In Great Langdale

Oil on Board, 14 x 18 inches

Woh, a handbrake turn for a while, away from the relative flatlands of Rutland, I thought I would do three or four from a trip to the Lakes. This one is in Great Langdale showing the Pikes beautifully lit, with a stripe of sunlight across the mountain and the meadows and bare trees below. 

So many spots of contrast and counterchange here, it was a joy to paint, with lots of 'pow' and drama! I deliberately placed the two Herdwicks right at the bottom of the picture to give the Pikes their majesty, towering into the sky above. I painted the sky and the mountains with a No 5 long flat Hog bristle brush, refining the crags with a long flat chisel-edged Rosemary & Co Series 279 brush. All the trees were painted with either a fan brush for the more distant ones, or a 1" decorator's brush for the nearer ones, augmented with a rigger for the thicker branches.

Lyddington from Bisbrooke Road

Oil on Board, 6 x 8 inches

This morning I was driving slowly the through nearby villages to my studio, and this view struck me as a good subject, with the church splicing the skyline and providing a perfect focal point. So, I parked up, got my plein air kit out of the car and jumped over a ditch into a field and set up to capture the scene.

The view was perfect, with a hazy light, looking directly into the sunlight, but what I hadn't catered for was the gale-force cold north-easterly wind blowing into my back...and neck! After nearly two hours painting, my neck was nearly frozen, despite being dressed up in a thick fur-lined jacket and anorak over the top. So, I packed up having got the painting mostly finished. Having taken off my rucksack from the hook on my tripod which acted as a weighty ballast, the tripod with the painting attached promply blew over, luckily wet-side-up!

I put just a very few finishing touches back in the warmth, and calm, of the studio. Looking forward to the next CALM day outside! 

By the Welland at Wakerley

Oil on Board, 6 x 8 inches

The River Welland trundles through Rutland, and provides an artist like me with a wealth of subject matter. Here, with a ewe and a small gang of lambs munching on the Spring grass near Wakerley was a heaven-sent composition.

With the sunlight coming from the right, behind the bank of trees, the water was bejewelled with sparkles, spotted in with a small rigger or the tip of the palette knife. Most of the tree work was done with my 1" decorator's brush.

Last Hard Frost

 Oil on Board, 6 x 8 inches

As the name suggests, this was the last hard frost of the Winter. Crisp, silver and varying shades of mauve dusting of ice adorned the fields and vegetation - always a joy to paint. The sun broke through the grey, foggy sky, and the perfect vista was complete.

The dark Teasels provided a nice foreground interest, and helped to depict the feeling of spacial depth to the painting.

The Sounds of Evening

Here's a 'video' I recorded last night outside my studio at about 7 o'clock...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igwJ5hcEyVI
...nothing to see, just the sounds of evening, with a Song Thrush hogging the limelight, distant Rooks, Bats if you're young and can hear them, a Tawny Owl (just after 4 mins) Sheep and Cattle, a light aircraft, traffic on the A47 over a mile away, even though it sounds like we're right next to it, and me opening and closing my studio doors! Eat your heart out Chris Watson!

Early Morning, Duddington Bridge

Oil on Board, 6 x 8 inches

Finally back in the studio to paint this little chap, a view of Duddington bridge at about 8 in the morning, with a residual frost and that lovely bit of steam hanging over the water - how could you not paint it!

I love the Winter colours - so many think that Winter is boring with dull colours, lacking the splendour of Summer, but for me, it is equally beautiful, with the subtle greys, mauves and browns of trees and vegetation in their Winter garb, and the yellow of the low sun.