I parked the car in an open gateway facing south west into a large stubble field and across to a group of tall trees on the skyline in the distance and snow capped hills to the right further away. Other features of note were the parallel lines of crop stubble going back to the skyline from tracks left by tractors around the entrance and puddles reflecting the sky. To the right slightly crooked wooden post with brambles and ivy growing on and around it. Again – as with most of my paintings, these sketches and study were done during the middle to late afternoon. The weather was very showery and during the time I was there (about 1 1/2 hours) it turned quickly from bright sunshine to rain with a sky full of large dark billowy rain clouds. This and the cold temperatures, to me, were again not conducive to sketching outside so I stayed in the car. Also the fields were very wet and muddy so I wasn’t tempted to walk into it. The sky looked quite dramatic at times and I wanted to emphasise this and the parallel lines of stubble created by the agricultural activities. Also the trees and nearby field post were distinctive and interesting.
I saw this view previously when I parked the car in the same place but at a different angle to do the study I didn’t proceed with in Building a picture (Exercise 8) of the previous project. So, since I was relatively familiar with the view I took along some wax crayon to depict the lines of stubble as resist areas and for the dead grasses around the post. It was just as well I did as the light toned lines glowed brightly against the contrasting dark earth.
There is quite a lot going on all in all, yet the combination adds up to a fascinating view which I felt worthy of a try. Looking at the individual elements I could visualize making a quite a number of variations on this theme and perhaps producing compositions focusing in on smaller areas such as the gate post area or the trees, including part of the field.
ainewatercolouroca 