Glentanar walk 24 February 2012

A beautiful day - bright sunshine and a playful gusty wind.  Definitely the promise of spring.  Seven of us in the Walking for Health group with Mike the ranger.  We went to parts of Glentanar that were new to me - a charming and most enjoyable walk.

An enjoyable day's painting

Had a most enjoyable day today painting.  A friend came round and we spent the morning in companionable near-silence, each painting watercolour landscapes from photographs, pausing only to fuel our creativity with tea and rock cakes.  I chose a bridge from my favourite place, Glentanar.  I liked the way the  diagonal line of the stone parapet leads your eye into the picture and I liked the shadows of the trees on the ground.

I did a pencil sketch first to try out the tones.  I think it helped me plan the composition of the picture.

Here is the original photograph, which I took a week or two ago during a walk in Glentanar:

I am really enjoying setting aside a regular time to paint.  If I were on my own, I would get distracted and bogged down in domestic tasks.  It is such a joy to lose myself in painting and very interesting to see my companion's work and compare our styles and approaches.  It's good to have someone to talk art with, someone who shares my enthusiasm.

Still Life Paintings



Acrylics on paper




acrylics on paper

 

Soft pastels



Glentanar Pictures

Here are some photographs I took while walking in one of my favourite places, Glentanar.

I particularly liked this last one.  I love how the dark trees in the foreground frame the view and lead your eye into the bright  middle ground where the reeds are catching the sun's light.

I painted the watercolour picture below from that photo: