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| Acrylic on deep edge canvas 12x16 inch |
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| Detail |
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| Detail |
It was arranged to take FSD and an art student (from Tokyo) to the site of the gigantic haystack at Minningdale. The intention was to facilitate a plein air painting by the student ( L), it would be her first plein air painting. She also had never used water based oils or a pochade box. All these materials were provided and we anticipated setting up at the site. Approaching the venue I began to wonder if the haystack would still be there as I could not see it from the dip in the road. I pulled up and sure enough there was no sign of the gigantic stack. Disappointed I turned round and drove back towards Huggate at which point I saw a yellow tractor emerging onto the road from a field on my right. I recognised it, and the driver and we both stopped. He climbed down from his cab and we greeted each other with a handshake, then he told me that he had shifted the stack about a week previously in order to beat the forecast rain. A walk on the COBDALE path a short time later found us looking up to see him, in another field, driving a bale chaser. It was fascinating to see how the bales were picked up, rotated, turned and stacked on the trailer. I made a mental note to revisit soon and hopefully find another haystack. After a short walk I drove to Thixendale and found a sheltered spot at the dew pond near the Robert Fuller Gallery. The field on our left was full of topped potatoes ridges which created ribbons of shadows in the bright sun. This was a good alternative subject. The linearity of the shadows created foreground interest, they indicated both the type of crop and the late season. We decided to have a drink and sandwiches then I set up the pochade box for my student going through some initial issues. This was a steep learning curve as it involved how to plan the painting, mix the paints and consider the effects of a moving sun. I left the student to develop her painting and started my own a few feet away using a French easel. I kept checking her progress and would suggest ideas regarding different aspects and avenues to go down. FSD worked on a watercolour and also supervised George as we all worked. A hunter, fine boned and alert came over causing us to stop and feed it some fresh grass. Walkers constantly emerged from the THIXEN Dale valley and as they passed we happily chatted. A man in a new, orange Morgan three wheeled sports car stopped and we had a very interesting conversation about the car. I mentioned my own open top car discovering we had a lot in common.
My student was almost finished, her painting was an excellent effort. I packed up and we all set off for home having had a wonderful afternoon.
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L working up her painting
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| Her finished work, excellent effort. |
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