View from my window

I always look forward to the moment when I first open the blinds to greet the day. I’m lucky to have an expansive view from my window which takes in the Lomond Hills to the south west, the Mount directly in front of me and, a bit closer to hand, the spires of the town of Cupar. The view rarely disappoints, even on a wet and miserable morning, there is always something to see, even if it is only the Dundee to Edinburgh train gliding along the embankment.

On a fine winter’s morning, the Mount is often lit by the sun while the valley remains shaded. This was the case the other day with a pale moon still visible. The common was recently flooded and the remnants of a small loch is yet to recede. Dominating the image is a large monkey puzzle tree, which so far has only featured on the margins of any of my work.

This scene, for me, has a number of elements that regularly inspire me to pick up my paintbrush: a big sky, skeletal winter trees, a body of water and the opportunity to create a textured landscape. I was also keen to contrast the jewel-like hill on the horizon with the almost monochromatic scene in the middle and foreground.

I’ve recently been experimenting with creating texture using paper coated with an acrylic medium, and have been pleasantly surprised by the outcome. In this painting, Cockfield morning,, the pigment has been thinly applied with a palette knife, with some of the finer detail applied by brush. The end result is an impressionistic and almost abstract piece which never-the-less conveys a sense of the windswept moors and the threatening skies, with the promise of rain in the offing.

I have applied the same techniques in the execution of this painting. While there are elements which I like, it is, in my view, less successful than Cockfield morning. It lacks the spontaneity of the earlier work, doesn’t hang together as well as I would like and hasn’t captured what I had hoped to convey. However, as a preliminary sketch, it provides me with a springboard to tackle this image again in a different medium. My next effort will be in oils, a medium I love but have not used much in recent weeks.