Big Skies, Muddy Boots & What's Happening in the Studio

The studio has been busy recently.

The first batch of work from the new collection is heading off to be professionally scanned before the originals are framed and prepared. At the same time, new paintings are steadily appearing around the studio, leaning against walls, balanced on shelves and generally taking over the place.

One larger piece has recently gone off to live in a local hotel in the Lakes, which is always nice. It's a bit like sending a child off to university, except the child is quieter and considerably easier to live with.

As for the collection itself, I'm beginning to see the common thread running through it all.

It probably won't come as a surprise that it involves being outdoors.

A lot.

The work has been heavily influenced by time spent walking through the Lake District, the Pennines, along the coast and across open moorland. Not in a grand "artist seeking inspiration" sort of way. More in a "I like being outside and these places seem to stick with me" sort of way.

The landscapes themselves are part of it, but it's often the feeling they leave behind that finds its way into the paintings.

Big skies.

Open ground.

Distant tracks.

The odd winding path disappearing over a hill.

The sort of places where you can stand for a while, look around and realise that whatever was bothering you five minutes ago suddenly seems a lot smaller.

I've found myself becoming less interested in painting a specific location and more interested in painting that feeling.

The sense of space.

The quiet.

The light breaking through after a shower.

The feeling that there is something just beyond the next hill.

Many of the paintings include paths or routes leading away into the distance. I've never really planned that consciously, but they keep appearing. I suppose they represent possibility in a way. Moving forward. Following your nose. Seeing what's around the next corner.

Or perhaps I just spend too much time walking.

Probably a bit of both.

The collection is still growing and evolving, but those ideas seem to sit at the heart of it. Light, open spaces and the feeling of being drawn onwards.

For now, it's back to the studio.

The paintings aren't going to finish themselves.

Unfortunately.

Victoria