Wash Dub Fold

Wash Dub Fold, Oil on Board 12in x 10in. Framed.

Up the relatively secluded valley of Crummackdale is this little gem. Two clapper bridges span the infant Austwick Beck at a place called Wash Dub Fold. Before the days of chemical pesticides, local farmers would herd their sheep down to this place and dam the stream, utilising the pool beneath the single slabbed bridge as a sheep dip. I have to admit I have omitted the bench which in reality allows a wonderful view and a pleasant picnic site halfway up this beautiful, little visited dale.

Pendle Hill from Norber Erratics

Pendle from Norber, Oil on Board 8" x 6"

Geomorphology lesson: Glacial Erratics are defined as rocks of a different nature to the native geology to where they are found. These massive boulders were deposited by the retreating ice sheets around 12,000 years ago, some of these are on limestone pedestals, like golfballs on their tees, this is caused by the erratic being of a different geological composition protecting the ground on which it stands from the effects of chemical weathering hence the surrounding land level had dropped.

It is a fascinating place, and very popular amongst landscape photographers, and indeed I was spoilt as to which one to paint. I eventually settled on these, looking south against the light, plus there was the added bonus of there being a table-shaped boulder on which I could empty all my stuff and happily perch to paint. Most of this was painted on site, but due to concerns about frostbite and exposure, hypothermia etc I decided to finish it off in the studio once I had defrosted.

Wharfe

The View to Wharfe. Oil on Board 10" x 8"

The name Whafe is derived from the Old Norse hverfr which is loosely translated as winding river, or bend, this view is painted from the Wood Lane track, to the south east of Austwick looking towards the pretty little hamlet of Wharfe, in the late autumn sunlight. I tried to capture the tonal changes associated with this time of year and with the use of counterchange bring the view to life. The hill in the distance is looking towards the Moughton plateau, an upland limestone block with some fantastic limestone pavements and karst features.

Salmon Run, Stainforth Foss

Salmon Run, Stainforth Foss, Oil on board 12" x 12"

Salmon Run, Stainforth Foss 12" x 12" Oil on Board. Painted from a photo taken at this year's Salmon Run up the Ribble. It's still incredible to think that these creatures, born and bred in the gravel beds of the upper reaches of the river, spend most of their mature lives out at sea, and then return by some almost magical process (known as magnetoception) to their own childhood home, to spawn and die... and that without the use of GPS or maps... I know we should not put human values on the life cycle of animals - but it is still amazing!

Lost in Wharfe

Lost in Wharfe, Oil on board 8" x 10"

Wharfe is a tiny hamlet about a mile east of Austwick, the only settlement in the ridiculously pretty little Crumackdale, one of the lesser known and least visited of the Yorkshire Dales. The couple in the painting were constantly looking at their map to check their route through this metropolis... I managed a snap of them when they resolved their orienteering difficulties down the leaf-strewn paths of the hamlet.

Where the Ducks Play Football

Where the Ducks Play Football,  Oil on Board 19" x 12"

Autumn light, Ilkley Moor

Ilkley is the start (or finish) to the Dales Way, so I guess it can be included in the Dales Landscapes category. The painting tries to capture the low fading light of the sun setting behind the mass of gritstone that makes up Ilkley Moor. The tor-like outcrops of Millstone Grit are the famous Cow and Calf rocks, and it is a place very close to my heart. As a kid I remember getting fish and chips from Harry Ramsdens at Guiseley, heading up on to the moors for our picnic, and afterwards exploring the rocks and quarries beyond. The title of the piece is taken from one of the adlib additions to the Yorkshire Anthem, On Ilkley Moor Ba'tat, a song that every self-respecting Yorkshireman knows off by heart!

Stainforth Foss

T'Foss (Stainforth) - Oil on Board 19" x 12"

Incorrectly called Stainforth 'Force' by the OS, the Foss is a series of waterfalls over which the Ribble flows, in summer it's the watery playground of a plethora of 'youth', in late Autumn its one of the gathering point for fishwatchers as the salmon struggle their way upstream to the headwaters of the river for the purpose of procreation (this I can never understand). It is an iconic place and a fairly iconic image, as it has been painted and sketched a number of times. But I can safely say this is the first painting since the bridge has been fixed (this time). The packhorse bridge is only 6foot wide at the parapet, and despite warning signs to the effect, it still doesn't stop people attempting to cross it in their Chelsea tractors.

Long Lane

Long Lane, Oil on Board 12" x 10"

Got to be honest, it's not much of an inspiring view, but it kind of typifies the grassy, sedgy, dismal moorlands that we get up here above the limestone outcrops. I had been battling with aerial perspoective and recession with colours and tones, and I think I may have nailed it here. Still I have got to get to grips with photographing my work, it never looks the same.

Langcliffe Scar

Langliffe Scar - Oil on Board 8" x 10"

Last Sunday I managed to prise the various gadgets from the hands of the children and force them on a routemarch out of the house and down to Settle, a massive distance of about 3 1/2 miles of total non-stop moaning and whinging, and for a few brief moments, enjoyment. The bribe was, tea and cake at the Naked Man Cafe in Settle, followed by a lift home. It was an absolute stunning morning, the path from the farm at Winskill down to Langcliffe was throng with runners, students, old-time ramblers and the all-too-common furry coo. Of course I wasn't allowed to sit and paint, that would be too much, so I managed to capture this image of the Scar in the last throes of summer from the footpath down towards the pretty little village of Langcliffe.

T'Gate t'foss

T'Gate t'foss - Oil on Board 8" x 6"

Not really much to say about this, it's a gate through which a footpath winds its way through woodland down to Catrigg Foss (Foss - a local term for waterfall, from the Norse, roughly translated to and incorrectly written as Force by the Ordnance Survey). The canopy of trees gives the whole area an ethereal quality as you descend the steps to the waterfall at the bottom, which is surely one of Ribblesdale's must-sees. Unfortunately there is no 'proper' circular path and you must return through this gate, this is where the light hits you, and on a sunny summers day it takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust to the glare. I didn't go out of my way to capture this moment, but hopefully there is a feeling of it here in this painting.

How Hill

How Hill - Oil on Board 8" x 6"

Another trek across the Pennines resulted in about 60kg of apples and a couple of paintings, one a pochade is waiting to dry before being 'touched up' and this one of How Hill, painted from a photo. I guess I am allowed to paint this from a photo as I spent over an hour observing the scene while painting the other pochade. How Hill was orginally a chantry chapel, part of the old Fountains Abbey estate, the tower that is still standing was built on the site of the chapel in  around 1720 and was used as a gaming house. Historic England has a great deal to say on the matter How Hill Chapel link. All that said, it was well worth the journey across the hills, although I have to crush and squash all them apples now...

Top of Goat Scar Lane

Top of Goat Scar Lane -  Oil on Board 8" x 6"

I have been suffering of late, from a bit of 'painters block' with my aerial perspective... I don't know why - all of a sudden it feels like the recession in the paintings just doesn't work right. I know all the facts, I generally adhere to the rules, but aerial perspective has been a bit of an 'issue' - hence the reason there are a few pochades recently with little distance, this one however has - in order to get out of my comfort zones of water and bridges! This one - I have manned-up and gone for it albeit in a very simplistic way and stuck to the rules. The view is at the top of Goat Scar Lane, looking towards the west and the Ribble valley, beyond the gate to the right is the path down to Catrigg Foss, one of the many 'not to miss' sights of this part of the world.

Stainforth Beck

Stainforth Beck - Oil on Board 8" x 6"

Just below the waterfall at Catrigg Foss, the Stainforth Beck, a tributary of the Ribble flows through a rarely visited patch of woodland. This was a pochade painted in around an hour (with a little touching-up in the studio afterwards). I tried to convey the peace and serenity of the little stream as it tumbles down the valley to the village of Stainforth some 1/2 mile away.

Bridge 170 - Gargrave

Bridge 170 - Oil on Board 8" x 6"

Catchy title ! Simply the 170th bridge on the Leeds Liverpool canal, otherwise known as Higherland Bridge (and locks) at Gargrave. The bridge itself was built around 1790, and the whole length of the canal finally all joined up in around 1816. Canal enthusiasts will notice the white stones surrounding the arch, which enabled the bargemen to judge the width of the canal, real canal enthusiasts will notice that I had omitted a vertical white line above the middle of the arch to enable the bargemen to see where the center of the canal was, and it was only during the research of writing this did I actually  realise how important an omission this was... so for those canal enthusiasts - sorry...

In the Shadow of the Viaduct

Packhorse Bridge - Dent Head Viaduct - Oil on Board 8" x 6"

Beneath the Dent Head Viaduct sits this little packhorse bridge spanning the Fell End Gill, overshadowed by the pillars of the Dent Head Viaduct. The pochade was painted en plein-air last week, and as summer turned to autumn I certainly could feel the chill. The bridge was in danger of total collapse some 5 or 6 years ago when a stone mason Pete Roe from Swaledale took upon its restoration, and thankfully saved this wonderful little structure for a few more generations.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/may/09/country-diary-dentdale-yorkshire-dales

Bad Bend Blackberries

Blackberries - Oil on Board 8" x 6"

A quick pochade of Mrs B risking life and limb picking blackberries for a record 16 pots of jam, which should keep us going through the winter. This was more about testing out a new (to me) technique of quickly blotting down the basic tones using W&N Promarkers and then applying the paint. I don't know about you, but I like to try things out before reading about other people's horror stories about doing exactly what I had just done - same with these Promarkers. I just bought the 2, a grey and a black in order to build a 3-point of tone to my sketch, and they worked like a dream, even better in fact as I went over the rough pencil sketch with the grey tone and the pencil didn't run or discolour the oil paint. So far I am glad to report - no nasties have appeared, (such as the alcohol based marker leaching through the finished painting).

Ok so its not strictly in the Dales National Park but near enough...

Flascoe Bridge, Austwick - Pochade

Flascoe Bridge, Austwick - Pochade 8" x 6" Oil on Board

Flascoe Bridge near Austwick is a wonderful example of a stone clapper bridge, a very basic bridge type of large stone slabs on stone piers. It was supposedly built in the later middle ages (15th Century) over Autswick beck, and the adjoining ford provides vehicular access along the green lane which connects the small hamlet of Feizor to the massive metropolis of Austwick.

While I was sat there, a number of dog walkers brought their pooches for a paddle in the beck, and with the heat of yesterday all of them were thankful for a refreshing dip; making me think about a larger version of this.

This was painted en plein-air yesterday, however I threw in a figure strolling across the bridge, and when I got back to the studio to scrutinize what I had done it became apparent that the figure didn't look right, so off he went... I think the touch-up went rather well!