'Leading the Way' original Elephant drawing re-worked

Many of you will recognise the first of these images as my previous blog header image.The drawing itself is entitled 'Leading the Way' and was produced a year ago after my trip to the Okavango delta in Botswana and was a record of an encounter near the Chobe river with a group of elephants making there way to the river to drink.I had been in two minds whether to include a background in the original image and so after completing the elephants I approached my publishing company with the drawing and a decision was made to 'leave it there' and publish the image as a limited edition print.A year on and the original drawing remained unsold and so I took the decision to re-work the piece to include the original background as I saw it in Botswana.The above photos(which are only cameraphone photos,so apologies for the quality)document the drawings transformation over a period of a couple of weeks and many hours.It is now ready to be re-scanned and framed ready for exhibition.This is my last image of the year before the Christmas break and so I wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and a peaceful new year.In the meantime if you would like to see my available original works and new limited edition prints then please do check out my website www.clivemeredithart.weebly.com

Pre-Xmas Studio Open day Saturday 5th December

Savuti Bull 18" x 14" oil on canvas

This is my latest completed oil painting and the first time ive ever painted an elephant! Ive drawn so many elephants but never really felt (until now) that my oil painting skills were up to the job to portray an elephant in colour.I am very pleased with my first attempt and hope it will prove to be the first of many African paintings.As with earlier drawings this painting is based on an encounter in Savuti marsh,Chobe,Botswana in 2014.This big bull was part of a small group of bachelor males feeding on marsh grass,pausing occasionally to throw fresh,wet mud onto themselves.I hope you like the painting and as usual the original will appear on my website www.clivemeredithart.weebly.com in due course.

Titchfield Haven NNR Xmas Art and crafts show 28th/29th November

These images and more will be amongst original works,prints and cards on display on my art stand at the annual Titchfield Haven NNR Xmas arts and crafts show held within the visitor centre at the reserve.The show takes place on the weekend of 28th/29th November,admission is free with ample parking and a smashing café too.
Funds raised by the stallholders are used to purchase feed for the overwintering birds on the reserve.
The event is taking place in the titchfield haven visitor centre which is located on cliff road,Hill Head near Lee on Solent on the Hampshire coast and so if youre in the area and looking for a pre-xmas bargain then why not pop in and say hello whilst browsing a fabulous selection of wildlife art.

Brand new in time for Christmas

I couldn't resist taking a quick studio snapshot of my new limited edition entitled 'Avocet and chicks'
The quality is outstanding and they are available as a standard sized print or a mini print,both as part of a total edition size of just 100.The larger print retails at £63 incl free uk delivery and the mini print at £28 incl free uk delivery.These lovely prints come with a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity and are available exclusively from my website and nowhere else at www.clivemeredithart.weebly.com  where you will find full details(sizes etc).

'Ray of Hope?' 5.5" x 16"

 

My latest small pencil drawing of a Black Rhino and her calf which ive entitled Ray of Hope?.
The plight of Rhino's in our world today sickens me to the very core and with this drawing I hope to touch the heart of the viewer and encourage awareness of the very real possibility of the extinction of the species.

newly framed oil paintings available

Just picked up my latest collection of oil paintings resplendent in there hand-finished frames from my framer.They are all now available for purchase through my website at www.clivemeredithart.weebly.com

Avocet and chicks 12" x 11" oil on canvas

These are the progression shots for my latest completed oil painting 'Avocet and chicks'.Such elegant birds that I absolutely love to paint and draw.

Snipe study 10" x 12" oil on canvas progression shots

After a visit last week to Titchfield Haven NNR where I was lucky enough to see plenty of Snipe at close quarters I decided to paint a small study with a view to a larger piece to follow in oils if I could get a grip on the colours and cryptic plumage.This is the completed study,which I'm very pleased with and hopefully a larger snipe painting will follow in the not too distant future.

'Evening glow-Redshank' 10" x 14" oil sketch on canvas

My latest little oil sketch features a Redshank on the Hamble river as the sun is setting and giving a lovely warm glow to the birds plumage.

'Lapwing study' 12" x 14"

This is my latest little oil sketch and depicts lovely Lapwing on the edge of the scrape at Titchfield Haven nature reserve.This image has been painted as a live demo piece during my open studio's event this week.

Avocet and chick II

Continuing with my recent theme of oil sketching,here is my latest small piece.Its another study of an avocet and chick from observations made at Titchfield Haven NNR on the south coast of Hampshire,UK during june this year.The painting on canvas measures 14" x 10" and will be on show in my studio for the duration of the Hampshire Open studio's event from 22nd august-31st august.

Hampshire Open studio's 22nd aug-31st aug 2015

My studio/gallery will be opening to the public from 22nd aug-31st aug as part of the Hampshire Open studio's event.I will be open from 10-5pm daily with a selection of original works,limited edition prints and fine art cards available to purchase.For full details of all the artists venues opening during the event checkout the website at www.hampshireopenstudios.org.uk

'Curlew study' 12" x 10" oil on canvas

Tinkering with oil paints once more and decided to produce another quick,loose oil sketch based on observations of a curlew at farlington marshes near Portsmouth,UK.
On a cold crisp January day I visited the marshes on the  outskirts of Portsmouth and with camera in hand walked the seawall separating the marshes from Langstone harbour getting views of waders and other seabirds on both the freshwater marsh on one side of the wall and the mudflats of langstone harbour on the other.This curlew was busy feeding amongst the seaweed and seagrass at low tide on the mudflats and was quite close to me affording me unusually great views.After the success of my last avocet oil sketch which was so well received and sold almost immediately I thought I would approach this subject in the same loose manner and just see where it led me.

Clive Meredith MPAS

Delighted to announce that I have been awarded Master Pencil artist status by the prestigious pencil Art society.It is always an honour to be recognised for ones talent and hard work by a jury of distinguished fellow artists.

'The Young Pretender' 7" x 13" pencil drawing

My latest,and ever so slightly topical drawing features a lovely young male lion that I was lucky enough to encounter last year in Savuti,Botswana.
This young male was hunting with his mother as they were not part of a pride and as you can see from his flawless features he still hadn't gone into battle for a pride of his own as he wasn't fully mature as yet.
The pair formed an impressive hunting team and when I encountered them they were hunkered down in the heat of the day with very full bellies from a successful hunt the night before.

Latest elephant drawing completed.

'Staying close' my latest drawing in my series of images from my Botswana safari is now complete and its another small scale piece at 4" x 16" approx.This drawing was completed during a live demonstration week in the studio of the Nature in Art museum near Gloucester,UK
Ive made available several of my latest drawings and paintings on my website at www.clivemeredithart.weebly.com

'Avocet and chick' 15" x 10" oil on canvas

Ive always admired artists who produce lovely loose oil sketch works that seem to say everything necessary in a quick work and not get carried away with 'unnecessary' detail.
I thought I'd have a go at producing a little oil sketch from some of my references obtained at Titchfield Haven NNR of an Avocet and chick.Its all been completed in one layer of paint over two sessions and I have to say that I'm really pleased,not only with the results but also with the painting process itself which I found very liberating after my usual heavily-worked pieces.

'Portrait of charlotte' oil on board 12" x11"

After an absolute age working in graphite without a break I found myself stuck for ideas and feeling a little unmotivated and so in an effort to get the creative juices flowing once more I picked up my oils and prepared a board for a small painting.
The subject of the painting is very close to my heart as this is charlotte a little vixen that visits my studio daily for a bite to eat and seems to like hanging out with me.I thought attempting this little oil portrait might fire up my imagination and because its relatively simple it allowed me to get back to grips with oil paints.It seems to have done the trick and I now have lots of ideas for some smaller paintings,which are the sort I prefer.

'Avocet and chicks' 10" x 12.5"

Last month I took myself off for a day out to my local National nature reserve Titchfield Haven a few miles down the coast from me.Armed with my camera and binoculars I had hoped to get some nice shots of birds with young on the scrapes.Apart from the plethora of black-headed gulls and noisy youngsters as well as a handful of ducklings and Canada geese goslings the Avocets were the highpoint of the day for me.They are such graceful and beautiful birds that whenever I see them I am thoroughly enchanted so imagine the thrill when I came across a pair of adults and four chicks.The adult birds were naturally very wary with hordes of marauding gulls nearby and so a close watch was made of the youngsters as they foraged on the scrape.eventually as the heat rose in the afternoon the chicks sought shelter under one of the adults and in this drawing,apart from the obvious chicks in the open,there are a further two hidden underneath the adult,the legs of which you can see protruding.