Le Tour de France – The Breakaway Through The Crowds

I've been painting Le Tour de France for a few years now, and I'm constantly trying to improve my technique. This is a slightly 'looser' impression than previous efforts, so I'm happy to post it here in my blog.

$120 plus postage.

email shirleypeters@me.com

Storm Brewing at Nattai Mines

24 x 32cm Acrylic on Paper

While travelling (not far from Sydney) I have been painting each night in the van, using photos and sketches from the day's adventures. No plein air for me at the moment!! The temp is too close to zero out there!

$150 + $20 packing & postage

"On the Road"

"On the Road": a painting of three early leaders in Le Tour de France. Painted today, from a scene recorded last year. The race does not start until Saturday.. can't wait!!

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The Lights of Le Tour

Le Tour de France starts soon, and I'm doing some pre-race exercises! I start with watercolour, and then throw in acrylic to toughen up the colours. 

I love this scene showing two anonymous riders being pushed along by the camera crew and support vehicle. They are at the "tête de la course".

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Rock Garden

The wild bushland behind my home has areas of 'garden' that look designed. 

Acrylic on Saunders Watercolour Paper, 43cm x 58cm. 

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Storm Afternoon

Many layers are sacrificed in the creation of this painting! I started with a watercolour of carefully drawn trees; then worked over, and over with acrylic colours and calligraphy. Lots of fun.

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Blue Foliage

Having just visited a recently storm-ravaged beach I am working on a series that depicts the visible destruction. The trees were torn apart and thrown down by the winds. I don't know how the local caravans would have survived.

This is watercolour and acrylic on paper, unframed.

Town Travel

It's almost time for my annual obsession: Le Tour de France.
So I found myself watching the Paris-Roubaix at Easter. What a tough one-day race that is!

Watercolour on Paper, White mat, black frame, non-reflective glass.
FRAMED: Internal image size: 54 x 38 cm
Available: $450 plus postage.

First visit was a total wash out!

Here is the view of the rain that ruined my first day of "plain-air". It had been sunny at first, when I climbed down to my neighbours dam. Then the clouds blew in, and the heavens opened!

Here is the result of the downpour! I like minimalism, but this not only washed off the canvas, the actual stretcher was distorting. The trees were not thick enough to hide under, so it became drenched! (I had an umbrella, but it wasn't big enough for the both of us!)

Next visit proved a lovely sunny day. As did the third. Eventually I was satisfied with my work, and was very glad to walk back home for the last time. The route to the dam is via an old fire track. It is very washed away, and only rocks remain. No vehicle could go down that track at the moment, and it was a good workout for me to have to carry a canvas and paints there and back. 

It's also a very isolated dam: and I've been watching too many murder shows lately. The iPhone is "SOS" only... so I'm glad no one appeared out of the bushes to 'do me in"!! Funny enough, I never think of snakes... a much more likely threat!

Silence After Noon

I had to trek deep into the gully behind my house in Mulgoa for this project. Three times I visited.. the first time was a total wash-out, with the sunny day turning dark and stormy, and the rain bucketing down!! The wet acrylic paint washed off the surface, and I was left with some minimalist marks.
On the second trip I forgot my palette, so I had to use paint squeezed straight from the tubes. It produced some interesting, strong colours!
The third time was OK. The air was so still, the sun started setting behind the trees and the water turned dark and glassy. 

So I have a lot of emotion tied up with this work, not to mention sweat and tears from the (climbing) downs and ups!

"Silence After Noon" by Shirley Peters

Acrylic on Canvas 

Landscape

90 cm x 90 cm

NFS

"At The Bend"

This small waterhole was a surprise find when my sister Barbara and I were walking in the wild bushland. We had had rain, and it was great to see the bush greening up. I had three visits to the site (twice with the large canvas, and once just to photograph).

AUS $1600 
plus postage within Australia and international.

"Light on the Floor": see "technique" page for progress photos.

I painted this work over two sessions: both in the afternoon.
In fact, it was a bit hot today, and although I wear sunscreen, I feel a tad burnt! (I was wearing a hat though! :))
I love dramatic shadows of this view, and the messy forest floor is a fun, graphic subject.

I have taken progress photos which can be seen on another page in this blog.

Backyard Dam at Mulgoa

I have an amazing new 'back yard' with a chook shed and a dam, and an acre of natural bush. So my next few painting subjects will be close to home! Here is the dam. It has a slow leak, and therefore goes down then up, depending on the recent rainfall. Fortunately we don't need it for anything practical, so the level is not important. Yesterday I saw a tortoise in it! I thought it was a dinner plate under the water, until it swam away! We suspect there are yabbies in there as well, as the occasional crab-like claw has been found on the muddy edge.

I painted this 'en plain air' painting over a few days. I had many attempts... but each time I worked on it the light changed in temperature and position. So I see it as a conglomerate of four days over summer.