Author Archives: fellpainter

Repetition and variation, without hesitation

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hill paintings, part of a series in oil on canvas, fixed to a board

board with hill paintings and Winifred Nicholson print

This week I seem to have settled into a theme, almost an obsession, producing variations on the view through my window. It’s partly a practical decision, as strong winds have made going outside quite tricky, and it’s also because the light has been so different each day that the view has changed drastically, with the hillside effectively becoming another place every time. The lone tree fascinates me as it seems to have its own moods and it also seems to conduct the scene around it, focusing the energies of the landscape as everything – sky, earth, foliage and bracken – swirls around.

I’ve been inspired by a Winifred Nicholson print of a tree in Lugano, Italy. I had pinned the print to my wall when – strange co-incidence – a cycle race I was following online (the Giro d’Italia) passed through the same town, enabling me to see pictures of the glorious lakeside scenery. I had hoped to head out and paint some of the trees round here in full bloom but the high winds have prevented it so far. The blossoms are still clinging to their branches so there might still be time to capture something of them.

This painting was done in a hurry (as usual the light was changing rapidly) and I put it aside afterwards thinking it had failed but on reflection there is something lively and full of feeling in there that I like.

through the window hill view in oils, pink evening light

sketch in oils on canvas of through the window view, 9×12 inches, one of a series

This picture was perhaps the most successful in a way in that I think the composition works and the tones are working better than they usually do (I tend to lose my way as the light disappears typically as soon as I begin to work). Also, the tree seems to be charged with energy and everything is becoming nicely abstract.

9x12 oil on canvas painting of the hill lit dramatically one evening

oil on canvas painting of the hill with a dramatic feel, as it looked through the window one evening with racing clouds and stark lighting

I’m less happy with this painting than the previous one but I liked the violets, blues and pinks that shaded the hill and was pleased they’d made it into the picture.

purple evening hues hill painting, oil on canvas, 9x12

hill painting, oil on canvas, 9×12, one of a series, as seen through the window in purple evening light

Manic trees, magical colours and evening light

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photo of the view from Winder - Sedbergh nestling in the hills, blue sky, evening colours of green, gold and violet

violet, blue, gold and green – evening view from Winder

In the evenings the light can be magical, with huge areas of shadow and soft golden shapes rising out of the darkness. The sky has more colours – violets and pinks as well as blue – and the hills can be anything from ochre to viridian or even burnt orange. It’s the best time to wander on the hill. All of the colours glow, especially the gorse flowers which are, oddly, always in bloom. No-one else tends to be around because the lure of the television screen is stronger than the power of nature at this hour, or so it seems.

gorse flowers glow in evening light

gorse glowing in the twilight

It’s also an excellent time to paint, although the cold winds of May have made it best to wander the hill while well wrapped up before painting in the last of the light through the window back at home.

photo of evening clouds in a row and stones atop a wall

clouds and stones

Drawings are just as vital as paintings and can help when getting to grips with a scene.

charcoal drawing of hill and tree

compressed charcoal on paper, A3, view through the window or ‘that tree again’

And sometimes a simple view becomes overloaded with meaning when inner feelings insist on finding their way into the paint during less serene times. That tree swirling out there in the middle of it all has certainly taken on a personality of its own.

painting of window view, tree and fell in oils

turbulent times call for turbulent trees – oil on canvas, 9×12 inches, painted as seen through the window