Smearsett Sheep

Oops, missed this one out. Fortunately for me this one sold, and I felt it necessary to include this into the blog, although it was painted int he spring of 2017. An inversion, an appetite for a painting, some sheep and Smearsett Scar were the ingredients for this one. The low lying mist in North Ribblesdale was the main inspiration for this although its not perfectly captured here, I hope the atmosphere of the cloudy sky and the appearance of the mist toward the left of the painting give some impression to the meteorological phenomenon that was most impressive when I painted this. The trio of Dalesbreds are more of an afterthought bringing a little bit of interest (if that floats your boat!) to the composition.

Smearsett Sheep, Oil on Board 10" x 8"

En Plein-air

Having become a member (one of 2000-or so) of Facebook's UK en-plein air society, it has given me further encouragement and inspiration to get out there and paint rather than being stuck in the studio (with constant interruptions and vying for space with my framer - and wife - who's working practice involves watching Desperate Housewives on her iPad). So an agreement has been made whereby I get out and do more in the open air. Although this year has been fantastic for the weather, dry hot, sunny blue skies almost daily, a constantly blue sky can be a bit boring after a while, and one yearns for a change - well I certainly received the change yesterday when I went out to paint at Malham Tarn; the light changed every 15 seconds sometimes for the worse but often for the better where I found myself going over what I had already painted, darkening the sky and highlighting the hills, pretty much constantly through the 2 hours I allotted myself for this painting.

Malham Tarn 10" x 12" Linen Canvas - Unfinished!

The constantly changing weather is reflected in the clothing of the two protagonists, one wearing shorts and a vest top, the other wearing full rain gear. I thought I was being clever - more than likely I'll just upset someone. The painting is certainly not finished and as it was painted on my own (wife-made) linen stretched-canvas will require a certain amount of further work to make it one which I am happy with. However for a first pass I am happy with it, but I am rather looking forward to fettling with it.

Pen-y-Gent 8" x 6" MDF panel

This one of Pen-y-Ghent and Upper Ribblesdale was painted during one of them 'Scorchio' days on my little pochade box (8" x 6"). I love this little box, although I have tried mounting it to a tripod twice with both times ending in disaster... still I can work with it on my lap and knacker my back for the effort - being constantly hunched over.

Field Laithe - Stainforth 8" x 6" MDF

Halton Gill 8" x 6" MDF

It is educational and it is a completely different discipline, most of which is preparation! I must be the most unprepared plein-air painter I know, normally packing everything I don't need and forgetting fairly critical things like brushes, white spirit, certain paints etc. etc. The other main difference for me is being completely absorbed by the subject, in the studio I find I do a lot of procrastinating during a painting, dithering between drinking coffee and washing brushes, cleaning my pallet, googling stuff, staring at old paintings and so on ad-infinitum; however outside it's just observation and painting, with the occasional chat to inquisitive passers' by and of course the obligatory coffee while stepping back to judge the scene, although I do find I step further back than is necessary to make the painting look half decent!

Three Peaks Panorama

Oil on Panel: 6" x 24" On the tops above Langcliffe and Stainforth are the twin farms of Upper and Lower Winskill, and from that vantage is this view of Yorkshire's famous three peaks. Some choose to run the 26-odd miles in something under 4 hours, but in order to qualify for the 'club' it has to be completed in under 11 hours, personally I have taken 17 years at a much more leisurely pace. From left to right there are Ingleborough (2376ft), Whernside (2416ft) and Pen-y-ghent (2278ft) - important figures indeed, often questioned at pub quizzes through the district.

Three Peaks Panorama - 6" x 24"

Into Langcliffe

Back to Autumn!! One of them long Autumn days with low shadows and painting into the light, is something I am not used to, although with this Naples Yellow sky, the contrast and the colour tones work and I am rather pleased with the composition. This is the entry into the pretty village of Langcliffe from the green lane that connects this village with the farms at Winskill. I erroneously painted a board in quite a disturbing crimzon which I decided (as a trial) to use as the ground for this piece. I have to admit I am rather pleased with the overall effect with the crimson seeping through in places to bring a touch of unexpected warmth to the painting.

Into Langcliffe; Oil on Board 8" x 10"

Just reading a book by David Curtis who points out when the colour and tones are stripped away from the painting, all that's left is the composition; which acts basically as a skeleton for the painting. If the skeleton doesn't work, it doesn't matter how good the tones and colours are - the painting still will not work.  I think I got the bones in the right place in this one!

Malham Cove, Spring 18

No one can miss the natural spectacle of this huge amphitheatre of limestone that sits about a half a mile north of the pretty little village of Malham. This massive curve of rock was carved out at the end of the last ice age when the melting glacial waters exploited natural weaknesses in the limestone bedrock (in this case the middle Craven Fault) forming what was once a cataract that rivalled Niagara. Once in a blue moon, following periods of intense rainfall does water flow over this cliff down an unbroken drop of around 80m; this last happened in December 2015 for the first time in around 200 years.

Malham Cove, Spring 18; Oil on Board 10" x 8"

I painted this over  a couple of days from sketches and photos while 'minding the shop', and strangely enough its only the second image of this fantastic feature. Word to the wise, if you're staying locally this is best visited in the evening when the hubbub of the day visitors have departed.

Beggars' Stile, Crummackdale

To the west of us lies the beautiful, secluded valley of Crummackdale whose river is fed from the southern flanks of Ingleborough and it is another one of the Western Dales' hidden gems. This was painted from sketches and photos, although I had to imagine what the place looked like with an evening sky.

Beggars Stile, Crummackdale. Oil on Panel 6" x 11"

The stile at the centre of attention is known as the Beggars Stile, and allows access to the karst of the Moughton uplands from Crummackdale. Beyond Beggars Stile is a natural amphitheatre called Thieves Moss, which does leave one's imagination soaring as the old Lancaster to Newcastle turnpike ran alongside these two features.

Gooseker Spring

The gallery was starting to look a bit, well, wintery, so I thought it needed a bit of a freshen up with some fresh green paint and what better than some spring landscapes of the scenery in this part of the Dales. Gooseker or Goat Scar or indeed Gorse Scar (but known locally as Gooseker!) is that ancient trackway that appears in quite a lot of my paintings (and indeed some paintings of artists much better and more famous than I) fortunately it is on my doorstep so the inspiration is literally outside. The initial climb out of Stainforth literally takes your breath away, but the view back towards the village and Ribblesdale beyond is well worth it, along the path towards Catrigg (another of my favourite haunts) you may (or may not) notice there are 3 or 4 tunnels under the roadway, each one with a vaulted roof, these were built to last and allow livestock to pass safely beneath the track between pastures.

Gooseker Spring. Oil on Panel 12" x 12"

The view is what I like to call 'the ubiquitous one' down the lane towards the Hogget house with the mass of Smearsett to the left in the distance. Now this one was painted from photos alone - I did this while 'minding the shop' waiting for foot traffic to pop into the gallery and all the while practising my sales patter (not working though!)...