“View at Holt Heath.”
I am on the final count down to the Italy paint trip now. I am really excited about it. 10 days of plein air painting, under the direct tuition of my painting coach, Stefan Baumann. Hope that I will be able to get to a whole new level. Knowing it was the last chance to experiment with plein air before the trip, I have chosen another one for my weekly painting.
We went to Holt Heath National Nature Reserve, which is only few miles from home. It is a beautiful natural park spanning over 1048 acres (424 ha). There is a walk around part of it, with lots of hidden places and wildlife, which is used by dog walkers and as a bridleway. It is also used by bikers on MTBs. Sometimes, during the day, cattle and horses are brought on the heath and allowed to graze. Stunning views. I was thinking about painting there for a long time; my commute goes through the heath nearly every day.
I set up my easel near the car park (if you could call a little layby which can only accommodate few cars a car park), where the circular walk starts, looking towards the edge of the heath.
I painted in one sessions (few brakes from time to time), working alla prima. I haven’t used any medium, just some turps. The palette was reduced, two blues, three yellows, a red, two browns and white.
I painted on a linen board, first time I am using it. Because the board is not very hard (being very thin), I had to place a hard board behind it. The easel (Italian field easel) was quite stable in spite of the strong wind. I had to attach the back pack with the supplies to it, to make it heavier, hence more stable after nearly fell over pushed by a gust of wind. But, after that was fine, although I didn’t use the umbrella, so it is not fully tested for wind.
So, here it is:
“View at Holt Heath.”
Oil on linen board.
12” X 16”.
