On the beach at De Hann

The girls where playing well on the beach at De Hann (Belgium), although the weather was grey and windy.

On the beach at De Hann - oil on canvas board (6" x 8") by Benoit Philippe

“The harvest is done” - oil painting

Another painting I did last week. The harvest his not yet done in France, so I used one of the photographs I took last August in the North of France (in Vertain, near Valencienne).

“The harvest is done” - oil painting (6" x 8") by Benoit Philippe

Tin pitcher and apples - oil painting

Last week, I went to France and had time to paint. I composed this still life painting around a small tin pitcher I found in the house we were staying in.

Tin pitcher and apples - Oil painting (6" x 8") by Benoit Philippe

The old Cadillac - oil painting

I am continuing my series of Californian paintings, based on the photographs I took durind a US trip with the family, last year in April.

This old Cadillac was parked in Berkeley.

The old Cadillac - Oil painting (45 X 35 cm) by Benoit Philippe

Taxi in China Town - oil painting

This is a scene from San Francisco, just on the border of China Town. I just like these yellow taxis, which bring a dash of colour.

Bluebell wood - Pastel

Pastel of a bluebell wood. I used a Bockingford NOT watercolour paper (425gsm / 200lbs), prepared with two coats of Colorfix pastel gesso. I also started with an underpainting in watercolour.

Bluebell Wood - Pastel (6" x 8") by Benoit Philippe

Summer Walk - Pastel

This field is located not far from Swindon and was superb last summer, against the cloudy blue sky.

Summer walk - pastel (6" x 8") by Benoit Philippe

Heavy snow - Oil painting

A couple of weeks ago, we had some snow. It's all gone now...

Heavy snow - Oil painting (18 x 14") by Benoit Philippe

Dig this!

I recently completed a study called Night roadwork and I announced at the end of the post that I intended to make a larger version of it. This is done now.

Dig this! - Oil on canvas (40 x 40 cm) by Benoit Philippe

The twist I was thinking about was to use the canvas in a non-conventional way. The idea came to my mind by association of ideas. The theme of the painting is roadwork and, as I was holding my square canvas, I thought about road signs, which led me to shift the position of the canvas by 45 degrees to turn my square into a diamond canvas. I will choose a flat frame to mimic the border of a road sign.

Securing the canvas onto the easel was possible, but I had to be gentle on the canvas or to hold the side of the canvas with my hand if I wanted to paint more vigorously.

Oil painting Digger painting Roadwork painting

The old trees

It was good to go do some plein air painting on Sunday (not this one, the 19 January). The weather was cold but dry. I was weary of the wind as a gust of wind can blow-up your canvas from the easel and ruin hours of work, but it did not happen.

The old trees – Oil on canvas (16 x 12) by Benoit Philippe

There is something special about capturing nature on site. You get a more concise vision, a more coherent painting. As you have less time at your hand (the light is changing fast at this time of the year), you have to concentrate on the design and simplify your brush work.

For this painting, I used only three hog brushes: one flat, one round and a filbert - No rigger or small pointy brush.

My palette reduced to eight colours:

• Titanium White


• Cadmium Yellow Pale


• Cadmium Red


• Alizarin Crimson
• Cerulean Blue


• Phtalo Blue


• Ultramarine Bleu


• Bloxx green (equivalent to Viridian Green)

You will note that there is only one green. To compensate, I introduced an additional blue (Phtalo Blue is not one I generally use, but it gives some beautiful deep greens). Also, I didn’t use any earth colour. This is probably the influence of a recent article I wrote on Monet’s palette.

Night roadwork - oil painting

I took the photograph I used as reference material last year in the town centre of Munich, with my mobile phone's camera. I was wondering if I would get anything in these night conditions, but the digger with the projectors looked good in the night. This is the advantage of digital photography, you can experiment and, if it does not work, there is no consequence.

I was pleasantly surprised with the result. Because the camera is only a 2 milion pixels one, the photograph looks grainy. Far from being a drawback, the lack of definition enhances the view and also makes it easier not to paint is a photographic manner.

Night roadwork - oil painting (24 X 19 cm) by Benoit Philippe

I think I will try a larger format of the same painting... with a twist. More on this later.

Morning snow

Snow is a rare event in the South of England. It generally happens when I am travelling and it does not last. I was in luck last week as, one morning, everything was white. I took the digital camera and, on my way to work, I shot many pictures in the park.




Here is a painting I did this week-end based on one of the photographs.

Morning snow - Oil on canvas (25 x 30 cm) by Benoit Philippe

A teapot and a visit to the Louvre

The Teapot - oil on panel (6" x 8") by Benoit Philippe

The Louvre from the Tuileries Garden in Paris

A Parisian breakfast and a visit to Versailles

Paris would not be Paris without fresh croissants... Hard to paint while resisting the temptation to eat it.

Parisian breakfast - oil on panel (6" x 8") by Benoit Philippe

We went to Versailles on Monday, but the castle was closed to visitors. I had the time to sketch one of the statues at the entrance, as we were waiting for everyone to arrive.

We had a good walk in the park of the castle. No flower at this time of the year, but still an impressive estate with its water canals, lakes and buildings.

Happy Christmas to everyone!

Morning break

A cup of coffee and a newspaper... ready for a morning break.

Morning break - Oil on panel (6" x 8") by Benoit Philippe

Yosemite's snow - oil painting

During our trip to the US this year, we went in the Yosemite National Park for a few days. The beauty and the scale of nature are hard to describe.


We went on a walk to see the Giant Sequoia. I was pleased to find places where the snow was still there. I havested plenty of subjects with my digital camera.

Yosemite's Snow - Oil on canvas (12" x 10") by Benoit Philippe

In order to get luminous colours, I painted the white canvas with a coat of vermillion acrylic paint before starting.

Fruitful Sunday (oil paintings)

Some fruits picket out of our weekly delivery...

Dragon fruit - Oil painting (6" x 8") by benoit Philippe

Three plums - Oil painting (6" x 8") by benoit Philippe

Three birch trees - Oil painting

The sky was grey, but you can't really wait for the ideal weather to go out and do some plein air painting....

Three birch trees - Oil painting (6" x 8") by Benoit Philippe

Chrysanthemums and apples

Chrysanthemums and apples - oil on canvas (46 cm X 38 cm) by Benoit Philippe

I set-up this still life in our dining room. The bowl came from Russia. After the first session from life, I re-worked this painting many times and over several months, adding the apple on the left and the two paintings in the background.

I also paid a particular attention to texture (using painting knives as well as hard and soft brushes) and edges.

Morning walk in the the vineyard

I painted this scene from some reference photograph I took in Assas (South of France).

Morning walk in the the vineyard - Oil on canvas (6"x8") by Benoit Philippe