Work begins for the Summer Exhibition

Me at a brand new set of paintings which I'm starting to work on

My next exhibition is in June. It always takes longer than you think to get ready for a big event like this so I began in earnest this week.
I started by painting the base coats on nine new boards for pictures that I have already begun compositions for. They will be of, among others, a fox, a pheasant, an otter, hares and a group of little owls.
I hold two exhibitions a year and each one is centered on a particular theme. This year the plan is to concentrate on British wildlife, which is great because I didn't have to travel far from home for inspiration.
I like to work on several paintings at once because I work with oils and it can take a long time for each coat of paint to dry. So, whilst I'm waiting for one layer to dry, I can be getting on with another.
The base coats pictured here will form the background for each painting, the pale blue colours give me a light base for water and sky, the ochre colours will be perfect for stubble fields.
I'll be putting on photos of these paintings as I develop them, so watch this space!