Polly Steps
29th April 2026
The view from Polly Steps in Teignmouth, painted outdoors in gouache on beige paper(approx 16x12cm).
Painting outdoors is always a challenge. Time is limited; I started at about 6pm and worked for an hour. Being brief with the subject and simplifying details are essential. Painting small helps this process but there are limitations. For example, the rigging on the boats was too fine for the brushes I had with me – a lesson learned for next time.
Update: I often take work-in-progress photos part way through paintings, particularly for areas that I might like. On this occasion I took a shot after completing The Ness headland and on reflection I wish I hadn’t covered that part of the painting with a boat mast. In addition, the section of The Ness I painted over is actually a newly exposed area of rock formed after a recent landslip. This dramatic event was filmed and can be seen in this BBC news clip.
I think this is another consequence of outdoor painting and making quick decisions, something that I might avoid with more time to arrange a composition. Again, this is a learning point and here is the work-in-progress photo:
Painting outdoors is always a challenge. Time is limited; I started at about 6pm and worked for an hour. Being brief with the subject and simplifying details are essential. Painting small helps this process but there are limitations. For example, the rigging on the boats was too fine for the brushes I had with me – a lesson learned for next time.
Update: I often take work-in-progress photos part way through paintings, particularly for areas that I might like. On this occasion I took a shot after completing The Ness headland and on reflection I wish I hadn’t covered that part of the painting with a boat mast. In addition, the section of The Ness I painted over is actually a newly exposed area of rock formed after a recent landslip. This dramatic event was filmed and can be seen in this BBC news clip.
I think this is another consequence of outdoor painting and making quick decisions, something that I might avoid with more time to arrange a composition. Again, this is a learning point and here is the work-in-progress photo: