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I have just returned from a 10 day residency at Burton Agnes Hall in East Yorkshire. It was just what I need to kick start me back into painting after a few months away from the easel.
As part of the residency they let you stay in the flat above the cafe which was a bit like being a student again. Once all the visitors left for the day I could sit there with the windows open just watching the bird life (including sparrow hawk fledglings) take over the gardens again.
It certainly felt very much like the school holidays of my youth as the sun actually did come out almost every day which wasn't always welcome in the very hot summer house where I was painting. Still at the end of the evening I could hop on my bike and wander around the very quiet lanes enjoying a very different landscape to the one I'm used to.
Despite the heat and the distracting ice cream van being literally 5 metres away I managed to crack on with some small canvases. I really enjoyed working on this scale of canvas again and found that I could produce a mix of the more atmospheric paintings along with the more detailed. I really liked the small collection I came away with as it was a good representation of the different landscapes I work on. I liked this canvas size so much I order a batch of 10 for my next exhibitions at Ilkley Arts Trail and The Biscuit Factory's Winter Exhibition.
