back to acrylic
early autumn can look a bit dull – tired leaves that are still green, recently ploughed stubbles
and the weather has been warm enough to kid you that it’s still summer. now the seasonal thrashing/flaying of hedges has begun, though many which were done in early spring are safe
or are in the two yearly cycle. the blackberries have been amazing; our walks punctuated by stops to grab handfuls, bear fashion.
B is not interested in blackberries, she prefers small furry creatures, as the poor little baby bunny she pounced on in the ditch on quite a busy road and despatched immediately. our walk home disgraced by the grey furry little ears poking out from between her jaws as she carried her catch in triumph firmly clamped in her mouth.
views with newly seeded rape fields show us what next April will look like
but there is plenty of autumn texture
and inspiration for painting
back to the small square format and acrylic paint – I have so much I certainly can’t switch completely to oils.
also when painting in the village hall with the group, acrylics so much more convenient. so the usual start of throwing runny paint about, helpful on a white canvas …
I am back to using a brush more, principally for the sky here
getting there but something wrong with the composition. relatively cool weather meant the paint didn’t dry too fast, so I scraped some off and changed the shape of the cultivated field
seed heads and stalks of knapweed in the foreground indicated with blips and blobs of dark paint and scratching through paint with the point of my little pointy palette knife. I had been looking at Joan Eardley again, and I think this shows her influence.
we’ve been back to Bayfield recently, the cooler weather had banished the flies.
the conservation/bird seed planting is changing colour. this plant which looks like millet has some bright orange ochre heads and some a strong red.
surely another painting!
but last Monday I took this in bayfield woods by mistake – hipstamatic allows double exposure and sometimes I find I’ve slid the control across by accident. well, too tempting not to try to paint it.
on an old plywood board this time, a re-used one.
syrupy paint and an attempt to get the pale green light behind the main tree. as always, an earlier stage looks rather more exciting in retrospect.
both these squares are 40 x 40 cm (16″)
I am signed up for a plethora of writing courses this autumn, plus two week long residential courses. there will be writing in bed early mornings!
plus plenty of this of course.
