I love those warm, clear summer evenings when the landscape is bathed in the fast fading sunlight. This little study was done in some nearby field by the road just outside the village of Castlethorpe. I had to work at lightning speed. The scene seemed to change every 5 minutes. It was a bit of a frenzy but I really enjoyed the challenge of it all. I tried to be as decisive about the colours/tones as possible so that I didn’t have to keep revising what I’d put down. This helps keep things clean and fresh (to a point, anyway). After 25 minutes or so the sun had moved from one side of the tree to the outside of the other!

I’m hoping to work up a bigger version based on this one back in the studio. I actually find that much more difficult as I don’t have the energy of the subject to feed off. My mark making and colour mixing are more instictive when working on location. Nevertheless, I think I’ll still give it a go as the subject is so enticing.