Black Mill, Westwood, Beverley, 8th August 2014.

Black Mill, Westwood, Beverley - plein air on board 12 x 10"

£70

The forecast was for heavy showers with the promise for tomorrow that we could see the after effects of hurricane Bertha. In the event the rain held off, though ominous skies kept you glancing up. It was warm and I found myself again looking at the disused mill. In spite of drops of rain I started the painting using the tailgate as a shelter. The rain eased off before returning with a vengence causing me to shut the pochade box and seek shelter in the car. Exciting. I decided to strap myself to the mast and finish it off. Occasionally golfers with their colourful umbrellas passed, some optimistically starting, others realistically finishing early. The rain came down harder and managed to begin to soak me so I stopped and packed up. The pochade box made this easy and quick and I felt rather satisfied that the painting was done in such trying conditions. Just as I packed up I saw paint, in great quantities, covering my cagule arm and also my trousers. I must have touched the paint on the pallette when trying to detail parts of the picture. I am noticing that the swifts are now very few in number. Always a sad realization as it also means summer is passing. They arrived late April and we know they stay for almost 100 days - the screaming skies, now silent, are filled with low flying swallows and house martins. They at least will prolong summer a little longer.
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