Friday 22 February 2019

‘Towards Leafield’ 8” x 10” oil sketch


Today had been set aside for a short car drive and a spot of Plein air painting as the weather forecast had been for a warm, sunny day - what a joy for February! Well, warm it certainly was (a mighty 17 degrees this afternoon), but lovely hubby and I woke up to fog which showed absolutely no sign of being in a hurry to shift. We waited in vain until lunchtime and decided to go for it anyway - even though the sky was still pretty murky looking - as I’d got all my painting gear ready. 

So, flask of coffee made, we set off in the car in the hope that the promised sun would break through the murk. We drove through the Wychwood forest heading towards Leafield looking for a promising scene, but with the softness of the day nothing really looked interesting. In the end I settled for the view across the rolling fields towards Leafield, with its broad Church spire on the skyline peering out through the mist. 

On a sunny day this view is glorious, but today it just looked flat and uninspiring. Even so, all practice is good and, as the murk started lifting a little and the light started changing, the fields became slightly more interesting and I started to enjoy myself. 

I only spent an hour on this little oil sketch, but the pleasure was in being in a quiet spot, and experiencing the sights, sounds and scents of the countryside around me. Of course, as soon as I had finished painting and packed away my painting gear, the sun finally decided to come out and the whole scene before me was transformed! That will be a painting for another day. . .

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