meldrum art
I am delighted that the gallery, ArtQuest in Paimpol has agreed to exhibit 9 of my watercolours during the summer. A big thank you to Jean-Louis Cléret for liking my work. I wish him the best of luck and I hope he sells lots of art including my own of course.
Here are some of the paintings which are for sale at ArtQuest. All were painted plein air in the Brittany region.
This is not true of course, I will be painting many watercolours of Paimpol and Brittany in the Future. It saddens me that it will be a while before I return. I have taken lots of photographs so I will be painting the town and it’s surrounding area during the winter months.
It took me a while to learn that artists mostly sketch and take photos during the summer months, then they work on their studio pieces during the dark winter months.
Painted in my Saunders Waterford fine grain 300g 18 x 29 cm watercolour sketchbook.
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I left France ten days ago, I miss Brittany, it’s such a beautiful place and I get to paint every day! This watercolour is from my 18 x 29 Saunders Waterford sketchbook. I completed it yesterday, I added the high contrasts and the detailing, it brought me right back to Paimpol, the restaurants, the cafés and the harbour area.
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A selection of pencil sketches from my visit to Paimpol in Brittany. Drawn in an A5 Canson Croquis sketchbook.
I think capturing the light is the hardest skill to achieve in painting. I have been studying composition and tonal values during the last year, it is through the careful balance of tones that one achieves light. It’s really hard to master but I’m having fun trying. This watercolour was painted plein air a few days ago.
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My Mother in law’s house is by the sea, it is a beautiful place. The view from the garden is panoramic, here I chose to paint the view of Paimpol town which is a few kilometres across the tidal bay. I actually painted this on the very first day of the visit (2017o619) but have only it published now.
Painted on Arches rough 300g, quarter arch in size.
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I painted this boat last year and now again in 2017, it’s form is cute. Not sure if it has been discarded as it lies next to the graveyard of old wooden boats just outside the harbour. I have been coming to Paimpol every year for ten years and I paint the boats that are no longer loved, they are returning slowly to the sea.
Saunders Waterford fine grain watercolour sketchbook 300g 19 x 28 cm.
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This was my last day in France, the next day I would be making the long journey home to Sweden, a 13 hour trip by rail and air. The day was hot and the sky was a clear blue. I have dicovered through experience that blue skies are generally very boring when it comes to watercolour. It’s much more interesting having rain clouds on the horizon. So I was a little nervous with the painting, I knew it had great potential – I just had to find the right balance. I am happy enough with the result, I would like it to be more loose in style and will probably have another attempt at it here in the studio in the coming months. I will add some human figures to the composition too I think.
Painted on the 26th of August. 41 x 31 cm Arches rough, 300g
This is watercolour I did in the old streets of Paimpol, Brittany. I come here every year and I never get tired of the place. Panted on the 17th of August, 23 x 31 cm on Arches rough.
