I love painting bales at this time of year. These days they are usually round, although there are still a few rectangular ones if you are prepared to look hard enough. These straw bales were in a field where I have painted them many times over the years, but I always try painting them from a different position in order to change the background a little.
The outlook is gloomy for the next few days, but I took a chance and carried my sketchbook out along the byways. I liked these trees but I had to sketch them from the other side of the gate, as the field is still too sodden for the usual amount of footfall.
I took a chance with the weather this morning, and followed one of the footpaths across the fields near here. Despite the weather app warning of rain, it amounted to only a couple of drops before moving off elsewhere. It was lovely to be out again. There were plenty of bugs around, but they were far too interested in the thistles and other wild flowers to bother about taking chunks out of me. Being outside with the intention of painting or sketching, doesn’t always mean one has to search for a grand panorama – often it is the small snatched view through a gateway or among some trees, or as in this case, a simple plank walkway from one field to another can capture the interest, and will forever be a reminder of a pleasant walk in a lull before the next downpour.
A Perfect Summer’s Day
The recent weather has not been compatible with watercolour painting on location. There were lots of places I had hoped to have been by now, but so far July has been a wash out. Not just wet, but sudden, unpredictable drenching, can’t-see-in-front-of-you, drain flooding torrents. Not fun. I’ve been re-imagining previous paintings/sketches to remind myself of perfect Summer days of the past, and hoping it will not be long before we experience something like them again.
Graham Findlay Watercolours 