MORNING LIGHT, CLIEVES’ HILLS – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

My old stomping ground of Clieves’ Hills, outside Ormskirk, was the recent venue for some early morning painting. I liked the isolated tree on the hill opposite with the sun blazing over the woodland. The sun didnt last long and I was treated to hazy light and a chill wind. This painting was done in the studio. The actual sketch is below.

With the lack the sun’s blaze and a chill in the air, I struggled with sketch; nothing dried at this early hour. I also had trouble with tone and hue – but I cant blame that on the weather. The unsatisfactory sketch was the main reason to have a another go in the warmth of the studio as I thought that there was something more in this simple scene that was worth capturing.

I think that the second attempt manages to convey some of the mystery and atmosphere I felt at that early hour.

Other landscapes are available for sale on my website: graahammcquadefineart.com

SUN OVER CLIEVES’ HILLS – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

After my foray into the countrtryside last weekend, here is a painting based on a sketch from a similar trip last year. I did a second sketch of it the other week, which I posted, but I wasnt happy with it. After walking past the sketch in the studio a few times, I decided that what it needed was sunshine. So I lowered the sun behind the tree and created lots of shadow under them, onto which I juxtaposed long grass. I am happier with this outcome and it does reflect the feeling on that summer’s morning even down to the smokiness of the distant trees.

Hopefully there will be some more days like this to come.

Other landscapes are available for saale on my website: grahammcquadefinart.com

THE TOP OF CLIEVES’ HILLS – ACRYLIC PAINTING

I was talking to a fellow blogger about the perils of reworking a piece. At the time I was reworking two paintings, one of them was this, above. My fellow blogger explained the problems of reworking poems and stories. I felt there was more peril in changing paintings, as it can take a lot of work to correct bad decisions, particularly if you want to get back to where you started. With text, you could keep a copy and quietly lob the revision binward, ressurect the original and pretend nothing had happened ( well, that’s my blinkered view)

I was asked to submit a painting or two to an exhibition and was scraping around for something suitable. I did like the original of the painting above; there was an understated and almost abstract passage in the foreground, but despite a few showings it stayed in my possession. So I thought that I would shake it up ready for another outing.

I was reluctant to change as I was pleased with the original foreground, but having made the change I am equally happy with the outcome. It now looks very similar to the view I saw when I did a watercolour version one sunny summer’s morning, sitting on the hill amid the rough grassland and weeds, a few years ago.

Time will tell.

Other landscapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

AT THE TOP OF CLIEVES’ HILLS – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

I have been meaning to have a go at this for a while. I wasnt sure how effective it would be. I took some reference photographs as I was sitting on the roadside painting the image (below) which I posted in an earlier blog : the view over the hills to St Michael’s Church at Aughton, near Ormskirk – a favourite of mine.

I put a couple of walkers in, but it is a precarious place to walk as cars come wizzing along. I found them a bit too close for comfort as I sat painting by the roadside. Still, I lived to paint another day.

Other landscapes are available for purchase on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

DAWN EDGES OVER CLIEVES’ HILLS – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

I’ve done versions of this before, but not being satisfied with the results I decided to try again. This was stimulated by another dawn scene I’m going to work on and will hopefully put out on my next blog. As I was planning my dawn scene I recalled this early morning view of the newly mown fields at the base of the rise we have the temerity to call a hill in these parts.

I have been wondering whether to introduce a murder of crows, which I have seen at other times, gathering to snaffle the dropped grains in newly mown fields, but have been held back by the thought that they might upset the harmony. The question is whether this harmony lulls the viewer into drowsiness or is there enough going on to maintain the interest?

I shall ponder on this and fight off any drowsiness as I do.

Other sunrises and landscapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

BACK ON CLIEVES’ HILLS – ACRYLIC PAINTING

I am in the middle of a few incomplete projects at the moment, so here is another acrylic painting. It is a return to an old subject, with an old painting – the view from Clieves’ Hills. I did it in 2012, before I started blogging. It looks from the low hill across a summery view of Halsall and the Moss, towards the coast and Southport where I live.

I like the richness of colour in the foreground that helps create the aerial perspective which is driven further with the smokey blue background. Somebody else obviously liked this and purchased it.

I still like this area for sources of subjects and hopefully will be heading out there again when the weather gets warmer.

Other landscapes – and paintings from Clieves’ Hills – are still available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

A MISTY START ON CLIEVES’ HILLS – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

I have an exhibition planned at my framers in December and so I have been going through my sketchbooks for scenes of local interest that I can show. Here is one I sketched back in the summer which I worked up into a painting. The colours were very muted given the mistiness that prevailed, and I have added more to the foreground to push the background back. I might darken the clouds slightly to bring out the sun breaking through the mirk. It certainly did that, as by the time I finished painting that morning, the sun was out and there wasnt a cloud in the sky.

Landscapes atre available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

THE VIEW FROM CLIEVES’ HILLS – ACRYLIC PAINTING

There has been much uncertainty and quite a few false starts of late with my painting. I have been wanting to produce some stylised landscapes in acrylic alongside developing the ink and wash paintings I have shown recently. Not much progress has been made.

With the landscape, I couldnt settle on a subject. Then I recalled a wonderful morning I had spent on Cleives’ Hills this summer, with my watercolours, painting some cottages on the edge of the hill. I put the painting I did that day on the blog some time ago and I enclose it below.

I thought I might try this scene both in watercolour and acrylics. So here is the first one, in acrylics, with the cottages and the view of Liverpool in the morning haze in the distance. Fresh off the easel. There may be some more changes to be made, though I think I ‘ve got the punchiness I was after.

Other landscapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

UNDER THE HILL – ACRYLIC PAINTING

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I’ve used this motif before as part of other paintings, but decided to make it a painting in it’s own right. I roughly covered over an old painting to inject some energy and mystery to the final piece and then let both the underpaintings come through all over the image.

I love this half shadowed cluster of farm buildings at the foot of Clieve’s Hills, near Ormskirk in Lancashire, and this was mainly from photos I took when I painted the same scene outdoors in May this year. Like some other landscapes I have done recently, I have distorted the colour range and heightened saturations. Though I hope to have imparted a bit more edginess into this one with the underpainting and rough handling of the foreground.

Other landscapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

CHRIST CHURCH, AUGHTON 2 – ACRYLIC PAINTING

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I posted the first version of this a little while ago and it has since sat in my studio in a tray frame I made for it, but I became aware that the foreground looked a bit timid and tentative and so I decided something had to change.

Out came the brushes and I started scumbling, getting rid of the prissy field break in the lower part and giving the foreground texture. I am happier with this version and having just had an invite to join a mixed exhibition in December ( Covid permitting) along with a solo show at my framers, I have now got a small collection of these stylised landscapes to show.

This, and other landscapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com