1) Maggie Roberts - Winter Landscape by Edvard Munch (1915) I know there are some lovely paintings depicting rains and storms, in fact people have already shared some of these, but I was surprised to find this quite peaceful picture by Munch so thought it would be nice to share it. The description from the website says it all!Winter Landscape by Edvard Munch (1915)Painted in the depth of the Norwegian winter, Munch’s placid snowscape is less angst-ridden than his more famous images of vampires or screamers. Yet the unexpectedly colourful ridges of the snow-covered mountains – rivulets of green, blue, and pink – make even this relatively tranquil image hum with the emotion and excitement that characterise his best work.

Maggie Roberts

 

 

 

2) Gill Martin- The Rain it Raineth Every Day by Norman Garstin (1889)

Norman Garstin was Irish but is associated with the Newlyn School of Painters.  He was influenced by Impressionism, Japanese works and James McNeill Whistler. This painting depicts the seafront between Newlyn and Penzance and can be seen at the Penlee Gallery in Penzance.

I like to see the sea coming onto the promenade as in this painting and it reminds me of the exhilaration of such a day.

3) Jean Brookbanks- Paris Street: Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte.

This painting captures the ebb and flow of a 19th century Parisian boulevard. I was attracted to it by the texture of the street cobbles which immediately draw your eye into the picture. Then the light post reflected in the wet road divides the picture into two parts. On one side the main characters are dressed in the latest fashions but to the rear of the picture the people are less well-off and so the artist has embraced the social strata of the time. It is also suggested that the artist had an interest in photography with the definition of the foreground middle and rear of the picture being at different levels. It also fits the notion of the picture as a snapshot of society.

Jean Brookbanks

14) Alison Wilson- Mists Rolling In From The Sea - Elizabeth A Smith PPRSMA

‘An atmospheric morning on the North East Coast.’Elizabeth is a recent Past President of the Royal Society of Marine Artists. I love this painting because it captures the effects of mist or the prevailing climate conditions which generate its formation. Will the sun break through, or will the mist thicken? The water and layers of rocks in the foreground complement the ethereal feeling. Elizabeth and her family moved to the village in N Yorks where my parents lived, in the mid-1970s, taking over a former grocery store and converting it into a gift shop. She developed her painting skills while being at home for her young family, and the gift shop gave her a marketplace. Most of her work initially was of local scenes or still life. By the 1990s, she was well established, contributing to and holding exhibitions of her work. Her preferred medium was, and still is, pastels. We bought the first of our paintings by Elizabeth at this time – while we could afford to do so! She moved to Oxfordshire in 2005 and is still painting and exhibiting.(The above painting is currently for sale in the Mall Galleries in London)

5. Anne Pinnock-

I felt that we needed something uplifting in these current depressing times, so have focused on two rainbow paintingsLandscape with Rainbow, Henley-on-Thames by Jan Siberechts c.1690

One of the most important early landscapes  in the Tate's collection, this view of Henley-on-Thames is one of several the artist made of the subject, the last dated picture being painted in 1698. Such realistic representations of landscape were not prevalent among British artists, and Siberechts's skilful use of light and shadow and meticulous attention to detail reflect his Flemish background. His depiction is not entirely accurate - the view is embellished and the perspective  distorted - but it has an appearance of realism and shows recognisable features. The church on the right of the picture still stands.

Sir Thomas Willoughby, 1st Baron Middleton, commissioned from Siberechts prospects of Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire. Over a number of years, he also commissioned from the artist a series of views of various places in England, including a view looking towards Henley-on-Thames, dated 1692. It is not known if Lord Middleton commissioned this picture as well, or if it was painted with a different audience in mind. Its contemplative nature sets it apart from typical commissioned work.

1And “The Rainbow: Study for 'Bathers at Asnières'”Georges Seurat 1883 (The National Gallery)

This is the only sketch for Seurat’s Bathers at Asnières that includes a rainbow, which was painted over the sky once the paint had dried. Although perhaps a rather contrived image, the mottled sky suggests Seurat may have seen a rainbow. It is evidence of his attention to particular effects of light and atmosphere throughout the sketches – and in the final painting, with its effect of hazy morning sunshine.