First Snow of Winter

Oil on Board, 7.5 x 10 inches

You'll all have wondered where I've been - have I forgotten how to paint?  Well, I was wondering that same thing myself..not where I've been, because I know that, being me....no, have I forgotten how to paint.  Well, I've been painting....walls and bookcases after building work in my house, but it's been about three weeks since I last daubed some paint on a board.  Still up to my eyeballs in decorating, yesterday we woke to snow on the ground, so the lure was just too strong and I packed up my backpack and got out there.

Yesterday was a bit of a comedic disaster, but more of that later......

Today, I went back to my local river, just four miles from my studio, and trecked some distance and back again before settling on this view.  It was bitterly cold, but the sun came out, so with my back to the gentle breeze, it was actually quite pleasant.  I scrubbed in the composition quickly, speed being of the essence with the days being so short, and plein air painting is always a great challenge; choosing which light effect to put down when the atmosphere and colours change, sometimes quite radically.  The two hours sped by fast and painting on site is a glorious experience, even though half-way through the wind got up, and by the end my fingers were all frostbitten, despite painting with woollen fingerless gloves. Don't worry though people, I sawed them off when I got home, so the pain is gone. 

Here's a view at the end of the painting:

For company during the painting session, a pair of Swans glided by, a Kingfisher shot through with its flash of electric blue, a pair of Moorhens quarked, a pair of Buzzards pewed overhead, and a Snipe wheeled by with its harsh screeching.  You're never alone with a strand.....

There was also a flock of Goldfinches feeding twitteringly on stands of Burdock, prizing out the seeds from the impossibly clingy seedheads.  Can you spot twelve of them here? Click photo to enlarge:

  Alas, no Otters showed up.  By the way, you know why the Otter suffered such a drastic decline in its numbers?  It coincided with the popularity of Indian food in Britain...in particular, the dish most favoured by the Brits, Chicken Tikka Masala, which was superseded by Chicken Tarka Masala.....like Chicken Tikka Masala.....but 'otter.