The poppies are thriving in our mixed-up weather. Although there are whole fields of them around here, they may not actually be exactly where I have placed them in this view, but I don’t think it matters.
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A Beautiful Sight
There is a road which runs between Burford and Stow on the Wold which I travel along every now and then and which always lifts my spirits. If I have been away it is this road more than any other which tells me I am back home. To my mind, there are beautiful views of the rolling Cotswold landscape on either side, a patchwork of many colours.
At this time of year, I look forward to the arrival of the first Poppies, glimpsed here and there as the world hurries along so one cannot be sure if they are really there or whether they are only a memory of years gone by.
Gradually larger patches will crawl along the edges of the fields snaking their way unmistakably until, in some years, whole fields become ablaze with a bright red which literally takes one’s breath away.
They are starting now and will, if the rain allows, flourish and gladden the hearts of many travellers. And on beautiful Summer days yet to come, what better place to sit and paint ?
Simplify
Originally, although I knew it was the light on the barn I wanted to paint, I also couldn’t resist adding much more of the edge of the garden on the right hand side. When I looked at it later I realized it was just too much, taking the eye away from where I wanted it to be and leading it everywhere and nowhere.
This is another version painted whilst repeating the mantra SIMPLIFY which is what I am always telling other people to do.
I think it is good advice.
Off the beaten track
I often wondered where the beaten track led to and decided as I was passing that today might just be the day to find out. As it is now June I want to do as much sketching outside as I can. As the track is narrow and deeply rutted it is not really suitable for the car so I parked a little way off and set off walking. It was quite interesting, passing a couple of buildings I had no idea were there, and then it was really out in the country, the track meandering between fields for as far as the eye could see. It was a case of “I’ll just go to the next bend and see where it goes..” usually the answer was nowhere except to another corner in the distance.
I decided it was time to turn round and almost immediately spotted this lovely tree through a gate and over a hedge and I quickly set about a quick drawing with a Staedtler pigment liner 0.3 and then – I felt the first drop of rain.
The watercolour was added when I reached the car by which time the spits and spots had turned into a downpour. It may be June, but the weather is still very playful.
“Off the beaten track at Little Rissington” 6 x 8 inches.
Hidden Door
Doors, windows, gateways, have long been a favourite of artists, whether looking in from the outside or out from the interior.
In myths and traditions, doorways represent personal journeys and symbolize a transition from one stage of life to another. A new beginning.
Doors afford the viewer a glimpse into another world and is often the focus of mystery. What lies on the other side? An invitation to step over the threshold, perhaps into a different world.
Even closed doors may open at the gentlest touch if the viewer is brave enough to try…
Never put off…
It was a lovely day, as all this week has been, and I thought it would be a good idea to go back to a favourite tree of mine, which I have painted in the past and is always so much fun. Old, yes. Roughly textured, certainly. But it was the crazy angle it had adopted in it’s old age which made it stand out and gave it so much character. Not only a gift for a painter but no-one with a camera or a modern phone could resist it.
Over a busy main road, along a track, through one small village, through three fields heavy with buttercups, I anticipated how it would look, which angle would I paint it from ? I never imagined it wouldn’t be there at all ! Alas it is no more. Just a little stump, it’s majesty cut up and carted away on the back of a trailer, and not too long ago by the look of it. If only I had gone last week.
I walked on a little further and looked back. If the day was not to be wasted, I had to paint something even if it wasn’t what I had intended.
Grey skies, Bright fields
It’s been a week of grey days and rain showers (some of them heavy), so standing out to sketch hasn’t really been an option.
Even so, there have been some moments when one couldn’t have wished for a better scene, and this one caught my attention for two reasons. Firstly the eye-watering bright slash of colour across the landscape, and secondly the buildings behind which seem about to be swallowed up by the flourishing crop.
Apparently, Rapeseed is the third largest source of vegetable oil in the World, which probably explains why there is so much of it about at the moment.
The woods are alive
The weather always likes to keep us guessing, but now I know Spring is here as the bluebells have come up in the woods, giving me the chance to paint one of my favourite annual scenes.
It may turn cold again, but it is only relative. Everywhere one looks there are signs of Nature coming back to life – and many folk re-discovering their lawnmowers !
Happy Easter
A Happy and Peaceful Easter wherever you may be.
A little sunshine
A little sunshine and a holiday weekend ahead, and the world comes out to play. A young couple walked arm in arm, a family, father and sun striding ahead of mother and daughter, heads bowed deep in conversation, a lone jogger zig zagging her way between the visitors, a group of horse riders being led, a photographer taking pictures with a real camera mounted on a tripod. All chose to spend their morning in the little village of Lower Slaughter, where I found a quiet spot to lean on a gate to paint this stone building in a small sketchbook.
Graham Findlay Watercolours 