Old pictures, new etsy shop items

I've been going through some of my older paintings and sketches, and decided to add a few of them to my etsy shop. This one is a view of Clovelly in north Devon, from the precipitous street that winds its way down to the harbour, and is an oil pastel sketch for a painting that didn't work as well as the sketch. (I must try again; this is a very appealing view.) It's 16 x 16 inches, and you can see this sketch at http://www.etsy.com/listing/77644442/clovelly-harbour-original-oil-pastel

This is a quick sketch of a still life subject that was set, some years ago, in a local painting class. The chair had been painted a gorgeous viridian colour, and the leafy stems just seemed to explode in all directions from the old bottle. I tried a rough, Matisse-type approach for this one. This acrylic painting is 16 x 20 inches, and can be seen at http://www.etsy.com/listing/77579913/green-chair-original-acrylic-painting

And here are a couple of girls by the Seine in Paris. They just happened to be wearing colours that totally harmonized, so this was an irresistible subject. This acrylic painting is 16 x 20 inches and is at http://www.etsy.com/listing/77573389/girls-by-the-seine-original-acrylic

And finally, a fairly intensely coloured version of the peacock topiary in the garden next to Haddon Hall entrance (Derbyshire). I already have a little painting of this subject in my shop, and for the larger one here I simplified and smoothed the shapes and upped the brightness, so that it starts to look a bit surreal. It's weird what people can do with hedges! This garden always puts me in mind of Alice in Wonderland and the beautiful garden down the little passageway. This acrylic painting is at http://www.etsy.com/listing/77573879/peacock-topiary-haddon-hall-original

Great crested grebes

I saw these elegant grebes at Carsington Reservoir, a favourite place of ours for birdwatching. It was a  fairly overcast day, and the colours were generally muted, but the white feathers on the grebes' faces shone as they flicked their heads in unison. I don't usually paint birds, but I'm quite please with the way this has turned out.

This can be seen at http://www.etsy.com/listing/76382195/grebes-original-oil-painting-16x16

Millstones, Longshaw

An acrylic painting, with coloured pencil details, of moss-covered old millstones among bracken in the woods near Longshaw in the Peak District, Derbyshire. Making millstones used to be a traditional industry here (a very unhealthy one for the workers), but it collapsed suddenly in the early 19th century, and today you can find piles of these half-finished stones near quarries and on the moors.
This is at my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/66840577/millstones-longshaw-original-mixed-media

Rocks, Longshaw

On Sunday I felt in need of some sunshine so I painted this. An autumn view of some of the huge eroded gritstone rocks on top of a hill at Longshaw in the Peak District. (This painting is now sold.)
It's available at my etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/66056932/rocks-longshaw-derbyshire-original

Sun and shade in the park

Here's my latest acrylic painting - a view looking down into the shadowy river valley in the park in Matlock. It was a rather misty day and sunlight was just beginning to catch the few autumn leaves that are left, making them look like cobwebs against the shade.
This is available at
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61883049/sun-and-shade-small-original-acrylic

Work in progress - orchard

My current painting - a view of the orchard at the bottom of the kitchen garden at Chatsworth. I'll be adding it to my etsy shop soon but there are changes to be made to the shadows and background yet. This was a lovely autumn day. No apples are visible - they'd been picked (a couple by us on earlier visits). These little trees are all old types of apple trees. This is also a good place to look for shaggy inkcap toadstools. (This painting is now sold.) It can be seen at
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62759715/orchard-original-oil-painting-16x16