Another South Downs painting

At the top of Kingston Ridge near Lewes, Sussex 

The unpredictable days of March bring everything from sunshine to hail . As a fairweather person It makes it hard to plan a walk . I needed a plan B so I decided to paint a view from one of my favourite places . I need no excuses for another South Downs painting, in fact it turns out to be my  114th ! Oh my goodness , I didn't expect that ! .  

Kingston Ridge is situated just South West of Lewes in Sussex and is on the South Downs Way . It's quite a steep climb up there but it's well worth it as the views are amazing !  I have vowed to walk there every year until my knees won't let me . 

Views over the Ouse valley from Kingston Ridge 

 In late Spring the  Hawthorn blossom looks beautiful with views over the Ouse Valley towards Mt. Caburn and Firle Beacon 

Hawthorn blossom on the South Downs 

 There are two  chalk tracks that lead up to the top, this is one of them .

 Each is as picturesque as the other .

Chalk track on Kingston Ridge 

 There is also a narrow path just to the south which is very steep in places . These days I prefer to go down it rather than up !  It's so very pretty , grassy banks filled with flowers and butterflies dancing on the breeze .

Wild flowers on the grassy bank by the footpath 

 On one occasion I sat for ages watching a Kestrel hover and fly around me , it was a perfect day .

Heading down the path towads Kingston 

There's a stile half way down which has fabulous views over Kingston village, Ashcombe windmill and Lewes in the far distance . A pefect composition for a painting and a lovely memory for me :) 

                                                      "Down from the Ridge " 

                                                          Acrylic on canvas 24" x 18"  

Painting the South Downs at Kingston 

 

  Some close ups of the painting 

At the bottom of the hill the path leads onto a lane which takes you past the pretty flint  Church with it's Sussex tapsel gate  

The tapsel gate at Kingston chuch 

                                       and The Juggs .....for a well deserved pint ! 

The Juggs at Kingston 

 

Painting textures with acrylics and old brushes

                                             Painting foliage with old acrylic paint brushes 

 Acrylics are my favourite medium to paint with . They're bright, vibrant and dry quickly . Perfect.....except in the height of Summer when the paint dries on the brush before you can get it on the canvas ! Needless to say  the brushes get ruined very quickly .  Once upon a time it would really annoy me as it seemed like such a costly waste . Then I started painting landscapes and  I realized that they were actually very useful, especially for foliage .  They're clogged up with old paint and the hairs are straggly , I've even cut chunks out of some of them . Each brush gives me a different effect . I refer to them as my "splodgy bits" each creating different size and shape leaves . 

                                                  They are my perfect "tree" brushes 

 Texture painting with old brushes 

 

 

Painting leaves on the trees 

Painting trees with acrylics 

 Another selection of my brushes are for painting grass and plants  . I buy a selection of cheap brushes and purposefully wreck them , ha ha! I've splayed out the hairs and cut some off completely . They work really well with a thin fluid paint .

Painting grass and plants with old or altered brushes 

 Although the fine ones are  time consuming to use  they give me the detail that I want to create .

 

Painting grass with adapted brushes 

Painting grass with acrylics 

  Of course when it comes to textures , effects and details there's nothing that can't be tried and experimented with .

 I've never  been the girly girl type, I'd rather be out in a field than on a dance floor  and have discovered that the contents of my make up bag have a much better  use  ! 😊

Using make up brushes and sponges for paint effects  

 

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Algorithms, AI and painting.

 It's now mid February and yet again it's been quite a while since I visited my blog . I tell myself off about this every time and really must make more of an effort ! 

Winter's been dreary , wet and sadly very uninspiring so there's been no walking. The paths are boggy and the rain is relentless ! 

I've been reflecting on things  in my art world recently. So much has changed over the past 5 years . I see galleries closing and artists like myself struggling to make sales.  Once I was selling 1-2 paintings a month which kept me nicely ticking over . Now it's one every 3-4 months which makes it very hard and I wonder how long I can continue. 

It seems to be all about algorithms and  AI .  

It's getting harder and harder to get your art seen . AI only seems to pick up  new posts and information , in no time at all you're yesterday's news .  It's fine for those that are constantly attatched to social media but I'd rather spend my time out in the tranquility of  countryside when I'm not  painting.  

The online galleries have always been a good sales platform for me but I think that they too are no longer getting the views that they used to . As a result some are now having to  raise their fees, commission rates etc .  On average an artist only gets  around  50-60%  of the selling price of a painting  and that has to cover materials , overheads and gallery subscription fees etc.  Being an artist is NOT an easy life ! 

Many artists supplement their income by teaching which keeps them afloat. It's something that just wouldn't work for me though   , I'm just not a teacher . 

I'm really not sure what the future holds .

 I love painting, it's what I do . 💗

With that in mind I have been "escaping" the dreary weather by forward thinking to the brighter days of Spring  . 

Firstly a small acrylic painting (35cms x 25cms) of the Cow Parsley and fields at the bottom of Ditchling beacon , lots of lovely lush Spring greens! 

                                                            "Spring Pastures"

Original acrylic painting of the  Spring pastures and fields  at the base of Ditchling beacon  

 Next I thought I would paint the beautiful Bluebells ,such  wonderful scented memories from a forest walk last Spring at Warninglid.

 A little bit of serene forest bathing in the middle of a hetic world . 

 I have composed a short poem to accompany it , I hope you like it .

                                                             

                        "Let's escape this dreary day and walk along the forest path, .

                                                    where Bluebells flower ,

                                                          in scented breeze,

 

                                        where leaves unfurl among the trees. 

 

                         Let's escape this dreary day and walk along the forest path,

 

                                                         in sunlight haze,

 

                                                       whilst songbirds sing ,

 

                                     where we'll delight in days of Spring. "

 

 

                                           "Forest Ways and Bluebell Days" 

                                                             Acrylic on canvas 24" x18"

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                                 Painting of the Bluebells along the forest path. Acrylic on canvas 

                 If you wish to purchase this painting or see more of my available works please visit my 

                                        Arts2Arts  page  .  Paula Oakley Original Art

 

 

 

Painting the Autumn trees

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For a while it seemed as if Summer  was going to go on forever, but all good things come to an end and Autumn  has arrived .  

Autumn in the woods 

 

This year the trees and hedgerows are a mass of berries, nuts and seeds . Nature's colourful jewels . 

  They call it a   'mast year '.  My  paths on  recent walks have been covered in thousands of acorns !  It's made walking rather slippery underfoot and with so many falling I've been hit on the head a few times as well ! I think I need a hard hat ! ha ha! 

Acorns on the footpath 

It's been a long, long time since I have painted a still life composition but with such an abundance of wonderful subject matter I couldn't wait to get started .

I gathered plenty of bits and pieces so that I could try various arrangements . 

My colourful selection of Autumn fruits, nuts and berries 

  I put a selection into an old Sussex earthenware mug and the colours worked together really well . 

It took a long time to paint but I loved every minute and now I get to see the lovely colours of Autumn every day . 

 

Hedgerow Harvest 

"Hedgerow Harvest" Autumn still life painting 

                                                                         

 As usual the weather is rather unsettled which makes planning walks difficult.  I've explored some interesting old woodland where the streams run orange because of the iron ore in the soil 

Woodland stream coloured orange by iron ore 

I also met a vey friendly tree ! Just for a moment I thought it was going to speak to me . Thankfully it didn't as I'm not good at running theses days  

A vey friendly looking tree! 

 I've been on some great walks but It really needs sunshine to see the Autumn colours at their best. 

Fortunately I was blessed with one such day. A day when the sun breaks through the trees resulting in golden highlights ...magical ! 

                                                       "Autumn Alchemy"  

"Autumn Alchemy "  woodland  acrylic painting

                                                            

                                                   "Autumn Amble" 

Painting of horses along the bridleway 

             
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 More photos from my walks can be found here My inspiring walks

 

Painting the South Downs in the Summer

Phacelia fields at Storrington 

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Oh my ! What a lovely Summer we're having ! So much glorious sunshine  ! 

 I've been busy making the most of it with lots of walks, except on the days that got a bit too hot! Phew!  

Here are just three of my favourites .....

Storrington .... 

This year we've been treated with the pretty purple fields of the Phacelia crops.  It's a green manure crop and the insects love it ! 

A visit to the South Downs at Storrington turned out to be a perfect day. Blue skies ,  fabulous flufy fair weather clouds , Phacelia and so very many wild flowers ...heaven 

The South Downs at Storrington 

 Most of the views that I paint tend to be in various shades of green so a touch of purple made a nice change 

                                                    "Phacelia to the Sea" 

"Phacelia to the Sea" Acrylic painting on canvas 

Hastings....
The weather rapidly grew hotter and a trip to the seaside was needed.  Hastings gave me another opportunity  to have some fun with different colours . I love  painting a bit  of seaside fun but it's really hard to get good reference photos. You just can't creep up on people on a pebble beach ..Crunch...Crunch....Crunch ..ha ha!  

These three  really caught my attention and was such a joy to paint 

                                       "A Nice Cup of Tea by the Sea" 

"A Nice Cup of Tea by the Sea" Acrylic seaside painting on canvas 

  Woodingdean....

My most recent walk too me around the harvest fields on the South Downs near Woodingdean. The paths take you around the old lost village of Balsdean and it's a wonderful peaceful place to walk.   

I headed down through Castle Hill nature reserve which was a delight of wild flowers and butterflies 

Heading down Castle Hill nature reserve 

On reaching the bottom I was greeted with the earthy colours of the Flax fields , now gone to seed and dotted with red Poppies . I don't know why but for some reason it made me think of a fabric design .  I rather liked it . 

Flax fields and Poppies 

 I have many more photos from this walk which can be found here Balsdean walk
 

                 The sky was full of Seagulls, I guess there had to have been about 700 ,  I've never seen so many ! 

I loved the views and would happily have spent all day there .  Painting it means I've kept the memory of that day to revisit whenever I wish  ...perfect .

                                                "The Harvest Path"  

"The Harvest Path" Painting the South Downs at Woodingdean 

 

 

 

 

Springtime on the South Downs

Springtime on the South Downs

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Springtime  arrived and all I can say is "WOW!"  It's been so wonderfully sunny and the blossom has been stunning!
 I've not painted anything for a few weeks though. Sadly sales this year are dreadful ,  not just for me but for many , many other artists as well. I've no idea if things will improve or for how long I'll be able to continue painting. Only time will tell on that . 

In the present circumstances the sunshine has been a real blessing . It's been really good to get out and about in the tranquility of countryside around me.  Fabulous views and the scent of blossom in air . 

My first walks were around Wivelsfield and Chelwood Gate . Days of beautiful Bluebells , carpets of  Wild Garlic and some lovely old twisted trees .

 

Bluebells and Wild Garlic on my walk

   My Chelwood Gate walk took me along some very old paths  to Furner's Green and  Sheffield mill  

The path from Furner's Green to Sheffield mill

  Bluebell season is always short lived and it's a matter of getting out and about as much as possible to see them . I'm surrounded by woods that are full of them but this year I decided to explore a few different paths and places . I wasn't disappointed  and I discovered some interesting places along the way .

The Bluebells faded  and were quickly replaced by an explosion of Cow Parsley and Hawthorn blossom. Everywhere turned white and green ! 

 The Hawthorn has put on a magnificent display this year , I presume it's because of the weather being so dry, hot and sunny.   

This time my walks took me around Lewes Brooks. It's a nice easy flat walk and a must for bird watchers . The new wetlands at Lewes are great place to just sit and watch the wildlife 

Cow Parsley and Hawthorn blossom around Lewes Brooks

                                 

Of course I couldn't let Spring pass without a couple of walks on the South Downs . 

My first was to Ditchling beacon, it was more of a wander rather than a walk , a delightful dawdle . 

 I decided to descend via Westmeston bostal as it was one of the very few paths that I hadn't walked.  It's not great underfoot. Steep, rain worn and rutted, with loose flints and chalk ....   my knees didn't thank me for that one! Ha ha!  

It was all so very pretty . Lots of wildflowers and the views were stunning  ....

Ditchling beacon and Westmeston bostal

Finally I headed down to Rodmell . I took the path over to Telscombe and back via Cricketing bottom. I couldn't believe that it's been 10 years since I last done this walk . Where did that time go ?  Not only was the Hawthorn in blossom but I was treated to a purple field full of Phacelia and Red Clover which looked amazing!  

Rodmell to Telscombe

I have to say that this really is my favourite time of the year !

 

Winter at Firle in Sussex

It's now February and thankfully we are now in  the last few weeks of Winter . 

 It's been it's usual grey bleak wet days with just a few frosty mornings and even a smidgen of snow ! 

I've had to keep my Winter walks local so as to get out and about before everything thaws . 

My first walk was at North Chailey over part of the common and some of the nearby fields.It was cold and crisp and felt so good to get out at last ! The Exmoor ponies were grazing near the windmill but headed off too quickly for me to get a photo of them. 

Winter walk at North Chailey

 

My next frosty walk took me just a couple of miles south to Chailey Green. By now there had been a small amount of snow fall overnight . It didn't really show as there had been so very little, but  it resulted in  my paths being an interesting  mix of ice, snow , frost and mist .

Winter walk at Chailey green 

 I have to admit that this is one of my favourite areas to walk . Lots of different paths through the Sussex countryside and it changes so much with the seasons

 

Walking over the icy fields

 

 . It never fails to inspire me to paint ...perfect  

                                                        "Wintertide" 

"Wintertide"  Acrylic painting on canvas 24" x 18" 

                                         "Winter Sun"       

"Winter Sun " Acrylic painting on canvas 

 

Another venture was a visit to Firle .  There had been a small amount of snow  that had settled mainly on the high points of the South Downs . It looked rather wonderful and such a rare sight to see .

Snow at Firle village

 We didn't go up to the top as the road was rather icy and I didn't want to risk slipping and breaking something....like me!  Plus as pretty as it looks a vast landscape of white doesn't give me much to paint .

Instead my husband and I took a slow stroll around the village and church , it's a lovely place with lots of very old flint built buildings . It also had the added bonus of a four legged friend that guided us all the way around the church yard  .... 

Our four legged guide

 

 

 I doubt  that we'll see any more frost or snow for this year , even if I'm wrong my mind is now on the brighter and more colourful days of Spring  . The lush greens, the glorious sound of birdsong and the scent of Bluebells in the air ..... 

                                                 "Springtime Brook"

 

"Springtime Brook" Acrylic on canvas 24" x18"