“The derelict barn near Cranborne on stormy weather.”
Spring is almost here. Less than a week to spring equinox. And the weather is getting the spring feeling. After months of rain, rain, rain and more rain, and some wind, is time for the spring rains and some more wind. And if that wasn’t enough, storm Hannah has arrived. Bringing some hail stones, some snow in the north of the country and, of course some strong winds. I was meant to take part in a cycling event in Wiltshire, 31 miles (I opted for the short event) from Salisbury Race Court , through Sixpenny Handley, Fordingbridge and back to the Salisbury Race Course. Because of the storm Hannah, the event was cancelled, or more precisely postponed, new date to be confirmed. Hence, on the Saturday morning, I ended up in the little forest near Cranborne, painting again the derelict barn. I wanted to paint it again from a different angle. The painting, on this occasion, was a challenge, because of the strong wind and some fine drizzle coming from time to time. Very hard to concentrate. After a good start, I ended up, don’t know how, raising the horizon lane. So, after a while I decided to call it a day, packed the gear and went back home, finishing the painting in the warmth of the studio. I wanted, though, to keep the freshness and spontaneity of the plein air, so I haven’t overworked anything.
I used a reduced version of my palette, plus some added colours with cerulean blue, cobalt and ultramarine blue, cadmium red light, cadmium yellow medium and light, yellow ochre, Italian Cassel, asphaltum, burnt umber and warm white. Again, I didn’t use any medium, just turps to thin the paints.
So, here it is:
“The derelict barn near Cranborne, on stormy weather.”
Oil on linen.
30 X 40cm (12” X 16”).
