Back from the North...

Below and right: Views from where we stayed

I'm back from the Lake District after a short break. Lovely scenery but a tad cold for sketching out of doors but that didn't stop me. I did a few oil studies and some sketches - no doubt they will be fodder for some future work, but the process of doing them is valuable too. This time I was keen to try and match the colour of what I could see to what I painted. Often I sketch with pencil and don't use colour but make colour notes. However, after sessions with my students recently I decided to brush up my observational skills, because time spent observing is never wasted. It is more difficult than we realise, too!
There were winter colours everywhere, punctuated by the fresh yellow-green of the first flush of new foliage. Blossoms added a softness to the scenes and Steve remarked that he could see why the Japanese are so fond of the Lake District - Wabi Sabi (very roughly, the beauty of the imperfect, as explained in a recent tv programme) - twisted trees and rocky outcrops with a backdrop of mountains prevail.
One of our best days was a trip to Wastwater to see the rock screes. I did two studies here even though it was windy and cold. The light was ever-changing, consequently the colours were amazing and I felt I couldn't do them justice in a quick sketch. But it was the experience of doing

it which was important - I believe something seeps into the subconscious every time we draw and paint.
Today, I popped in to the Morlan Centre to see Dot and Harry who were stewarding the Picture Makers 'Cwm' exhibition to fill them in on my break and to catch up on what I'd missed.

Dot stewarding at Morlan