves with the use of an orange or a red area to add interest and contrast. I particularly like her sketchbook which used black paper and white paint to quickly catch the movement of the water and waves. Looking forward to trying this in my sketches.