I entered 2 paintings for the Bath Prize and this one below won the 'Purchase Prize'. In this case the owners of the cafe in the Market had offered to buy the painting they liked best. Several people took on the challenge, and it was actually my stipulated place to paint so I had no option (in the competition, they assign each artist to a particular place, selected from about 35 locations around The City of Bath).
At the start I felt a bit out of my element as I like painting in the open, but persevered, trying to capture something of the diffused but sometimes strong light in the space, as the intensity of the sun waxed and waned through the day. This was done over two sessions, with the help of two double cappucion's kindly donated by Mike and Wendy. (the injection of caffeine may have given me an unfair advantage - thankfully, there was no caffeine test!:)
A view of the market below ....
and many people enjoyed being photographed with the Queen :-)
Someone said that if one patted the pig's nose, it brought luck. So I did later, quickly, feeling silly - but I won the prize so there you go! Should have more faith
My other painting was done from Parade Gardens, below Poultney Bridge. Here is the first study under way, after starting I realized I needed a wider format
The final painting below felt a bit forced and I think the study had more life.