Autumn Larch by Buttermere

Oil on board 10 x 14 inches

A yellow/orange tree set against a mauve/grey backdrop of mountains - what's not to paint! By the steep shores of Buttermere in the Lake District, a beautiful part of our country and an artist's paradise.

The sky, backdrop and water were all painted with hogs and softer flats, then my 1 inch decorator's brush came into its own, with lots of texture pushed in with that gorgeous colour of the foreground tree...yummy! And those dark tussocks of grass were also pushed in wwith the same brush, as was the rest of the grassy bank.

River Brathay in Little Langdale

Oil on board, 10 x 14 inches

The beauty of the Lake District is astounding, and I'm asking myself why I haven't painted it more. I guess because I live in middle England, but I can feel another trip coming on...

I painted this from a reference photo taken a few years ago from exactly this time of year, with just a hint of Autumn colours appearing. How can you not be drawn to paint this glorious place in our country? 

I used my 1" decorator's brush for most of the painting apart from the distant mountains. Sometimes I think I should use conventional brushes like my esteemed colleagues, but then maybe it's my stamp, and whenever I do try to use them beyond the underpainting, it never looks as I want, so maybe I should just accept that it's my way, and contrary to opinion, it's fast, too.