Night, reflections, and snow.

I am often asked as a painter "What is it that you like to paint?"

Well the answer to that question for me is easy - Light effects. Fleeting light effects, reflections on wet roads, or nocturnally lit scenes are my favourite subjects, and as my interest is primarily for old automobiles then they have to be included too!

The painting above is of the type of bus I used to catch on my way to school, the street, and the weather is typical of the area of Lancashire, England in which I grew up. When painting this one I could still remember how good it felt to climb aboard that bus and feel the warmth of the heater on a cold and rainy morning!

The bus fare in those days was 'tuppence' (two-pence) and was collected by a conductor on board, the driver sat in a separate cabin and just drove, less distractions for him that way. I recall the gearbox whine almost drowned out the conversation on board, and the engine had a familiar lazy thrum.
The bus lights, reflections on the wet cobbles, and hazy moon filtering through the drizzle are exactly as I remember the scene almost fifty years ago!


Another subject that I enjoy painting is snow. The variation of colours combined with the lights from those lovely old cars make this a genre I keep returning to. The above painting I did around three years ago as a sketch for a bigger, finished painting. It shows a 1959 Vauxhall Cresta waiting to turn right at a junction.
The '59 Cresta was chosen for this painting because it had those big oval tail lights and the indicators (turn signals) on the wing fin, very seductive to paint lit up!