Rivington, Smithills and Scotland go to Worcester

On Monday 2nd October 2017 I travelled to Gallery at Bevere in Worcester to deliver three paintings. The largest of the paintings was inspired by a cold and misty day in Rivington, Lancashire. A short distance from the “Lower Barn” I walked a track familiar to me because I’d ridden it with a mountain bike club on numerous occasions. Light seems to feature in much of my work and the slightly diffused light along with subtle tones and colours provided an intriguing subject. What had been a familiar track now took on a mysterious quality with the twisted trees contributing to a sense of unease.

Another of the paintings now at Gallery At Bevere is “Changing Skies Above Coldingham”. This was painted en plein air on a very windy morning from the corner of a cornfield. The skies were constantly changing and with them the effects of light on the landscape. The monks from Coldingham Abbey used to consider working the land as a form of worship, a spiritual experience if you like. Painting the landscape whilst “in the field” can provide a similar effect. Instead of being on the landscape one feels in the landscape, a part of it and in tune with nature. Even though the sun was quite bright the wind produced a real chill. This was not noticeable at first and it was only after I had been painting for about an hour that I realised that I was indeed quite cold. I adorned my wind breaker and continued to paint only for the easel to blow over…fortunately I just manged to catch the painting and go on to finish it. A little part of Scotland has found its way south to Worcester.

The final painting delivered to Gallery At Bevere is a painting done in the depths of winter quite late in the afternoon. I had gone for a walk in my local landscape and found myself on a track that I have painted in various sections at various times of the year. The sun was very low in the afternoon sky producing curious shadows and colours across the deep snow. There was the receding warmth from the descending sun yet a real chill from the fresh snow. It was that time of the day in the winter months when day becomes night very quickly so I named this painting, ” Just Before The Sun Goes Down”.

For information on how to purchase these works please contact the lovely people at Gallery At Bevere…or even better visit the gallery in its beautiful location.

http://beveregallery.com/artists?artistID=941

http://beveregallery.com/contactus