Swans by the Bridge

Oil on Board, 12 x 17 inches SOLD

This is the final painting destined for the Marine House Gallery stand at the Hong Kong Affordable Art Fair.  

I never tire of painting Swans, and this family group were particularly appealing, the juveniles' plumage echoing the frosted vegetation beautifully.  The dark band of tone on the top right section is actually the embankment of the 'new' concrete bridge over the River Welland at Duddington in Rutland, with the ancient, handsome bridge in the mid distance.  Although ugly in itself, the new bridge cast a nice shadow over the water, with the low morning sun just peaking over the top of it, reflected here in the water, breaking up the area.  As you all know who read this highly entertaining Blog, I love painting the effect of pure sunlight, especially on water, so this was right up my street, or stream...

When you have a river that traverses across the picture plane, there is always the danger of the eye flying out of the picture, but the tree branches on the top left poke the gaze back and the ducks invite you through the bridge arches.  Another bit of the painting I loved depicting was the sunlit steam hovering over the water before the old bridge, achieved mostly with the paint wet, but with a little drybrush afterwards.