Littondale

Summer in Littondale. Pastel. 9'' x 12''

A pastel painting reworked from a watercolour sketch painted some years ago in Littondale, about a mile down the dale from Arncliffe. Having recently bought a small set of pastels I've been experimenting with them over the last couple of weeks. The selection of colours (only 12) is a bit small so will need augmenting with extra colours and shades, but is quite adequate for quick landscape sketches.
Doing landscape work recently has been a refreshing change from my normal output. I've always sketched landscapes while out in the field, mainly as potential settings for wildlife paintings, but hitherto haven't produced many finished 'pure landscapes' just for their own sake. Although I have always enjoyed the challenge of trying to capture the effects of atmosphere and light on the countryside.