From the Studio

Occasional Jottings

Wintering

by | Nov 22, 2023 | Occasional Jottings

Wintering

A friend I sing with, spoke yesterday about looking forward to the Spring. 
I get it.
 
Its November. We are surrounded by growing carpets of vivid oranges, yellows and reds as trees shed leaves they have extracted nutrients from, exposing these gorgeous colours. But this colour will wane over the next few months as winter takes its rightful place.
 
“Autumn Lane”, a contemporary painting in acrylic inks on paper,  reflects my joy of walking through this autumn season of colour in Suffolk lanes. It will feature in the December Studio SALE. (Details on “Events: 2023” page).
Temperatures are falling, and days shortening. Here in rural Suffolk, it’s easy to feel more and more limited by these notes of what lies ahead: winter’s darker days.

This large watercolour is a response to the grey, wet days which can sometimes oppress us. To make it, I enjoyed using the unique properties of watercolour on excellent paper, hand made by British company “Two Rivers Paper Company”. 

It will feature in the December Studio SALE.

Winter also reveals the gorgeous shapes of trees, stripped of their canopies. As an artist who loves drawing plein-air, this offers a feast of opportunities. A walk in any Suffolk woodland provides an irresistible number of inspiring forms as in this photo, followed by two quick sketches on site….

Plein-air charcoal and graphite sketch.
Second plein-air sketch using coloured charcoal and selecting particular forms to explore an abstracted version of the woodland.
Here’s another sketch, based mainly on how I imagine these invisible, collaborative forces in nature.

I hope it expresses the powerful energies working out of sight but all around us.

I’m looking forward to enjoying the deeper tones and textures of winter.
There’s something very reassuring in nature’s invisible bedding down and building of strength in winter. I imagine the trees mingling resources and phytochemicals at root levels, and cooperating with fungi and microbes in the soil.

This comforting knowledge will enter the new work I look forward to making over the next few months, making ‘Wintering’ a season of hope.