Stokesay Castle Gatehouse, from the churchyard.

A recent trip to Shropshire, England, close to the border with Wales. A picturesque, peaceful area with many very old, timber-framed buildings in the towns and villages.

This first painting is of the gatehouse to Stokesay castle, which is not really a castle but a fortified medieval manor house, and has several different amazing architectural aspects. The view I had planned to paint was covered by scaffolding for restoration work (very frustrating!), so from the churchyard next door I found this composition of the very wonky timber framed gatehouse building. The castle itself is just off to the right.  The painting looks almost black and white, so strong was the sun and directly behind the subject.  I think the photo gives you the impression.
I left a lot of white paper to try to give the impression of ‘shine’ on the foliage and where the light catches elsewhere.  The sky was painted with the palest of wash, just hinting at some light cloud, but giving all importance to the light.  One challenge was coming up with a shaded mustard colour, which was true to the building’s real colour.  I suppose I could have pretended it was white, but I liked the colour, and in the end a quick thick mix based around Raw Umber and Winsor Blue gave me a reasonable likeness.
I do wish I’d used a totally soft edge for the distant woods, either at left or right, as this would have really added something extra to the painting.  There’s always something one forgets to consider for long enough in the heat of battle!  It was so sunny (and hot) that getting the washes down quickly enough onto the Bockingford (absorbant by nature) was really challenging.

The second painting here is of Wenlock Priory. Or rather, just a section of the remains of the priory. There is much more to it than this, and it would be worth returning many times to paint the various remaining sections of the old building from many angles at different times of day. I could have done with more distinct light and shade during my couple of hours here. The architectural remnants are complicated and a challenge to simplify, but the main thing I think I’ve not succeeded in capturing is the sheer scale. If I lived nearby I’d be here every week!

Wenlock priory, Shropshire.

Finally, below is the scene in the corner of a meadow field, where we were staying in a ‘shepherd’s hut’.  Glamping, they call it.  In an organic, sustainably managed meadow high on a hill, which also contained an orchard and a fruit and vegetable area lower down.  Fantastic views over the valley too.  Our entertainment at the end of the day was ‘farmwatch live’.  A farmer’s work is never done, at least not until the bats come out.
When I started painting this one the sun was bursting through the clouds in front, but almost straight away this changed and the light became much duller for the duration of the painting.  I tried to retain some of the what had been there while it lasted, such as in the young tree backlit in front of the large oak tree.  It is counterchange like this that helps to pick out some real shapes in such a subject.  Otherwise, the process of simplifying and interpreting from the multitude of grasses and leaves is very difficult, and that is all this painting consists of.  Also important is making the most of texture, with dry brush and wet techniques combined in places, and overlaid in others.  In this situation you need all the ‘range’ you can pull out of the bag, such as small marks to set against larger ones, and busy areas to counter quiet areas.  I looked for the variations in colour, and enhanced the differences a bit.  The small marks of a bird or two in the sky may in fact have helped the painting, but I decided to resist and see if it could stand on its own two feet without.

Wild meadow corner oak.

Each of these paintings is going to feature, briefly, in a short video I’ll be adding to my website, when it’s done.