The Prophet, 8" x 9", Oil on Mountboard.

I love faces and I really love interesting faces, especially the people I meet on the street who happen to be total strangers to me! What normally happens is, If I meet some who I really find interesting. I simply beg them for the opportunity to paint them. Sometimes they agree and sometimes they don't. But I'm always really pleased when they do!

This guy, Paul, agreed. I used a the "Inside-Out Technique" which means I start from somewhere inside the face and I gradually spread out, making sure I bring each shape to completion before moving to the next stage.

The Prophet (detail), 8" x 9", Oil on Mountboard, 2015

Alla Prima Techinque: Inside out-"Rain, Rain, Rain, Trafalgar Square"

Rain, Rain, Rain, Trafalgar Square, 10" x 8", Oil on Board, SOLD

In this post I would like to explain in full detail, my process of painting a typical Urban Rainy Day in London.

I love rainy days because of the reflections and subtle greys but most importantly, I love them because it gives me the opportunity to test my drawing skills while painting. 

Painting shape by shape in the "Inside Out" Technique can be very tricky if one has not constantly worked on one's drawing skills. I believe everything in painting in this representational manner comes down to great drawing skills.

So this is more of a drawing exercise than a painting, so to speak. If I can get every painting stroke right, then I am indirectly drawing with colour. Once I  mix the right colour, I just need to be sure that I can place it correctly in the right position on the  painting ground. This is exciting because, one is looking forward to how the painting is going to shape out. When I work this way, I  work with a lot of anticipation and it keeps me interested in the work till the very last stroke is laid on the surface.

 Stage 1- I love being organic and going into my painting  without any grids. But when I take on complicated scenes like this, I like to make sure everything is right where it is, especially when I am working from a particular photo reference. I  am using a 10" x 8" Masonite board, which I have primed with gesso. I use about 3 to 4 coats of gesso mixed with a particular acrylic base of colours that helps kill off the stark white feel of the original gesso. The colours  I like to add to it range form Burnt Sienna, to Cadmium red  with some Ultramarine Blue and Yellow Orche. The particular consistency/proportion is not really important, I just make sure that I have a warm, light mixture which is quite light brownish or pinkish or even peachy, depending on what I am painting. The grids are drawn on with a blue coloured pencil and I start a bit of the drawing with a very soft 2B pencil.

Stage 2- This is the most important stage. Here, I make sure that I nail the drawing down to the best of my ability. Accuracy is everything. Nothing is taken for granted. I don't care how long this takes, because form experience I  have learnt that if I rush through this stage, it will ruin the painting and the painting would not have a good base and strong drawing foundation. Once the drawing is faulty the painting will go wonky! You can also see that I have used different hatching for the shading in some areas. This is to help me in  understanding the kind of painting strokes I'll be laying on the surface later on. I do this because it's drawing that helps me to understand painting. We as painters are all different in the way we interpret our  skills and communicate our methods, and I have noticed that I understand everything about painting through drawing. At this point I have enough drawing on the board and I'm ready to take off with colour.

These are the colours on my palette. I use from left to right- Titanium White, Lemon yellow, Naples yellow, Cadmium Yellow pale, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Yellow Orche, Cadmium Red, Terra Rosa, Alizarin Crimson, Transparent Red Oxide, Cobalt Blue,  Dioxanzine Purple, Viridian Green and Ultramarine Blue.

Stage 3- Because this is alla prima, it's always best to start from the back of the painting and carefully and silently come forward, it's quite like walking from the distance into the foreground. So I always start with the sky first, then any other thing that comes after the sky goes first. It works easier for me this way, because it creates an easier sequence to work with. My best greys are mixtures of Alizarin and Viridian. I also love Transparent Red Oxide and Viridian, they are the most combined mixtures I used here. The sky was a mixture of White, Cobalt Blue and Alizarin Crimson. At this stage you can notice that everything in the background is given the uttermost attention. I make sure I complete the building ever before I attempt the tree, even though I leave some vague spaces where the outlines of the drawing lines have been. The key is to make sure the initial background passages are not thick but lean paint.

Stage 4- My main focus here was the intermediary road between the building and the pavements in the foreground. The addition of the cars too, add some spice to this area. This road is very important because its darker in value than the building but its cooler than the pavements which have reflections. For all my cool mixtures I add Alizarin Crimson and Cobalt Blue, I can never get enough of these. Looking at these stages makes you see how this technique can be really interesting as it just creeps up from distance.

Stage 5- This was the most enjoyable part of the painting, painting the reflections. The key is to make sure that the edges between the shapes are soft and lost. Nothing must be defined. Once the overall shapes are laid in. then come the shiny lines to depict pavement lines. The horizontal lines must come in last. You can see how I have left out the statues. This is purposely done to create a better feel of three dimension as they stand in front of most of the main shapes in the painting.

Stage 6-The main focus here was completing the middle statue . It looks trivial but putting it in, really helps the middle area of the painting to look perfectly complete. The only sore spot in the painting is the base of the front statue. You notice than the painting almost looks complete without even painting the base of the Statue in front.

Stage 7-final stage- Here the base is completed with the lone figure being the last thing I paint in front of the base of the Statue. It was Ken Howard, a master of painting reflections that said dark things appear lighter and light things appear darker in reflections.

 I AM GOING TO BE HAVING A WORKSHOP ON THE "URBAN LANDSCAPE" on the 24TH OF MARCH, 2018.  FOR MORE DETAILS, PLEASE CLICK HERE 

I hope you enjoyed this process. It's the way I paint complicated scenes. I am very methodical in handling this kind of work and I have to be focused from the beginning to the end.
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Summerlight, Westfield Park (23) Chelsea Marathon

This is number 23 in the Chelsea Marathon!

Summerlight, Westfield Park, 10" x 8", Oil on board

 To purchase this painting please Click HERE

It was a summer day and I was really in the grove, I hadn't done plein air for a while and this time I got into that swing!

The whole set-up just before painting starts

I set out to Westfield Park, very near to my studio and I went for the trees, you can never get it wrong with the trees, especially when there's shade, sun and a bit of architecture in the background!

The picture of the scene as the camera sees it from where I was positioned

I set up and sang while I painted! I love painting but this time I just put on my sketching hat and sketched with colour!

Adebanji painting the scene at Westfield Park

The method I used here is called , "OUTSIDE-IN"- where I start with broad strokes of the whole picture and then finish off with details inside the piece.

The full palette and the colours mixed  on the pochade box

My painting Box for those of you who have asked is the Medium Fresh Resistance Pochade Box, just click on the link and see the details.

The materials, everything after the session

SPECIAL QUOTE
"I want you to see things from the realization that your drawing does not need to be a house. the view that you must take is a piece of God's outdoors, that this is shadow and this is light. You ought to be able to tremble before it, and not sit down like a magician and try to make windows." -Hawthorne on Painting

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Two Paintings of Kings Road (21, 22) Chelsea Marathon

21. Summer Light, Chelsea World's End, 10" x 8", Oil on Board

Summer Light, Chelsea World's End, 10" x 8", Oil on Board

 If interested in purchasing this painting, please click HERE

 One of the great places in Chelsea, The Chelsea World's End. I love Chelsea, I love painting these scenes that I see commuting everyday on the way to my studio. 

I just hope I can continue painting these scenes, I see so many different scenes that interest me everyday and I don't think I'll ever run out for scenes to paint in this Chelsea area.

Adebanji painting the Chelsea World's End

In this plein air piece I have used my 6" x 8" guerrilla Thumbbox.

My tripod that I use to prop it up is the MTL9351B Tripod 

My Tripod Head is MH5011

I use brushes from Rosemary Brushes





22. The Flower Shop on Kings Rd (22) Chelsea Marathon

The Flower Shop on Kings Rd (22) Chelsea Marathon, 10" x 8", Oil on Board

 If interested in purchasing this painting, please click HERE

This was painted on a grey day.

The drawing of the scene before the painting commences.

It was one of those paintings that I made sure I nailed the drawing properly and firmly before taking off.

Adebanji's Set up with the completed painting and the scene on Kings Road.

SPECIAL QUOTE
"Plein Air or Outdoor painting, the best way to learn how to see!"- Adebanji Alade

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The First 20 Paintings and Drawings of Chelsea (My Chelsea Marathon)

This has been a great discovery!

The journey of painting and drawing scenes around  the Chelsea area.

I thought I would have finished these quite earlier than this but I learned along the way that I am better with a slower pace and more quality work. I keep striving to improve and making sure that I get the spirit and the feel of atmosphere or light in any particular scene I approach.

Adebanji Alade's Chelsea Marathon- The First 20 paintings and drawings

 If interested in purchasing any of these paintings or drawings please contact me via email

Adebanji painting number 7

Sometimes I just paint a place because I love it, no more, no less. I have painted or drawn places that bring sweet memories. Or places I have passed through that resonate with my spirit.

Adebanji painting number 12

I love Chelsea, the people, the places, the scenes. And hopefully in the next few pieces, I might decide to include people.

Adebanji painting number 3

SPECIAL QUOTE
"Most people think I paint fast. I paint very slowly."-Claude Monet

Enchanting Nocturne Reflections, Albert Bridge (13) Chelsea Marathon

This is Number 13 on Friday!!!!

Well this is the well known and remarkable Albert Bridge at night!

Enchanting Nocturne Reflections, Albert Bridge (13) Chelsea Marathon, 10" x 8", Oil on Board

I have painted this nocturne twice at night before and I bet the shall be more because the place is just so beautiful at night!

My strokes in this one were really bold, I worked in pure alla prima to capture the essence of the scene.

I can never tell what gets people loving this bridge but it is one of my favourites!

SPECIAL QUOTE
"The night is a wonderful time to capture in paint, everything is about tone and temperature"-Adebanji Alade

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Awakening Statue, Roper's Garden (12) Chelsea Marathon, 10" x 8", Oil board

This is number 12 of my current series of paintings and drawings of the Chelsea area.

Awakening Statue, Roper's Garden (12) Chelsea Marathon, 10" x 8", Oil board

I visited this garden once or twice in the past and I always thought this was a great place to relax.

But this time around I wasn't going to miss out including it in my Chelsea Marathon!

That's the business taking place in full speed!

I went there on a nice spring evening with my plein-air gearocycle and just got down to painting it!

It was a great day as I also sang while I painted!

Reference pic of the scene, I should have taken it when the light was booming!

But before long the clouds changed and the rains were warning of its arrival, so I had to stop and get going.

The whole set up of my "plein-air gearocycle"

SPECIAL QUOTE
"The scene does not to be painted EXACTLY how it is! One has to have an inborn editor which takes and adds to the scene to give it the right visual appeal."-Adebanji Alade

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Stones at Westfield Park (7) Chelsea Marathon, 10" x 8", Oil on board

This was a scene I couldn't resist painting.

It's number 7 in the current series of the Chelsea Marathon!

Stones at Westfield Park, 10" x 8", Oil on board

 To Purchase this painting please click HERE

I had nursed the feeling for a while but this time it wasn't going to last!

Adebanji painting at Westfield Park, Chelsea

I am happy I went to do it because it really got it off my chest, which is what happens to me when I finally get to do a painting of a place that I have always longed to do.

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

I was very much inspired by the stones and the lavender coloured tree! I just found a way of making the whole thing work in one piece.

Hopefully I'll do the drawing of this scene too!

SPECIAL QUOTE
"The paintings are a spontaneous response to the day as it unfolds and are usually completed alla prima in a couple of hours- on site or in the studio."- Julian Merrow-Smith

Morning Greys, Lots Road Pub and Dining Rooms (4) Chelsea Marathon

Here comes number 4!

 The Chelsea Marathon continues.

Morning Greys, Lots Road Pub and Dining Rooms, 10" x 8", Oil on board

 To purchase this painting please click HERE

This time I'm on Lots Road again and it's the lovely bend on Lots Road that caught my attention. I really love architecture and this one is just a typical example why.

Adebanji Alade painting Lots Road Pub and Dining Rooms

 Just the lovely curve and the broad sky around it on an early Saturday morning was just everything I needed to get me down there with my plein air gear!

SPECIAL QUOTE
"Things out of doors are very much of a  silhouette -Silhouettes and patterns are always vital whatever the conditions of light so long as we can see at all."-Charles Webster Hawthorne

That Evening Feeling, Lots Road Pumping Station (3) Chelsea Marathon

This is the third piece in the current series of paintings and drawings around Chelsea.



I have returned to the area around my studio which is around Lots Road.

That Evening Feeling, Lots Road Pumping Station, 8" x 10", Oil on Board

 To purchase this painting please click HERE

This is another view I can't believe I haven't painted for 10 years since being in this area.

Adebanji painting Evening Feeling, Lots Road Pumping Station

I just love the contrast of the warm red brick against the cool effects of the overall picture.

SPECIAL QUOTE
" If a particular place around where you live or work strikes a chord within your spirit, don't waste time, go out and paint it! If you don't, that place will haunt you all your life!"-Adebanji Alade

Morning Light Kings Road (2) Chelsea Marathon

This my second shot at the Chelsea Marathon.

Here I have used Graphite which is my best medium!

Morning Light, Kings Road, 8" x 10", Graphite on Paper.

To purchase this piece click HERE

I worked purely indoors for this one.

The ability to get the effects of sunlight with graphite lies wholly on the manipulation of tones to suit the scene. When using graphite in landscapes, the one thing missing is temperature. It's only based on tones and I really love tones.

Reference Picture for Morning Light Kings Road

The reference for this picture was taken from a Bus 11 while on the a journey along Kings Road.

SPECIAL QUOTE
"The works executed in the studio brings everything one has learned while drawing and painting outdoors.-Adebanji Alade

Morning Light, Lots Road Power Station (1) Chelsea Marathon

This is the first piece in the Chelsea Marathon.

Morning Light, Lots Road Power Station, Oil on board, 10" x 8" SOLD

 If Interested in purchasing this painting Click Here

I have been at my studio at Lots Road for almost 10 years and I haven't painted this scene. This is why this marathon comes in handy because it helps me to be able to take up some places that are nearby but never really explored with paint.

Adebanji painting the scene.

This building has been here for a while!  I really love the colours of the paint that has been stripped back from the construction works going on. I decided to capture the effect of the light in the morning as it pours out from behind.

This is the painting set up on Lots Road

SPECIAL QUOTE
"The process alone is worth the effort"- Scott Christensen

THE CHELSEA MARATHON (Introduction)

The Chelsea Marathon is here!! 

Morning Light, Albert Bridge from Battersea Bridge, 8" x 6", Oil on Gessoed Card SOLD

Now, you all must have heard of my Bath Marathon and my mini-York Marathon! I had to travel far to get those done. But from tomorrow, the 8th of April till the 8th of May. I'll be running a Chelsea Marathon!

Rainy Day, Kings Road, 10" x 8", Oil on board, SOLD

This is no real race! But it's more of a painting endurance race! I'll be looking to produce 60 paintings and drawings during this period. The works will be done indoors and outdoors. All the works will be focusing on my favourite spots  in Chelsea. My studio is in Chelsea and I am so used to the place, but sometimes you can be used to place and never really explore and do justice to painting it.

Whistler Statue, Evening Light, 6" x 8", Oil on board Available

They will all be sized 8" x 10" (inches). Either oil on board, or watercolour/gouache/ drawings on paper

Morning Light, Sloane Square, 10" x 8", Oil on board SOLD

I am exploring my local area, the historical places, the trendy places, the River Thames, the Bridges, the gardens, the roads, especially Kings Road, the shops and stores and the people everything I can get in!

Rain, Rain, London Streets, Sloane Square, 8" x 10", Oil on board Available

It's also an opportunity  for anyone out there to buy the works they love. I'll be posting at least one work here, during this period and I'll also be having them up for sale. if interested in any painting or drawing, just drop an email to me.  They'll also be available on daily paintworks.
The works will be published on this blog everyday from the 1st of May. Stay tuned!

Morning Light Chelsea Riverside, 10" x 8", Oil on board Available

I'm looking forward to this and stay tuned as you'll be enjoying some of my favourite spots in and around the Chelsea area!

SPECIAL QUOTE -"GET OUT THERE AND JUST PAINT!"-Adebanji Alade