Bat skyline from near Sham castle

Bath skyline sketch from near Sham Castle

Bath skyline charcoal sketch I

A plein air sketch in charcoal from  the Bath skyline path from which I will be doing a small oil. Hopefully it will be part of a skyline series. A view which covers the important buildings, Bath Abbey, Empire Hotel and Bath Rugby ground.

Bath skyline thoughts

Bath skyline

Thoughts on using oil paints on location

Mostly I sketch outdoors with charcoal, graphite  and watercolour pencils. 
Painting Bath skyline outside using oils 'en plein air' was a reminder as to why I do this -
the difficulties of taking oil painting equipment ,easel, oil paint (I buy the large 200ml tubes when possible which are heavy as it is more economical), white spirit, rags, paint brushes, pallet, drinking water) to a location and then setting it up. 
Also waiting for the correct weather conditions before setting out in a climate such as ours, rain, grey cloud, cold winds, and short summers.
But I can easily do charcoal sketches outside and then use the reference in my studio where everything is already set up and I can paint on larger canvases if I choose. Also I find careful thought can be used in making marks and I can stand back and think about the picture with no time pressures. 
British artists that also came to the same conclusion include Anne Redpath and John Piper.