Cows in a meadow

 

In art, we look for variation and repetition, and the way these cows arranged themselves is a good example of this. 

It's also a nice memory of a visit to Wimpole Hall and it is now easier to visit National Trust properties, as one doesn't have to book any longer. 

Fritillaria meleagris

 

I found these striking flowers in Anglesey Abbey near the lode mill. I just loved their regular geometric pattern, which looks a bit like a chessboard or stone flags so it makes sense that one of their common names is 'chequered daffodil' or 'chequered lily'. 

I painted this flower on a small postcard size watercolour pad that my son gave me for my birthday; it's just the right size for a small study.

Spring Display

These tulips from my garden have brought a bright note into my house, so they deserve being remembered in a painting. I grouped them with other objects of similar colours to create a harmonious composition.

I just love the Chinese vase and have painted it before. My husband brought it home from a business trip a few years back, and he also made the little Easter arrangement of chicks and bunnies in the bowl.

Coot on ice

 

This is from a trip back in February during a cold snap. The local pond had frozen over in parts and there were several coots sitting on the ice, not looking particularly bothered by the cold or the ice. 

The challenge was to paint the reflections and giving an impression of the ice without too much extra information. Wet-in-wet and wet-on-dry painting achieved the different textures.

By the River

Lockdown has given me a deeper appreciation of wildlife close to home. While we could not meet family and friends, there has always been nature to engage with. Over the last year, I had the chance to follow the life cycle of coots and observe the changing bird population on the river and lakes and this has given me a sense of normality that has been missing in everyday life. 

Two weeks ago, I happened to come across a heron by the river and managed to take photos for reference. I hadn't noticed before the striking pattern of its plumage, and it seems both male and female herons look similar.

I first made a little study, before developing it into a painting.

heron study in watercolour

heron and duck on river, watercolour

Big Sky

 In between 'proper' paintings, have started to paint on the back of failed efforts to try out techniques or ideas. 

This is a recreation of a dramatic cloudy sky I observed on one of my walks. I knew I wanted to paint it as simply as possible and used just three colours, the darkest being Teal by Ken Bromley instead of my usual French Ultramarine. It seems to me that it makes more transparent greys than the latter colour.

For the tree reflections, I just bled the trees into the bottom part of the paper and the reflections appeared as if by magic.

This painting took all of five minutes, but I am very pleased with the result.

River and lake

 Two local scenes from of the river and gravel lakes. These particularly provide a haven for wildlife with changing bird species over the course of the year. I noticed that more cormorants have moved into the area, which seems to be their migrating pattern for the winter.

I loved the bright blue colour of the canal service boat and used white oil pastel for its white railings and the conservatory of the house behind it.

For the first painting, it was the flash of bright yellow that inspired me to paint the scene.