March visit to Markshall

Yesterday, on the Spring Equinox, I made my third visit to Markshall for my Twelve Months on an Essex Country Estate painting project. It was the most beautiful day, the warmest so far this year by a long way, with clear blue skies.

I decided to take one of the Woodland Walks rather than go into the garden, and followed the Blue Trail to Crowlands Wood – for those of you familiar with the grounds.
Part of the track runs along between the wooded area and the edge of the fields and I found a good place to sit on the grassy edge of the track facing into the trees, with a large coppiced hazel covered in rusty coloured catkins in the foreground.

I liked the intricacies of all the trunks and branches and thought it would be a real challenge to paint!

It was very quiet and peaceful sitting in the sun sketching with my Caran D’Ache Neocolour wax pastels, and only two walkers came passed – one of whom said, ‘Are you drawing anything nice?’ . . .

There were lots of pheasant crowing near and far, and several times I heard the laughing call of green woodpeckers. The silky silver buds of the pussy willow are just opening, but the blackthorn in the wood was still in quite tight bud, hardly showing white at all, although I have seen it elsewhere in full flower. I picked a little twig of each to draw for this month’s Pickings.
Here are a few photos from the woods.

Once I had finished sketching I left all my gear in the car and walked round the gardens. Robin’s Grove, where I painted the snowdrops last month is now full of daffodils and primroses.

In fact there were daffodils all over the gardens, in the grass, under the trees, wherever I looked – so daffodils are going to be the subject of my Flowerings painting this month.
One more photo – beautiful reflections in the lake . . .

My last month’s Flowerings painting, which I was rather late finishing, is now on the Small Paintings and Drawings page, and there is another new pastel painting, called Into the Wood, on the Gallery 2025 page.