Thursday 23 August 2012

Harvest Hare

Oil on Linen Canvas, 16 x 22 inches

Well, it's that time of year, so I had to do a harvest painting didn't I?  This is a view just a couple of hundred yards from my studio over the Chater Valley.  I'm far too young to remember the old corn stooks, but I do like the modern machine-made roly-polys and the patterns they make.  I always think of Jam Swiss Rolls when I see them, like we had when we were kids.

I arranged the composition into a sort of rhomboid shape formed by the setting sun at the top, the bale on the left, the two in the foreground and the ones on the right.  I popped in the Hare for a bit of life, which I did see earlier in the day - wondering where his cover had gone.  Hares of course, though closely related to rabbits, don't live in burrows, but rest in 'forms' made by fidgeting long grass into a Hare shape, and relying on their unbelievable 0-60mph getaway speed if a Fox or human disturbs them.

To make this convincing, it necessitated a prolonged period of concentration (or focus as we're in Olympic times) to get the progression of tones of the banks of trees right, adding more white and blue to the mixes for the more distant layers.

6 comments:

  1. mm can almost smell the corn. The sunset is so convincing, and the different hues for the background trees are so true . I also enjoy reading about your observations on the wildlife. You must feel very lucky to live and work in such a tranquil part of the country. Any news on the dvd yet? Best wishes Ve.

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    1. Thanks again Ve. Rutland is a lovely, quiet part of our land. The DVD is still on the back boiler I'm afraid - just too much exhibition work, but I'll get there.

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    2. If it ever comes off please reserve me one and a calender for 2013 please. Ve

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    3. Will do Ve. I'm looking into Caslendars shortly.

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  2. A classic sunset with a nostalgic story line. A stunning painting in your recognizable style Peter. The receding layers of blues give great depth to the distant horizon. Clever positioning of hay bales leading the viewers eye into the painting. Particularly love the clever cross over of the tractor wheel tracks which break the diagonal furrows direction. Autumn is my favorite season of the year and I can feel the chill in the air on this painting. Regards Trevor

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    1. Thanks Trevor. The only bale I added was the one on the left actually, leaving the others pretty much as they were. I liked the one on the right turned towards the sun, countering the others to help pull the eye back, and as you said, the tractor tracks doing the same. Thanks so much for commenting mate - it means a lot!

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