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...