The Oak Woods in Spring

I have visited Elan valley oak woodlands, (Coed Cwnch) and Rheidol oak woodlands to record the spring species I find and collect some things to paint. We have had a really cold spring and lots of plants are very late in their growth. The oak leaves are just starting to burst and there are curly fern crosiers everywhere.

In the photo above;  The ancient woodlands clothe the sides of the Rheidol valley, they exist mainly in steep river valleys.
The main plants of these oak woods are bilberries, heather and mosses, with birch, Holly and rowan trees adorned with honeysuckle, lichens and ivy. There are few species of flower as the soil is more acidic, but we have wood sorrel and violets,with bluebells and wood anemone in the deeper soils. Some of the mosses are now producing their spore capsules on bright red and orange stems, so I've been painting these for my oak woods painting. Also some Pied Flycatcher eggs in a little nest, these birds along with redstart are seen frequently in these woods; They are summer visitors.
 I saw many bumble bees too feeding on the bilberry flowers.

The sessile oaks are twisted and gnarled and in some places their roots cling to the rocks.

Above you can see the oak branches still in bud, with the river Rheidol in the distance. A small bridge spans the gorge; called the Parsons bridge.

 The river has eroded the rock in the gorge below into cauldrons and pools.

You cannot walk very far in these woods but its good enough just to sit and think(or de-stress!). Its great that we have these places protected for the future.
Next week I'll post some sketches from the spring woodland.

Latest work

 

I have made some necklaces with resin and dried daisies- a change from painting! They are ok for a first try and I really like them( have been wearing one).

 

Heres a sketch of a frilly parrot tulip - the first to open in the garden, with a bulb. I found it difficult to get the red hue right and was using winsor red,winsor red deep, and cadium red.

 

 

 

Red Marsh Orchids, old and new paintings, the macro view is a new one. This red is painted using Schminke permanent carmine(PR19) and W/N permanent alizarin, with touches of perylene violet.

 



 

Pyramidal orchids with a six spot burnet moth, Euphrasia and common milkwort. This is a reworked painting from last summer.

                                    This spring collection is a rework of many old paintings.



Two Years On.

 

I have realised that this blog was 2 years old last Thursday. Time has flown so fast.

I also completed this Narcissus study as an evocation of spring. Even though we have had thick snow and it has been really cold this past week, spring is not far away.

The Narcissus is a multi-headed variety called 'Pipit' with pale lemon flowers and a beautiful scent.I found the bumble bee last summer and have kept it safe in order to paint. Despite the cold temperatures there are a few bumble bees out in the brief sunny interludes, feeding on the plentiful heather flowers in my garden. Its almost like an oasis in the mono-culture of the surrounding farm fields.

I have also found a few dead Tortoiseshell butterflies too, now in my collection. Will paint them one day soon.

Spring eruption,the vital sap,

Flows through bud and twig.

Bursting with youth,

in lime green showers.

Cells divide, regenerate.

To begin again.

Gold leaf

 The ox-eye daisies goauche painting is now finished and I have embellished it with gold leaf.

I also added a few light delicate grasses to show wildness, then I guess that the gold suggests dazzling summer light! The gold squares follow the opposite pattern to the flower buds so I thought they might strengthen the composition.

I practised using the gold leaf first as I have never used it before, always a good idea!!

 Instead of buying adhesive, size or gesso I used a jar of Winsor Newton gum arabic that I've had for years and hardly used. First I drew out little squares and painted them in with neat gum arabic. Then I placed a gold leaf sheet on top of the square, pressing down very gently. After drying for a few minutes, I gently brushed away any loose bits and edges; any gaps were carefully re-stuck.

 It seems to have stuck the gold leaf very well and wasn't too difficult.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately the final photo doesn't show up the gold bling very well but it looks nice and shiny in real life! I have made a card out of it for my mum for mothers day but she's just told me now that she's not sure about the squares!! Oh well! Nice to try something a bit different and I recommend it for this.

Gouache again

Spring has arrived here in Wales with sunny warm weather and spring bulbs starting to flower. I even saw plenty of bumblebees and a couple of butterflies!

But before enjoying the weather I started a gouache painting. It's of an old ox-eye daisy sketch from last summer. I found it a little hard getting used to gouache paint again, after so long using transparent watercolours. I'm hoping to use some gold leaf that my friend gave me on it somehow, but I've not used it before so I'll be experimenting with that soon.

I enlarged the daisies by about a quarter.

 

 

 Below is an old gouache painting from a few summers ago, foxglove and bee. I'm not really sure if I like it, but it does look a bit better in a frame!

 

 

Lastly thanks to everyone for supporting me on my artistic ventures. Art is a very healing pass-time and it keeps me out of trouble!



More in the Woods

I have almost finished the winter section of the oak wood painting. Now I have to wait for spring to arrive in order to start the spring section. It's bitterly cold here in Wales at the moment but with beautiful sunshine so very nice not to have more rain!

 

I have added an oak twig with the lichen Evernia prunastri at the base in graphite. Also some vibrant red holly berries to fill up gaps! I also drew some hazel catkins as they are now about and hazel is very much a part of the sessile oak woodland flora. Their tassels are lovely to see and the twigs have the tiniest red female flowers on them.

 

 

Below are the mosses, decaying leaves and Usnea lichen.

 



 

 

A year in the Oak Woods

I have begun a large painting of a year in an oak wood; it's a collection of things found in a sessile oak wood typical of west and mid Wales, so upland with acidic soils. So far I have collected things from 2 oak woods within a 20 mile radius of me; Elan valley and Coed Rheidol woodlands. My studio is now full of bits of moss, lichen, twigs and pots of acorns that I've gathered on recent walks and I'm trying to keep organised (and clean!).

The painting has started with the bottom left section all devoted to winter, then will travel round through the seasons until hopefully it will be finished in time for exhibition in October. Autumn may well be a bit rushed.

Above is the winter section so far with scarlet elf cups and Coriolus versicolor fungi, marble oak galls, Usnea lichen, Polypody fern, decayed holly leaf, ivy fruits & leaf and a decaying oak leaf.

Above are some sketches of mosses, lichens and fungi that I found in Elan valley oak woods.

The little cushion of moss is Ulota crispa commonly found on tree bark and branches. The other mosses are also common. There are very rare mosses, lichens and ferns that grow in the Elan valley woodlands but I have not found any and wouldn't pick them if I did.

 The Coriolus versicolor bracket fungi is also very common and it contains PSK which is used as an anti-cancer aid in Japan.

The feathery Usnea subfloridana lichen contains powerful anti-biotics and is high in vitamin C.

Above is a spring painting that I had started but have put on hold. It has been worked up from my sketches and old paintings that are no good. May finish it in spring when new material is available.