Reclaimed Pine

Oil on Linen Canvas, 16 x 22 inches

Yes, I know, I've painted a snow scene on one of the warmest days of the year, but I want to do some wintry paintings for my forthcoming exhibition in November, and the catalogue deadline is looming large.

The focal point for this composition is the magnificent Scots Pine, the top half of its trunk a sunlit orange against the blue sky.  The brightest part of the painting is the pure Titanium white of the sunlit snow in the field over the far bank of the river, but it's interesting to note how dark the shadowed banks of snow appear in comparison.

This isn't a painting, but it is another wildlife photo.  I met Mike Challoner from Picture Post at 7 o'clock this morning on the A1 at Stamford, to give him 5 paintings to take to the Mall Galleries for the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA) Exhibition selection committee.  The paintings have already gone through the digital pre-selection process, so fingers crossed 4 might be accepted finally (a maximum of 4 are allowed from non-members).  

Anyway, I digress.....having dropped off the pictures, I went down to the millstream of the river Welland for an early morning look at what was going on.  The geese and ducks were busy preening and waking up and a few were having a dabble in the very shallow water, disturbing the mud on the bottom.  Then, I noticed a large fish mooching about beneath the ducks.  Thinking it was a big Chub of about 8 lbs, I then spotted the dorsal fin was set back near the tail fin and realised it was a Pike!  I took this snap of the great fish before it disappeared in the murk and you can just make out its characteristic form.  I was really surprised to see such a big predator in such shallow water, less than a foot deep.  For that reason, I felt he deserved a mention and a profile on my blog.