I thought before I head back to another 4 weeks in Namibia (possibly my last trip) I would drag the box easel out for the first paint out for what felt absolutely ages. The day before I killed some time sketching at Wray Castle whilst Mrs B was partaking in the Great North Swim, but the weather was, well I think the term is “mixed”. Although I did manage to produce some nice little sketches in between showers (and one cannot underestimate the usefulness of an umbrella) I felt it was time to get outside and do some proper painting. The next day, Monday, the car was loaded, covering for all meteorological eventualities, and headed off to the Langdales with an open mind.
The viewpoint I chose was situated next to a rather handy bench, which worked well for equipment storage, lunch, and contemplation. However, the bench was situated in what was ‘the public eye’. Years ago I was a bit reluctant of painting outdoors, however over time this fades and now it becomes all part of the process. I found it quite refreshing to pause and chat to the various souls who bothered to stop by and pass the time of day, and I am glad they did as it does add another element to the memory of the day, I thank you all for stopping and chatting.
The element of changing light was a little tricky, I committed myself early and although there were some spectacular impacts of the light upon the Langdales throughout the three hours, I stuck to my initial guns and eschewed the temptation of chasing these effects.
Where do I go from here? Well I think I do need to finesse this in the studio, I am not particularly happy with the middle ground trees, nor the foreground, and I am sure a Herdwick or three will make an appearance. But as every landscape artist says, nothing beats painting en-plein air.
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