Set aside at Etton West Wood, a pochade box painting.

 Near Etton West Wood

It was mid afternoon on a hot day when I set off to paint this picture. I walked George alongside the Wood to the top of the slight hill where I could look down on Low Gardham surrounded by mature fields of pale ripe wheat, patches of woodland could be seen here and there with hedges delineated the gentle hillsides.

I am standing in a portion of set-aside by a wheat field. The set-aside contains many plants especially Dorcas Carota, some sort of white geranium plant, in the middle foreground yellow Ragwort provided a bright patch of colour, elsewhere rusting dock spires mingled with straw coloured grasses and lady’s bedstraw. Nearby a multi-headed tall thistle added flashes of pale mauve. The set-aside patch of land provided an interesting foreground to paint,  the scene includes the spire of Saint Mary’s church, over in nearby South Dalton. As I painted I could hear the distant drone of farm machinery working the land. Looking across fields I could see two combine harvesters working up and down a green field. They were been approached by tractors pulling high sided trailers which were being fed by the combines. I was a little confused at first, as obviously it wasn’t wheat that was been combined. I will have to do some research. It may be beans. I don’t think it was peas as I didn’t see any wagons however of course it might just be that The combines were tidying up, any pea plants left after harvesting.

14x10 inch, oil on canvas board.

Available from my online store

Though it was a very hot day we were sheltered from both the sun and the strong wind by the nearby woodland. Here, George is resting on a deep bed of dry grass, surrounded by tall rusting columns of dock plants. The pochade box and tripod arrangement can be clearly seen.

The painting in the pochade box nearing completion.

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For fellow artists who want to make their own POCHADE box I have written a complete, comprehensive guide which includes examples of finished paintings, available from my online store - see below

A video can be seen HERE