Burton Bushes, Beverley, East Yorkshire, 26th February 2014.

Pochade box plein air 12x 10" oil on board. NFS.

Late afternoon quick painting. Though busy in the morning and over lunchtime we decided to visit the "wood" again and try a quick pochade oil sketch. Having set up I wanted to work quickly, yet record the main subject accurately, this being the tree. Also wanted to get the feeling of how dense the wood is with lots of holly providing a dark background. Vegetation is also evident on the floor to the right, with embryonic bluebell leaves emerging through the leafmould. At one point, on the left, snowdrops were lighting up the leaf-strewn floor - always a delight to see. The venerable knarled oak tree stands, moss covered and scarred at the edge of the clearing. A suggestion of a path leading into the wood can be made out to the right side of the picture. A real problem when painting was that it started to rain, only showers which eventually would pass. But here is the point. If I had taken my French easel this would have been a problem, however, the pochade box, tripod mounted, allowed me to simply close the lid - protecting the painting - as the showers came and went.
H A P P Y  P A I N T I N G

Detail 1

Detail 2

Detail 3