Two plein air paintings at the White Hart pub in Ford, Wiltshire

I want to share two plein air paintings I did recently on a lovely morning out. My wife and I went to the White Hart pub in the small village of Ford. This is a lovely spot not far from where I live.

It was an overcast day when we visited. The weather was grey but perfect for painting. The pub garden was quite quiet. This meant we could choose a good spot to set up our paints without getting in anyone's way. I always like painting at pubs because you know there will be a nice lunch waiting for you when you finish.

I painted both of these watercolours in the morning before we had our pub lunch. The location is beautiful with old buildings and a lovely garden area. There are picnic tables on the grass and a small stream running through. You can see the old stone bridge in one of the paintings.

Both paintings needed a lot of green paint. When you paint outdoors in England you will use green in most of your work. We have so much lovely green countryside here. For these paintings I used my usual greens. I mixed viridian green with other colours to get different shades. I also used spring green for the bright fresh grass. Some cobalt green went into the trees. The darker trees needed some neutral tint mixed with the greens to make them look further back.

The first painting shows the pub garden with all the picnic tables. I wanted to show the peaceful feeling of the empty garden. The tables lead your eye into the painting towards the buildings. The trees around the edge frame the scene nicely. I kept the sky quite simple because it was a grey day. Too much detail in an overcast sky can make your painting look heavy.

The second painting shows the view of the stream and the old stone bridge. This is such a classic English countryside scene. The water reflections were interesting to paint. I used burnt sienna and burnt umber for the reflections. The bridge arches are dark shapes that give good contrast against the lighter buildings behind.

When you paint plein air you have to work quite fast. The light can change. People might come and stand in your view. You might get cold or the weather might turn bad. I try to get the main shapes down quickly. Then I can add details if I have time. Sometimes the quick paintings turn out best because they have more energy in them.

Both of these paintings are available for sale. If you would like to buy either of them please contact me for more information.