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Plein Air Paintings

This is Bob's 'En Plein Air' paintings gallery, the paintings you see here were painted on location in and around the area where he lives in Sefton on Merseyside with the exception of the FSC Preston Montford Hall Field Study Centre in Shrewsbury, Bob painted this as a demonstration piece for a group of students on a weekend painting workshop he was running at the centre which was organised by the 'Artists & Illustrators' magazine.

The plein air approach was pioneered by John Constable in Britain around 1813, but from about 1860 it became fundamental to impressionism. The popularity of painting en plein air increased in the 1870s with the introduction of paints in tubes (resembling modern toothpaste tubes).

The Path down to the River Alt 35x25 cm

On this particular day in February I managed to execute three paintings in a six hour period. All three paintings were painted within a few yards from each other, and as you can see the landscape changed from snow to hardly any at all. I was painting this scene along side my friend Roger Jenkins, we were up to our ankles in snow painting this serene landscape, thinking we were the only people around, then we noticed a stream of people using this path as it leads onto a wild life nature reserve a few hundred yards further on. When we finished painting this scene we turned around and prepared to paint our next painting Lunt Lane…

Lunt 37x26 cm

The path way down to the River Alt is just to the left of this view, as you can see, there is hardly any snow at all. This scene shows Sefton Church in the distance, this was a very peaceful place to paint. Roger and I were happily painting away when a post office delivery van pulled up right in front of us on the pavement to the left. We had nearly finished painting but we needed another half hour to finish up. Thinking the driver was just delivering a parcel, we both thought he would resume his deliveries in a few moments, in fact he stayed for lunch, parked up, right in front of where we were painting, it was then we decided to paint the third painting in out trilogy The Derelict Building

Derelict Buildings, Lunt 35x24 cm

This was our third and final painting of the day in the small village of Lunt in Sefton on Merseyside and is literally right behind us. We only had another two hours before we lost the light so we just turned our easels about face and started painting. These derelict buildings made a nice contract from the serene landscape of 'The Path Down to the River Alt' and the view of Sefton Church from 'Lunt Lane', minus the Post Office van. It's surprising what lies behind the hedgerows of the fields as you drive past in your car, Roger and I both thought this place is like a desert, flat and uninteresting…how wrong we were, we actually got more painting time around that area

The White House on Hall Lane 35x24 cm

This scene is about a mile further on from Lunt village on Back O The Town Lane in Ince Blundell. I was standing just off the road in a farmers field painting this scene, the field was covered in snow but after standing painting for two hours it turned into a quagmire. I was walking on the spot all the time I was there painting to keep the cold at bay, all I was aware of was the sounds of nature. Birds singing, cockerels crowing waiting to hear a response, back and forth they go, then the sounds of small mopeds going down the lane, then the odd shot gun blast breaks the calm atmosphere, the first one you duck, the second you curse, but it doesn't stop you painting. It was when I was painting this scene that two ladies strolling past, stopped for a few moments to chat to me, one of them said that her husband paints and would be interested in seeing what you are doing, she asked for my details to pass onto her husband, who's name was Roger Jenkins

The Punch Bowl and Sefton Church 35x24 cm

I don't know if this was private property or not but Roger Jenkins and I set up our easels in this field across the road from the Punch Bowl and the 11th century Sefton Church and painted in peace and quiet. This is another one of those places, if you can see over the hedge or through it you can discover some amazing places to paint

St Catherines Chapel (Lydiate Abbey) 12x16 inches

This is a particularly peaceful and beautiful place to paint, I have painted this place in the snow and in the heat of summer. when I painted this scene it was one of the hottest days in summer. I did not realise at the time but this spot was a heat trap, I was only painting for just over an hour when I started feeling uneasy, the water in my bottle had gone warm and I could not concentrate, the heat was getting to me. I was wearing a hat and loose fitting lightweight clothes but did not make any difference, at this point I decided to call it a day as continuing could become dangerous

FSC Preston Montford Hall, Shrewsbury

This was a demonstration painting I painted on location for a group of people who attended one of my weekend painting workshop at Preston Montford Hall Field Study Centre (FSC) in Shrewsbury, the building in the painting was the offices for the centre. The workshop was organised by The Artists' and Illustrators magazine

Melling Church as seen from the canal 12x16 inches

This is a view from the canal that runs past Melling, Maghull and Lydiate and beyond, it is a brilliant place for walking, cycling and painting. This particular place looks over the field to the Bootle Arms pub and Melling Church in the distance. The only thing that bothered me on that day was the gnats, they were in your face and kept sticking to the painting, my wife was sitting next to me reading but they did not seem to bother her. Now and then a beautifully painted narrow boat would pass by and you would get out your camera and take photographs of it for future reference. People walk by, some speed walking, others strolling, some would stop and chat about your painting but most just go by and say hello…this is definitely a nice way to spend your day

Church of St Helens (Sefton Church) 9.5x13.5 inches

Thinking that this spot was an out of the way place to paint, Roger and I set up our easels and started painting this scene overlooking the Punch Bowl car park and Sefton Church, it was cold, damp and brreezy but we were not bothered. Quiet and out of the way it was, but it turned out to be a popular thoroughfare for walkers as numerous groups of walkers passed by as we were painting. As we were preparing to leave this spot after a couple of hours painting, a gust of wind came up and took my painting, which was painted on Saunders Waterford 300 lbs Rough watercolour paper, out of my hand and dropped it face down into the mud, you can see some of the debris still in the painting

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Plein Air Paintings

The plein air approach was pioneered by John Constable in Britain around 1813, but from about 1860 it became fundamental to impressionism. The popularity of painting en plein air increased in the 1870s with the introduction of paints in tubes (resembling modern toothpaste tubes).