St Mary's Church, Beverley from the racecourse.

St. Mary's Church, Beverley, plein air oil on canvas 20x16"

Walking George to the racecourse via the kissing gate next to the cattle fold off York Road, I pass this view. The ground here is very rutted, squelchy, slippery and slimy, one needs to tread carefully. This painting took two visits to complete and I like the composition. St. Mary's is a magnificent church, a beautiful building and much loved in Beverley. However maintenance costs demand that they always need donations to maintain the fabric, (Please consider donating ) Anyway back to the picture, it was lovely finishing this today as there were so many people out walking, some with dogs others just enjoying the sunny weather. I talked to some people from nearby Cottingham who had been exercising a lovely collie dog. We chatted about a particular building just visible here. The racecourse just to my left seemed in constant use by groups of happy, animatedly talking people wrapped up against the cold, though nevertheless enjoying the sun while exercising their dogs. What I like about this view is the foreground interest. The drunken fence posts just seemingly managing to stay upright, suggesting future gatherings will happen here, as there have been for years. At the moment the cattle and sheep are absent, being introduced, I think in April as the weather and importantly, the grass improves. Hope you like the picture.

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