Neptune, Fountains. Oil on Board 10"x8"
Remarkably the day wasn't wet, it was one of those crisp Autumn days which are ideal for photography, and there were quite a number of visitors with their cameras out. I have to admit the two paintings I did this week are from these photos, as with children whose attention span is like a pair of goldfish, the prospect of sitting and sketching anything for longer than 5 minutes is met with sighs and groans; so out with the camera. OK so it is cheating, but anything for a quiet life...
For both of these I blocked in the colours in the underpainting with acrylics - this was excellent for the job and perfectly formed the base for the oils, and most importantly dried quickly so I could 'get on with it'. I'm curious though - would a purist call this style of underpainting 'cheating' or shrug it off as a timesaver? Regardless, these two were knocked out in two days as I was 'in the zone' and nothing was putting me off. I really enjoyed painting these and although they are small make an excellent pairing.
Temple of Piety, Fountains; Oil on Board 10"x8"
After a stroll round the water garden the plan was to have lunch at the cafe next to the lake, however as it was the only dry Sunday this year, the place was throng and abhorring queueing with everyone else for an overly-expensive sandwich and pot of coffee, a pub lunch for the family was necessary - anything to avoid queues... A couple of miles from Fountains Abbey is an excellent inn, serving wonderful sunday lunches (NOT a carvery - I can't stand carveries, it's another form of queueing after all), and would highly reccomend the Galphay Inn for a post-stroll lunch.
National Trust : Fountains Abbey
The Galphay Inn
