New Year, new blog....

New..everything is new! Not much sign of it at the moment but with each passing day the evenings draw out a little more, minute by minute. It's this small measurement of time that holds some promise of renewed energy and light that keeps me going at this dark time of year.

John enjoying the good conditions on new Years Day

Holly shadows

Sketchbook this week

One week seems to slip into another and to mark time it helps to do something worthwhile and feed those creative urges. Getting out into the landscape and the elements is definitely my way of doing this. In the last two weeks I've been focusing on small details in the landscape. The silhouetted shapes of foliage and shadowed areas within the larger frame are catching my interest.

Cheviots in the distance

Detail

Oil & wax on canvas

Finding ways round visual dilemmas and problems in painting is an ongoing task. Same old advice but worth remembering....just leaving the studio for a while and doing something else helps to put things into perspective. It's maybe not all that bad after all or it is! Either way it's best to get a little distance, painting certainly isn't an exact science and obvious solutions often only occur after a little time out.

Applying a bit more white when the underneath layer was dry helped to resolve the problems.

Colour in nature never ceases to  amaze me

Lovely lichen covered tree at Hepburn

Heather

Through the trees

It's tricky sometimes to concentrate on everything at once...when we're out bouldering it's been easier, no ropes or belaying to worry about. So I have been able to do a little drawing and a lot of photographing. I've mentioned this in my previous blog ....the process of osmosis. 

Places and locations stay in your memory helping to build up a library of information which you can draw on when back in the studio.

End of the week climbing fun

Home time

The way the landscape looks at this time of year is so beautiful at times. The late afternoon skies  are always changing and watching them closely it's wonderful to see how the fading light creates drama and intrigue everywhere you care to look.

On the way home 

Keeping it real!