Beverley Minster from Swinemoor.

Plein air oil on canvas 12x10

It has been difficult to get here to paint. This is my fourth visit. The Minster seen from the Swinemoor pasture is an attractive view, though recently, poor visibility has obscured the Minster itself. Today I walked the banks of the River Hull to reach the site, my attention was drawn to the river surface as I spotted ripples on the turning tide. Closer inspection revealed hundreds of fish feeding and swimming slowly upstream. Their red fins and dark bodies suggesting roach or rudd. Someone passing remarked that the river was black with fish the previous day. Onto Swinemoor I headed for this pond. I thought it would provide a little foreground interest and also some sky reflection. The horses were at least a quarter mile away when I started, they got closer and closer as I painted. Suddenly there seemed to be lots of horses standing still looking straight at me. Expectantly. I realised that shaking my brushes clean in the plastic bucket I use must have sounded like food being rattled in a tub. It became rather disconcerting, causing me to rush and finish. On the way back to the car I noticed that we still have some swallows here, flying low over the grassland, before their migration back to Africa. A beautiful Red Admiral butterfly basking in the sun caught my eye and I thought that it would soon be hibernating. It has been a good year for butterflies. I intend to produce more views from Swinemoor towards the Minster as the new Flemingate development may obscure some of the view.

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