Jacky Barn

Another fantastic summer’s day and another opportunity to get out and record another part of the countryside, in fact it was probably the zenith in terms of weather for this summer in this part of England. Salaber’s Barn (locally known as Jacky Barn) is a typical stone-built Dales’ Barn just off the Pennine Way track past the Crown Inn, Horton. These stone barns adorn many a landscape painting of the area, but rarely as a study in themselves. I find them incredibly interesting, each Dale seems to have its own style, in terms of layout and this one is typical for North Ribblesdale. The workmanship of some of these barns is simply outstanding, and there are hundreds scattered all over the place, some are in a sorry state of repair. No worries (I thought) about people looking over myshoulder at this one, as I plonked myself down in a fairly empty field, empty that is apart from the sheep.

 "Jacky Barn" 8"x6" Oil on board

I found painting this one fairly easy, and rather enjoyable, and I was completely oblivious to how hot the sun was. This ended in burnt legs and arms, again I learned another (painful) lesson, one which I am bound to repeat… Half-way through the pochade the sound of a quad-bike, cursing and sheep calls broke out. I should have realised that most of these sheep in this field had yet to be shorn, and up rolls Steve with his dogs rounding up the sheep, not an easy task as I know how stupid sheep are, but the dogs set to the work effortlessly. He had a long look at the painting and as it was clearly unfinished he took a breath, and asked if there was any chance I could paint the complete roof, as it was one thing on his long to-do lists… the time of day was passed and he was off on his way. That’s the thing about painting in the open, anyone passing will not be aware of what stage the painting is at and therefore won’t pass comment, and if they do it’s always positive. I implore people to get out and paint, and not to be put off by what others think. I know artists who work predominantly from photos, and I think they are missing a whole part of the spectrum, but yes it does take nerve to ‘perform’.

The sheep in the foreground was just a memory by the time I painted it in, and I think I have done it justice. Overall the pochade took about 2 hours, and to be honest I never felt any time passing.