Countryside walk

 I've just finished this oil painting, based on a photo reference I took in 2016.

82.
Countryside walk
7.8 × 11.8 in / 19.8 × 29.9 cm
oil on board
16th May 2025

I decided to call it Countryside Walk because that was the moment when I saw this beautiful natural composition. As often happens when I walk with my dog in nature, I’m easily drawn to the beautiful play of clouds in the sky and the shadows cast on the ground.

For me, movement, freedom, and fresh air are the essence of nature – elements I tried to capture in this painting.

Below, you can see some close-up details of the brushstrokes I used to convey this feeling:

the clouds in the sky

the trees trees on the right

the distant trees

the grass in the field

I began this painting in January 2025, then set it aside for a while. Here is how it looked at the beginning of the process – just the main blocks of colour:

Stage 1

And here is a more recent stage:

Final stages of this painting

Crai reservoir

Today I decided to make the most of this glorious weather and so I went to paint the view of the Crai reservoir from a lay-by in the Brecon Beacons National Park.

81.
Crai reservoir
8 x 12 in / 20.32 x 30.48 cm
oil on board
10th May 2025

It was an absolutely amazing place. The light changed constantly, and many bikers and cyclists stopped to have a chat and a peek at my painting.

I really needed to be out in this stunning national park.

Lay-by location on the A4067

Plein air painting in progress

The washing line

"The washing line" is the first painting of 2025 and the first painting made in Ystradgynlais, the village in Wales where I live now.

80.
05/05/2025
The washing line
7 x 9 in / 17.8 x 22.9 cm
oil on board

05th May 2025

I painted it en plein air from my garden. I have always been fascinating by clothes lines and this is the first chance I had to capture it with my paint.

This painting has revealed me new aspects of oils and I like the fact that on the background there is the Brecon Beacons National Park.

This was my painting setting and view.