Path to the blue hill

Oil pastel on paper 5.5" x 3.5"

This is my first oil pastel painting. They feel very strange to work with. I worked on a piece of water colour paper which I had gessoed with black gesso. You can see it round the edges and also in the painting peeping through. I don't know what to think about it but I wanted to try something different. It reminds me of the etchings we used to do at art school.

Tree shadows

This painting has been sold


Acrylic on hardboard 6" x 7.5"

The hills around here dip and fold in quite a close and contained way so a lot of the time you don't get really long vistas but you can see 3 or 4 levels of peaks in quite close succession falling away to the horizon. I was working here from some photographs I took in May to try to get that across. I love this view with the tree shadows on the hillside. I always like to go back there. This is near Glossop in Derbyshire. It's less wild than Longdendale which is moving more towards the Yorkshire moors.
Update on posting: I have restored the original image here because the buyer preferred it that way!

Autumn sunshine, Torside

Oil on hardboard 8" x 7.75"

The day after the bad weather day we got lovely sunshine, not too bright, October type sunshine. The dark shadow in the foreground was caused by a stone wall behind me. It's shadow is long because of the time of year.

Stormy skies, Torside

This painting has been sold


Oil on canvas board 8" x 8"

I started this on site where I did the acrylic underpainting - blocking in main shapes. The weather was pretty bleak and although I was sheltered by a wall I gave up before I intended to and finished it indoors.

Northern Settlement

This painting has been sold

Oil on hardboard 8" x 8"

I did this a while ago and then discarded it as a loser but the other day I picked it up and kind of liked it if only for the story it tells, of how we around these parts have to build where the hills let us, so the houses sort of settle in the dips and troughs the hills provide. It's nice I think.

Longdendale Reservoirs October

This painting has been sold

Acrylic on hardboard 8" x 8"

Reservoir Longdendale October

This painting has been sold


Acrylic on wood 8" x 8"

We had some good weather over the weekend, unusual for October, so I managed to get out for a few hours again. I'll post the second piece tomorrow.

Autumn hedgerow

This painting has been sold

Acrylic on hardboard 8" x 8"

Two new larger landscapes

I have recently done two new landscapes in a larger size - both are 16" x 16". They are: "Houses at Padfield" and "Dry stone wall". You can see them by clicking on this link to my web site and selecting "Paintings" and the "Northern landscapes" collection.

Longdendale view

Acrylic on hardboard 8" x 8"

Longdendale trail

This painting has been sold

Acrylic on hardboard 8" x 8"

The weather has become very rainy and blowy. I was out working on a bigger painting this morning but when my (paper plate) palette blew away into the next field spattering paint all over the dry stone wall I gave up. Next time I need to find a more sheltered spot.