I work both outdoors and in the studio, but working outdoors is best. It’s comfortable in the studio, with photos, sketches and memory for references, but outdoors is where the surprises happen. Not all the surprises are good, such as when it suddenly starts pouring with rain when I’m half-way through a sunny painting, or when someone parks their vehicle in front of me blocking my view which is what happened when I was painting my prize-winning picture of the Garrick Theatre in London. I deliberately chose a spot where there were double yellow lines, but it didn’t stop it happening. Sometimes the surprises are a little more serious, such as in Essaouira, Morocco, where I was attacked in the street by a pack of dogs and lost a day’s painting through having to have an emergency booster rabies jab.
Other perils of outdoor painting include heat and cold. On Instagram I see photos of painters standing knee-deep in snow, but I’m not that brave. On the Isle of Wight where I live, hot summers are more of a problem for me. But if there’s water nearby the problem’s easily solved.
I do most of my painting in the UK, but once a year I go on an overseas painting trip with other painters. One summer I was painting with Ken Howard RA in Amsterdam on a bridge commonly known as Monet’s Bridge because Monet painted it many times. All of a sudden a flock of cyclists swooped across the bridge and then suddenly stopped when they saw painters working. There was nothing unusual about this because we’re well used to being watched, except for the fact that these cyclists were completely nude. I have a photo of Ken surrounded by naked onlookers which I’d love to show you, but I don’t want my site closed down!
I had a nice time whilst painting in London at the time of the first Extinction Rebellion mass protest. A few of the protesters stopped by to have a look at what I was doing, and I asked them how they were getting on with the police. The police were no trouble, they said. Whilst I was at Lambeth, painting the entrance to LambethPalace, I became aware that a group of onlookers had gathered. I turned, and they were all police officers. The protesters weren’t giving them any trouble, they said. An officer took a photo of me working.
YOU NEVER KNOW WHO’S COMING TO WATCH YOU PAINT!