NOTES ON WORKING IN THE LANDSCAPE
There are very practical issues which effect the process of painting out of doors.
- The amount of equipment one has to transport. I for example am usually restricted to what can be carried on a bicycle. Therefore the paintings tend to be small.
- The weather. It is possible to paint in a cold, even snowy landscape but not for long. Rain makes it almost impossible. Wind even on a sunny summer day can chill one to the bone.
- Time. Working with the quality of light restricts the length of time it is possible to paint before the pattern of light and shadow has shifted so much a new view has appeared. Two hours is about the limit.
The size of a painting has some relationship with the kind of landscape one can portray. I never felt that the size of paper or canvas I could use when in the mountains in Canada could possibly cope with the huge scale of the place. Thus I feel the more intimate landscape of the Thames Valley is possible for me as a painting environment.