Along the Ribble Way

The Ribble Way is a 'medium-distance path' that follows the course of the Ribble (surprise suprise) from its headwaters at Ribblehead to beyond Preston where it enters the Irish Sea. Another glorious day, one of three we had this summer! and another pochade was the basis of inspiration for this one (the 29th June), I had to force myself out to get the pochade done, and choosing the spot was probably the hardest part. I was thinking about the woods in the distance, but at this time of year the floor of the woods was just green, the bluebells had gone to seed and the ramsons not yet flowering, thus it would have been a fairly dull image although one I will certainly bear in mind for the future.

 Ribble Way Pochade 8"x6" Oil on Canvas board

There is a lovely walk around Horton, known as 'the circuit' of which this image is part of, the route takes you along the road from the Crown, past the Lion, down Chapel Lane, through several fields, across the Tay Bridge, and follows the river back to the Crown. This little walk is only 2 miles long and is a pleasurable stroll. This scene is part of that stroll, near a local spot known as 'parson's pool', although the river itself cannot be seen in the image I have tried to imply its course to the left and behind the trees in the middle.

Just to the left of the picture (not seen) is a buttress of the old 'Tay' bridge which was washed away some years ago, the footbridge was replaced further downstream in 1993, beyond the middle-distance trees. It is a cracking place to sit and watch the world go by, as long as you can put up with the midges, which is why I showered myself in Avon's skin-so-soft before leaving the house. Of all the midge / mosquito repellents on the market I have found this to be, without a doubt, the most effective. So smelling like a boudoir I set to work on the pochade, I won't go into details but it was completed within about 1 1/2 hours. Having done the pochade I knew how a full-sized painting would be formulated, and what to avoid, how to improve and what bits to miss out.

"Along the Ribble Way" 14" x 10" Oil on canvas board.

With this in hand I set about the full sized job, and as I mentioned was a pleasure to paint as I knew what colours to mix, where to slap them on, and basically how to put together the jigsaw of the painting. Ok I might have emphasised some bits (the sky is never THAT interesting), and thrown in a rambler, but pretty much true to the sketch. A number of walkers were making use of what little summer we had and while I was painting the pochade a number passed me by, so in the finished article the rambler was thrown in more of an afterthought to give some life to the painting. The finished article was framed and presented to my brother in law for his sixtieth, and mightily pleased he was of it.