oooops another photo has been turned upside down as it was added to my bog :( this was a January sunset... I didnt take it standing on my head...honest !

swan enjoying the sunset at Brightlingsea...

sunset,houses of parliament, after Monet: Janet Driver 

Why did I ever attempt these paintings of sunset, so similar to those of Monet ? Well, I have always been drawn towards paintings by Monet... & I love sunsets... Then some years ago there was an exhibition of Monet’s paintings which included his London bridges and some of his beautiful sunset paintings...I was fascinated by the way Monet used colour in small dashes and dabs interwoven in such a way as to give the impression of vibrating light, either shimmering on water or shining through mist or fog...there was so much joy here !  and  I just longed to have a go at painting my own sunsets, using what I had learned from spending time with these paintings...knowing that if I first used these as a reference point, then I might be able to paint my own sunsets thereafter...   

This oil painting,above, is my first attempt...to understand how the water might appear to shimmer...and also how the misty effects could work as a foil for the light... It was, of course, incredibly difficult...and I cannot recall how many times I gave up in despair, and then came back again, determined to keep on trying, until it finally began to work...and at that point time began to fly as the painting took on a life of its own !

Several months later, I happened to see a very dramatic sunset behind the houses of parliament... by then we were living in Lambeth, not so far from the Thames and I sometimes walked our baby in a pram down by the river... there had been a heavy thunderstorm earlier that afternoon and the heavy clouds were still overhead even though the sun shone brightly, making for a really warm afternoon... and then a sunset that was brilliant in deep red against the heavy purple clouds that seemed to hang really low in the sky...and so I finally painted my own version... it felt symbolic at the time...just after the financial crisis began to unfold...and then those ten awful years of austerity and cuts...to say nothing of the dreaded Brexit vote, with so many difficulties ahead for MP’s:storm clouds indeed over the houses of parliament...But even though the tower seems to be caught in the storm, the bright sunset light holds the hope of another day...a new way forward after the covid pandemic...as the river flows swiftly on its way...

                                               Stormy Sunset,houses of parliament : Janet Driver

Wednesday

Wednesday

waiting for sunset : oil on canvas : c. janet driver

It was a beautiful warm summer evening with hardly a breath of air, even towards high tide...

while I was sitting near Batemans tower marvelling at the deep colour in the sky as the sun began to set

I saw this sailing boat slowly drop anchor as people began to stand up

looking for the best viewpoint

as the sunlight began to glow through low-lying mist

and a breeze ruffled the waters, leaving no hint of reflections

and the colours subtly began to change...

Tuesday : daily painting

after Monet : Houses of  Parliament oil on canvas, janet driver

Wednesday

One evening, turning a corner towards the river, I suddenly saw this glowing sunset over on the other side.
Sunlight overflowing onto the trees and bouncing off the front wall of that distant building as though it were pure gold...  and only for a few minutes before the light changed completely... but that moment in and out of time ... I just knew I had to paint it... so many days and weeks trying to convey this memory, to bring it to birth... to convey something of that joyful moment...

picture a day

J.M.W. Turner :  Yacht approaching the coast 

Wivenhoe Library Exhibition : Sunsets and...

Visit Wivenhoe Library & enjoy some of my paintings...

Creative Spiral: children can enjoy looking for all sorts things hidden in this spiral painting

& not always noticed unless you stop & look

I painted several sunsets, seen across the Colne at Brightlingsea where the brilliant effect of sunlight shining through the mist on the distant shore and across the water is really quite amazing.

 I remember as a teenager swimming here one evening with a group of us who had been playing tennis, and we could hardly believe the intensity of gold flooding the sea all around us as we bobbed & floated along.

Dawn Mist Rising          oil on canvas, Janet Driver

I continue to be intrigued by dawn mist & the "lost & found" nature of things hidden or revealed through the mist. Can you guess the river marshes this was based on ? 

Hanging next to it you will find a painting of  this scene at sunset. Again a surprising sunset where the light lit up the wall hidden by the dawn mist with a brilliant reflection almost like gold.

for Library Opening Times click the link below:

http://webapps1.essexcc.gov.uk/findalibrary/libdetail.asp?LibID=78

Damp Misty Mornings

Across the river : mist rising from the marshes, Wivenhoe

I love the misty effects of early morning, particularly when the sun  is low in the sky during spring and autumn.

One day I just happened to see the dawn sunshine breaking through the mist, lighting up the church and Fingringhoe Mill as mist swirled slowly through the trees, across the low lying salt marshes and up towards the sky.  The plants and trees on the grassy walls along the riverside provide a wonderful contrast in the foreground, making this a real joy to paint.

A few days later there was an amazing sunset. I had never seen the sun just at this angle before and could hardly believe the way its brilliant orange light was reflected by the white wall of the mill...no longer white, but like burnished gold...

The trees were no longer misty blues but suffused with golden light. I stood transfixed, as though time stood still...but in a few moments the light swiftly began to fade... 

Here is the beginning of my attempt to share this " moment in and out of time"... I will need to dig deep into my visual memory to complete this painting once these first layers have dried sufficiently to continue.

Mr Turner

Last week we went to see Mr Turner, the film about the later part of the artist's life & my mind's eye is full of  his ethereal paintings and the wonderful photography complimenting them throughout this film...dawn light across salt marshes; sunsets across the sea; sails of boats flashing reflections in brilliant sunlight; steam billowing out from a small 'puffing billy' train dashing along to be caught on canvas...

Leafing through the booklet on Turner's Later Works, by Martin Butlin bought years ago at Tate Britain, I re-lived that visit when I was so amazed by the size and colour of these paintings.

Looking again at my own dawn & sunset paintings, I wonder if I can move towards a more ethereal portrayal of  light in the future...? 

  But I will need to win the lottery if I am to buy such vast canvases & the paint to go with them !