Greenwoods

I stepped away from the Oracle Deck for a couple of weeks, because another painting was calling out to be worked.

I had intended this to be a rich and earthy green painting, but the paint had other ideas, and as I laid down the rock face behind the figure, the flowing watercolour chose ethereal pink tones instead.

 

 

Frustrating as watercolour can be at times,  I love the way it runs and granulates, layering colour, surprising you just when you think you know your paints well enough to predict their actions.

 

Lifting out bramble tendrils.

 

And putting in fabric patterns.

 

Small details, which disappear in the big picture, but are seen clearly close up.

 

 

 

'Guardian of the Greenwood'

The woods truly are greening here, bursting into life over the may day weekend.

( I forgot to take my camera to the Jack in the Green celebration, but I'm sure you will see the pictures on the blogs of others in our community)

Seething with life - quite literally - this is a giant wood ant's nest, over a metre high, the surface of which is constantly changing as thousands of ants go about their business.

This land that I love......

Mostly, I have been walking.

In the sleet,

the driving rain,

the blustery winds

and the brief windows of clear icy light between the storms.

Even at night.

I have been nightwalking often as autumn turned to winter. Last week's full moon rendered the moors as bright as day, and a sharp frost made the ground twinkle underfoot in the flickering midnight light.

We have watched the stars, and the stones, and slowly, slowly an immense collaborative project between Steve and me is unfolding.

There is new work, but it goes slowly too. Above is a painting of the Leigh Bridge Crossing.

Below is the painting that I am currently working on :

'The Woods Maiden and her King'

I'll stop there for now, and save the Christmas news for the next post! (In a day or two, I promise)

 Rain, rain and more rain. That's all there is to say about August. What a washout for the school holidays. Everytime I ride my horse, I get soaked through :(

Instead, I have been huddled in my cosy studio, listening to the rain drumming on the roof, painting away at summery landscape sketches.

I'm offering them for sale here for a few days, as they are, before I frame them up and take them to the gallery. They are both A4 ink and watercolour.

Prints will be available by later today too (£14 each)

 'Below Langaford Bridge'

£ 60 (unframed)

'Walland Hill'

£75