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!