Author: grahamfindlaywatercolours

I am an artist and teacher based in the Cotswolds, United Kingdom.

A Special Place

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Well, it was fun while it lasted. To be in the heart of the countryside in Summer, deep in the meadows under a sun which has ripened corn and nourished life and inspired painters and poets for countless ages, is a privilege. This peaceful place with it’s rolled bales of hay, the sound of blackbirds in the hedges which border the fields, the iridescent blue of dragonflies flittering from place to place, even the persistent dive-bombing of blood-sucking insects have been the very essence of Summer for hundreds of years.

It is the place which nourishes my soul, which gives the luxury of time to enjoy solitude, to banish for a while the demands of modern life which causes needless stress. The chance to recharge batteries and to understand what is important in life and to hold on to it. To reaffirm one’s beliefs and reconnect to the central theme which keeps us all going.

Everyone needs a special place, and for each person it will be different. For me it is this spot which fulfills me. But even as I finish this painting, I hear the tractor and trailer, which will scoop up the bales and remove them, approaching. The gentle breeze of the past few days is working itself up into something stronger, presaging a change in the weather. Next week will be different, but I know my special place will be there again one day, and I will be drawn to it, to be nourished again, as I always am.

Painted on Saunders Waterford watercolour block.

In the meadow

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Same subject matter, different location. This time in the meadows near my home. Fields of them, and nobody looking as if they are thinking about moving them soon. So while everyone was sitting sensibly indoors, I perched in the shade of a bale and breathed in the sweet scent of freshly cut grasses and wild flowers while painting today’s sketch. The only down side was when I became aware of an itch in the hand holding my palette and discovered a not-very-nice-looking creature happily sucking my blood. I flapped it away, but some hours later I can still see the puncture mark it made.

This is another entry in my Moleskine watercolour sketchbook.

Summer bales

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I spent this morning sketching possibly my most favourite thing to paint at this time of year. Hay bales or Rolls, call them what you will. You never know where to find them as they tend to crop up in different places each year. Wherever they are, I am always more than happy to spend a day, or days, in the field. Just them and me !

Today however, just as I found them and started to get excited, a large lorry drove into the field and parked between me and some of the bales. I was determined to get something down in my sketchbook before they disappeared, so did this first one fast.

After I’d finished, nothing much had changed. There was a lot of talking but no-one had approached either me or the bales. I assumed they were waiting for some other machinery, like a fork-lift or similar to start loading, so I decided I might have a little more time to sketch another.

Here I was standing on the side of the road trying not to get stung by the cluster of nettles, and used the top of a stone wall to rest my sketchbook on. Most passers-by ignored me but I had an interesting conversation with a lady who shared her memories of a painting holiday in Cornwall. With both sketches done, I thought it had been a good morning well spent.

Both painted in my moleskine 5×8″ landscape watercolour sketchbook.

Old barn early morning

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With continuing high temperatures it’s been best to set off sketching early before it becomes sweltering, and the difficulties mentioned in yesterday’s blog start to become a nuisance. I wanted to capture the light filtering through the trees, and the shadows on the roof of the barn, before it all changed. Sometimes you have to simplify, a lot, to capture the feeling that first attracted you to the scene. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of being too literal to the scene as it changes, and end up losing the initial idea. I think in this one I have almost captured what I was hoping for.

Marigolds on the patio

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It was almost too hot to paint in the 30 degree temperature today unless one could find a patch of shade to stay in. For one thing I did not want to dehydrate or have heatstroke or be barbecued, but more importantly, I needed to think about my materials. It is not always a good idea to paint in full sunshine and intense heat with watercolours. Firstly, the sun’s reflection on the white paper can really dazzle if looked at through unprotected eyes. You also have to wonder at which point the sizing on the paper is likely to melt. So keeping the paper out of the direct sunlight is a good idea.

Then there are the pigments. Remember this is water-colour and water evaporates quickly the more the temperature rises. So if you are used to a more controlled set of circumstances, you might be shocked to find how quickly the paint dries – almost before it reaches the paper. I remember one year, the wash I was mixing was actually sizzling on the metal palette I was using! Try painting a lot wetter than usual or resign yourself to painting much smaller so you can try and keep a degree of control on what happens on the paper.

One other thing – make sure the patch of shade you choose is likely to stay in shade for as long as you need to complete your sketch.

‘Marigolds on the patio’ was painted quickly before the sun hit them directly and also changed my shady refuge.

Archway

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The class painted at the old churchyard today, only the second time we have been out as a group this year! I sketched the archway which stands more or less by itself in the middle of nowhere. Ironwork on the pillars suggest there must have been a gate, or gates, at one time, so was perhaps the main entrance ? It could have been meant as a memorial. I shall have to go back when the Heritage Centre is open and I can read a bit more about it.

Although not quite as sunny as the day before, everyone enjoyed themselves and produced some good work.

Sketched on a double page spread of a Stillman & Birn 8×10 inch Beta portrait format sketchbook.

Cherries and scones

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Our cherry tree continues to thrive despite its advanced age. After a late start, the fruit has proved to be extra plump and juicy this year, and has been much enjoyed by the Blackbirds and their young. Luckily we reached agreement with them about sharing and have managed to pick a few bowls for ourselves to make into jam.

I also managed to get some down in my sketchbook before they vanished into the pot.

Survivor

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Dodging the morning showers, I went to paint the medieval church of a village destroyed by fire in 1684.

The story goes that a local woman wanted to bake a loaf of bread but did not want, or could not afford, to pay the chimney tax imposed by the government of the day. She tried making a funnel from her hearth to her neighbour’s chimney, and succeeded in destroying twenty houses and ending the lives of four inhabitants.

The surviving villagers moved further up the hill and built a new village and church, this time of stone. The old building and graveyard fell into disrepair but were saved again in the 1800’s and are now a heritage site in Churchill, Oxfordshire.

This was painted on a small block of Saunders Waterford Hot Press paper which I quite like. It seems to have a different surface quality than the sheets of the same. It can be used on an easel without having to include a drawing board and is small enough and light enough to hold in the hand if not using an easel.

Garden pots

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Turned out to be quite humid today but not as much sunshine as expected. However there was a brief moment early afternoon when I found an opening to sketch some garden pots with French Marigolds and Petunias before the shadows disappeared again.

No sun, but have flowers.

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As we are lacking natural sunshine at the moment, I thought I’d import some from the supermarket in the form of Sunflowers. Although they are still a little shy, one of them has pried itself a bit more open than the rest, and I have been playing with it this morning.

Everything in the garden is about a month behind where it usually is at this time of year, possibly due to the frosts which kept on coming right into May. We are told things will perk up by the end of the week. Meanwhile, flowers, shy or otherwise, are always lovely to paint.