Adam Ralston Towards Westminster, oil, 113⁄4╳
113⁄4in (30╳
30cm). See more of Adam’s work at www.adamralston.co.uk
If you were in London at the beginning of December you may well have seen artists around Trafalgar Square braving the elements to paint in the busy capital. Fifty artists turned up on a grey and blustery day to take part in the annual Royal Institute of Oil Painters’ Paint Live event, run in association with The Artist magazine and Cass Art. Participating artists spent the day painting en plein air, before the judges – ROI members Ken Howard and Tony Merrick, and the president, Ian Cryer, selected the winners at the end of the day.
Overall winner, Adam Ralston, travelled down from Blackpool to take part in the event. ‘My train was delayed by an hour, so by the time I got to the Mall Galleries to register, I shot straight out to Trafalgar Square, where I painted my first picture (below) from a balcony looking down Whitehall. The sun came out briefly, but it was mainly a grey day.