The Ridgeway VI
The first painting of 2019 off the easel – this is The Ridgeway VI.
The drawing and photographs which were the source material for this painting were done in June last year when I had a wonderful week walking the Ridgeway. I chose sections between White Horse Hill at Uffington and the Buckinghamshire end of the trail at Ivinghoe Beacon.
On this particular day I had left the car in the White Horse Hill car park, and had done a detour to Wayland’s Smithy, which is back in a westerly direction, not very far from where I had finished my weeks walking in 2016. Then I retraced my steps and walked back until I got to the high ground above the slope into which the Uffington White Horse is carved. This view is approaching White Horse Hill walking eastwards. It was a windy cloudy day, and not long after I got to the trig point on the top of the hill there was a brief shower of rain – but then it blew over and the sun came out. The chalk track is relatively smooth at this point – basically pure chalk beaten down by the passage of many feet over so many years . . . . .
In my studio: Next up is another Ridgeway painting, of one of the beautiful beech hangers that are seen along the sides of the chalk ridge.
In the shop: A few days ago I added another card pack – the Autumn and Winter images of the Essex Wood. And I’m working on my Four Seasons on the Stour book, which I’m hoping will be in the shop by the end of the month!
Friday again tomorrow – hope you have a lovely weekend! We had snow for about ten minutes this morning – big whirling flakes! Keep warm! 🙂