Strensall Common lies just outside York and is an area of outstanding natural beauty. Strictly speaking the common is quite small but add the adjacent army training area and it becomes a large expanse of extraordinary and diverse habitats. The colours and wide stretch of heathland moor always bring the Serengeti National Park in Africa to my mind and I almost expect to see zebras being chased by a pride of lions rather than the peaceful grazing sheep. I have painted it many times and always enjoyed the experience whether outdoors or back in the warmth of my studio. This painting is a revisit to one of my early watercolours. The original was 30" x 22" and took a long time to do. The main attraction was the lovely yellow gorse flowers signalling a sure sign of Spring. However I had decided to use the painting as the basis for a workshop demonstration so had to work quickly for this one. To be honest I like this better than the original as I was able to tidy up a few details and add a bit more dramatic contrast with the dark shadows. Here's the original:
No comments:
Post a Comment