Castle Howard, April 7th 2015.

Plein air oil on board 12x10 inch.

The forecast was good so hence the trip to Castle Howard. Poor planing meant a stop for petrol which in turn resulted in traveling via York, BIG MISTAKE !!! The traffic on the ringroad was nose to tail for miles. Anyway eventually, we approached Castle Howard along the undulating tree lined roads with daffodils adding a splash of yellow here and there. The weather had encouraged others to visit and the car park was almost full. We took George for a walk and gave him a drink and then we walked down to the Fitzroy Restaurant at the house for some light lunch. The restaurant was busy with tourists some of whom may have been from Japan which always adds to the atmosphere. Walking around the grounds with the pochade box we noticed that the Atlas fountain had been drained, presumably for maintenance and so we will look forward to seeing it working later on. We walked to the other side of the house and down towards the main lake, here we turned and saw this view. I quickly set up the pochade box and began to capture the scene. A little ambitious to try and get too much detail resulted in this picture which, I think captures the essence of the house. The roofline seems to be dotted with chimneys and statues on pediments, all rather ornate. So here I have suggested this rather than detailed it. That will be for a larger picture I think, and when we have more time. Occasionally the serenity of the situation was broken as trainer planes flew overhead, thankfully not jets, rather propeller driven.

Happy Painting everyone.