Watching The River Flow.

"No man ever steps in the same river twice" - Heraclitus

This is a scene that I have painted before. This version is different (no stepping into the same river twice), and much bigger than the previous version. It's Cod Beck in Thirsk.

Cod Beck is the only place where I have seen lampreys. Being migratory, they must have made their way from the North Sea up a series of rivers including the Humber, from Hull; the Ouse, through York; the Ure from Cuddy Shaw Reach to near Myton, where they picked up the Swale to Topcliffe. At this point they turned into Cod Beck at Topcliffe and followed it to Thirsk. That's quite a journey for a fish. They've been around, largely unchanged for millions of years.

So I've seen lampreys, otters, deer, and most other things. Just need to see a live badger now.

This painting is a return to landscape. The canvas is a little narrow for what I wanted, although it looked okay in the shop. I found it quite restrictive. I initially decided to make a feature of the sky in the way that I painted it. I want lots of mark-making and dribbled paint. It hasn't quite gone according to plan on that score yet, but it isn't finished so we'll see where it goes. At the moment I am thinking of adding a pair of wheeling buzzards into the sky. That puts me in mind of Kurt Jackson, and one of his 'Field' paintings. I'll give it some thought before I do it.

 Blocking in. I love this stage; it's probably the most exciting bit.

 Drawing some of the shapes with a finger wrapped in a rag.

 Scrubbling in colours,

 Starting to refine the shapes.

 And a little more...

 ........

 &  little more..

I think the sky need to get messier, and maybe a couple of buzzards wheeling?
Ok. Let it sit for a while and think about the sky and those buzzards..

 Ok. No major changes. Just a few highlights on the water, in the left foreground, and a little lightening of tone in places in the sky.
Oh, and a pair of buzzards wheeling.

(detail)
I will probably work into the bids a little, but for the sake of this posting, it's done.
Sticking with the Dylan influence, I've changed the title to:

Freewheelin'

If I had wings and I could fly,

I know where I would go.

But right now I'l just sit here so contentedly

And watch the river flow.

 - Bob Dylan

Here I Stand. I Can Do No Other

For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.  ~Martin Luther

One of my previous tree paintings was completed and blogged about at the end of our Ofsted inspection (post: November 9th 2013) . This one was finished at the start of Sara's Ofsted week, and as I said about ours at the time, I look forward to reading the report. I'm sure that they will have done well - they deserve to.

Most people seem to agree that there is something very special about trees. I'm not sure if it is because of their age, or their size. Probably it is a combination of both - and something else..

This painting is larger than the others I have done, and is based on a photograph that I took during a walk with Sara along Nidd Gorge near Knaresborough at half term. I wanted to isolate the tree, so that it stands against a (textured) background. I wanted to enjoy the paint, as well as the process, allowing it to run and layer, so I used different brushes (most were bigger and different shaped) to the ones that I usually use, so the the marks that that they made would be different to my usual fare. 

The title, like the quote above,comes from the German reformer Martin Luther.

Anyway, here it is:

Blocking in and laying down some colour.

Moving the paint around and establishing some of the shapes.

......

The main shapes and starting to build up the background.

Starting to build up the detail of the tree.

 .... starting to get there, but the bottom of the trunk is too thick, and it needs a little more colour and contrast.

Here I stand. I Can Do No Other

The trees that have it in their pent-up buds

To darken nature and be summer woods -~Robert Frost