Post 26 Back end feel

Back end feel,that's what they say round here when referring to the nights drawing in and weather turning noticeably cooler . It certainly creeps up on you, the evenings are  darker earlier and when there is a very wet day like yesterday the chill in the air certainly makes you think,somewhat depressingly ... yes we really are at the beginning of the back end of the year.

Since falling of a tricky climb on a grade way out of my comfort zone I've been limping about on a badly sprained ankle, frantically hoping it'll be better by the time the holidays come round. 

It's not stopped me getting my boots on and joining in with the fun albeit in a fairly grumpy mood.
Last Saturday we headed to Hepburn in Northumberland and while the bouldering was in full swing I sat and drew for a few hours.

Looking south from Hepburn

Hepburn is a beautiful location. The panoramic views from the  elevated position of the boulders is breath taking. Sitting there to begin with was really overwhelming...I had no idea where to start.
There is a real discipline involved when drawing on location. When faced with a great sweep of countryside stretching as far as the eye can see it takes time to acclimatise.
Saturday was a beautiful day. Mostly sunny with light winds and a slight haze which fuzzed up the distant hills.

Resting up on location

Again the same principles apply...the more I observed the more I became visually aware of.
 Colours became illuminated and subtle hues of green,grey, purple,pink, ochre  and red began to stand out with greater clarity. Shapes became more defined and textures more obvious.

It's an odd thing but I'm always surprised by how I forget that feeling  on sitting down to draw....fretful initially until I really look more closely and linger for longer.This pattern is always the same.

Boulders at Hepburn

Back in the studio this week I got started again. With a  new batch of beeswax but with a shortage of canvas I had to improvise and I'm glad I did. I'm working on ply for the first time in years and I like the feeling very much. Pastures new I hope.

Wax on ply  experiments

Scratching through the pigment 

In post 25 I said how I felt superstitious about talking about how my climbing was progressing, hmmm, strange how things work out. That'll teach me !!

Post 25 Art trail,windy weather and new paintings

I have not blogged for a while. The preparations for my exhibition of paintings as part of the Crossing borders art trail really took up much of my time in the last few weeks, not to mention a return to my day job too.

I've still been getting out though and my climbing has taken a turn for the better. I'm still very reluctant to even speak about it being  a little superstitious...anyway it feels good, something has opened up and is allowing me to understand things better and make small gains which feel really significant to me.

Over the course of last week end I met lots of really nice people and had  some interesting conversations about lots of things including my work. Of the things I found most gratifying was to hear people tell me that the link between my subject matter and the paintings was very evident.
 Now that might sound a little ridiculous(if there wasn't a link I'd be worried !) but you just are never 100% sure if you are hitting the mark and whether or not this is being communicated effectively.

It was great to host my own show and open the house and studio up. I did feel a little envious of John and Gillean getting out to the crags....
I thrive on being outside too and was feeling withdrawal symptoms after spending 3 days in the house !

Anyway it's back to business now and in the next few weeks I plan to continue working and get more deeply involved in the work I started over the summer. There are some areas I feel I have only scratched the surface of and haven't explored fully...I am interested in trying to depict or express movement in my paintings amongst other things.
Yesterdays very windy conditions made for a very interesting afternoon out. I didn't feel so bothered as I would of if we were climbing up high...bouldering in Northumberland made the wind bearable and without fear I soaked up the atmosphere and thought about the landscape in relation to how I might use it for my subject matter.

Tiger's Wall  Oil & Wax 100x100cm

detail

detail

Oil & wax on card

Oil & Wax on card

Windy Thursday in Northumberland

Looking towards Bowden