Autumn Field

 It’s been such a long time since I posted here, so I thought it was high time I was back here again. The  beautiful warm weather lulled us all into a false sense of security I think, but autumn is most definitely here now with the rain lashing against the windows as I write this. The views across the fields are changing too, with that soft focus murkiness taking the place of intense blue skies and dark shadows. I think there is still a lot of beauty in the murkiness (which is just as well as I’m sure we’ll see plenty of it over the next few months)! 

The Best Laid Plans . . . 

If everything had gone to perfect plan, today I would have been on my first day of recovery after surgery. Unfortunately, I failed my pre-op last week, so everything is delayed while I have more tests and now wait to go to another hospital for my op. It’s very frustrating as the timing was perfect - there is only four months until Artweeks 2020 and there will be so much to do to prepare for that. . . 

Still, as they say, life carries on happening while we are busy making plans, so although I felt fed up yesterday I decided to get on with things anyway, warping up my smaller loom and starting on another scarf, weaving a lap blanket on the bigger loom, and spinning some more lovely, soft Blue Faced Leicester wool to weave into cloth for a waistcoat.

Today I did a painting of the still-soggy fields of elephant grass down by the river. Painting takes so much concentration that it’s completely absorbing, so after two days of filling my time with doing all  the creative things I love, I feel so much better. What creative things lift your spirits? 

Winter Evening 8” x 10” oil on board

It is true that if you wait until you feel inspired to paint, very little painting will happen; so with that in mind and feeling just about as uninspired as I could possibly be, I picked my brushes up today. All I had really wanted to do was stay snuggled in front of the fire, but as always I’m really glad I forced myself  to paint as it’s always a calming thing to do and I always feel better for it. 

It’s been a fraught time lately, not least because we found another lump on our beloved dog Boo. He had only had surgery to remove a cancerous lump from his tummy just four months ago, and here we were facing surgery again - this time for a mast cell tumour, similar to one he had when he was only two years old. That time it had been followed up by several months chemotherapy, so we were very concerned this time. 

Thankfully Boo’s latest surgery went very well, and this evening we saw the vet to discuss if  further treatment is needed, I’m really relieved that the decision was that the surgery should be enough this time. You would think that, after all he has gone through in his (almost) 9 years, Boo would be very wary of going to the vet’s, but no! He loves it, can’t wait to get in there with his waggy tail and lick  all the staff, and do his “puppy eyes” so that he gets lots of treats! We are very fortunate to have such a great veterinary hospital at Chipping Norton; our family has most certainly been glad of it the past few months.

‘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. . .