Lockdown walks

We are still blessed with glorious weather and have been out on daily walks. Close to the river, we are now meeting the same animals almost daily. One of them is a female muntjac, who seems to stay in the same area and lets us get quite close before walking away through the undergrowth. Another is a cormorant who has made a tree in the lake its home to perch on and dry its feathers. Until about five years ago, I had never seen any cormorants in our area but now there are at least two.

Close to the edge of the lake, there are nests where coots are busy raising their redheaded chicks. Further out, more coots seem to spend all their time bickering with each other. And amongst them, a swan glides by, using its wings to catch the wind.

I loved how the sun lit up its feathers, which I tried to capture in my painting.

Spring blossom

The Lea Valley Art Society helps to keep us going by giving us weekly challenges to do during this period of social distancing. This week's theme is spring, for which I have used a photo I took last summer in Sheringham Park.

I had wanted to paint these cows for some time, as I like the strong sunlight on them. To show this, I went for maximum contrast, leaving the sunlit part of the cow's bodies as white paper. 

To fit the spring theme, I turned the tree pink to show blossom instead of foliage.

Trafalgar Square in happier times

Every so often, I scroll through my photos to see what inspires to paint. In this time of being almost cut off from the outside world, it's wonderful to remember visits to crowded places such as this one.

I expect we are still weeks away from being released from our isolation and I am thankful that we are still allowed out for daily exercise, which gives us the opportunity to connect with our surroundings.