ArtinBrittany

The days are getting shorter. This morning, out early with the dog, owls were still hooting as we walked under late stars. We disturbed the white heron down by the river and noticed brambles and elders hanging on to the last of this years fruits.  

A wet and windy start to the month. Sketching out these honesty seed heads put me in mind of the Barclay James Harvest LP, Octoberon.  It featured a fairy king figure adorned with mother of pearl. Back in the day of 'album covers', I remember spending hours in record stores admiring the artwork and often buying on the strength of the artwork - many musical discoveries were made that way.   

 A cornfield by Moonlight by Samuel Palmer (one of my favourite artists). This painting is where I am in my head when I am out on a horse in the moonlight. It is possible for just a few weeks between harvest and sowing when we are allowed to cross the stubble. The days are still too warm and full of flies for my delicate (!) horses so we head out in the moonlight to explore land that is for most of the year out of bounds. The agrarian landscape is very different from Palmer's day; gone are the corn stooks - these days the shorter GM crops are all munched up by modern harvesters but the moon still works it's magic in the still, balmy evenings.

 A fly on a leaf caught my eye (on a a rare sunny day!) This was a fun workshop - an unusual subject with some interesting challenges. The iridescent qualities of this creature are obtained through careful use of tonal contrast. Tone is always the most important factor - tone describes the form. This example (not quite finished) is my demo piece from the session - water-colour about A3.

An unusually unsettled Summer so far this year. Good news for the garden though and a joy to not have to water every evening!  There are still plenty of things to use as painting subjects and I've been photographing all kinds of minibeasts for future workshops. These iris flowers are looking lovely despite the rain and are all the more appreciated because they are in a brand new flower border that is only a couple of months old. Where we have let the pasture rest there are all kinds of wild flowers popping up and we have discovered a few Spindle trees along the Southern lane.

 A chilly start to 2021- we've enjoyed clear, bright but freezing days. Sunrise and sunsets have been stunning. Too cold for painting outside but a great time to take photos and collect specimens for working up in the studio.