lavender fields

its that time of year again
snowshill lavender farm is a must visit for me








one very happy artist

i hadn't planned to visit that day...but just happened to be wearing a perfectly lavender outfit

this one even matched my new shoes :)


ps print of a lavender field painting available here
and new paintings in the studio soon!

lavender fields

last month i visited snowshill lavender fields

once again it was harvest time...
in fact the very last field was being harvested....

luckily the test planting area was still uncut




and there was an added bonus this year


i was looking at the photos and my sketches because i wanted to paint lavender today...

but maybe i want to paint sunflowers...
oh decisions decisions...
i'll go to the studio and see what happens

...or maybe roses...
i am listening to this

take two paintings

English Lavender

a couple of weeks ago i visited the lavender farm at snowshill in the cotswolds. a storm was gathering and the sky darkening. the harvesters were working trying to beat the impending rain.
these paintings painted in the studio later show two approaches to the subject.

in the first i am exploring perspective...the rows...what makes this blue field distinctly growing lavender... how to make this a lavender field that isn’t baking in the southern sun...the light on a distant field...and the wild flowers growing on the edges of order.

the second painting is more about actually being there...it’s a field lower down the valley...in the moments after the storm had moved off in a different direction.....a time when everything looks bluer, softer, more at peace. the last evening before the crop will be harvested in the morning.

from a painting perspective it’s been wonderful to explore a new subject especially as i haven’t been painting as often as i usually do.

from an emotion point of view it’s been cathartic...the evening at the lavender field followed the memorial service of a loved and much missed friend.

Lavender Evening