Painting streams and rivers

Ashdown Forest

Oh my! What a Summer! All my plans went astray! Trying to coincide weather, destination and transport  failed! To most people this would be trivial but for me as an artist it has been very frustrating! On the other hand it has made me think. It's the first time in 10 years where the pictures in my head have not been obtainable . It's made me realize how easy it is to get stuck in a rut...the easy option. I've had to think harder to get what I want.
My first exploration was to Ashdown Forest. A wonderful area where the author AAMilne lived and wrote his Winnie the Pooh stories, Sounds great but in reality there's very little to offer an artist. Few focal points. So I explored. Heading to the village of Nutley I followed a path that lead me to the old mill stream, it's heritage from the iron works of the Sussex Weald. It was amazing! The tree lined stream, leafy reflections mixed with the glowing orange of iron ore was amazing!

                           "The Old Mill Stream" 

Painting the mill stream on Ashdown forest

 My next outing was very different and  took me to Shoreham by Sea. An interesting and diverse town. I headed towards the river , walking along the path beside the wonderful houseboats 

Shoreham by sea 

 I loved the view over the river where a small abandoned boat sat among the vegetation and bobbed in the tidal water....

                         "High tide and Riverside" 

Painting of an old boat on the river at Shoreham

 

Ashdown Forest painting

The sun going down over Ashdown Forest

It snowed! Nothing like the rest of the country had and most had melted by the following morning !
That's very typical for here and we probably won't see any more. Oh well, maybe next year.
As a compromise we went to Ashdown Forest in the hope of catching a good Winter sunset.
 There, to our surprise there were still patches of snow lingering on the high ground ....happy me!
The sunset turned out to be rather amazing as well....

Sunset over Ashdown Forest

 Just as the sun started to sink and before the sky turned red, there was a glow over the forest which to me seemed rather magical and a great scene for a painting ....

                                                     "Forest Glow" 
                                                    Acrylic on canvas 16" x 12" 

"Forest Glow" Painting of Ashdown Forest just before sunset

                                                  "As the sun prepares for bed,
                                                      before it's pillows turn blazing red .
                                                   There is a momentary glow,
                                                      on fiery gorse and Winter snow. "

"The Enchanted Place" Ashdown Forest and Winnie the Pooh

Ashdown Forest and "The Enchanted Place"

About 10 miles north of where I live is  Ashdown Forest  where the author A.A.Milne lived with his son Christopher Robin.
 Their walks took them over the forest landscape..
 “in single file threading the narrow paths that run through the heather”
  inspiring the delightful stories of Winnie the Pooh.
This Summer our grandchildren came to stay and we thought it would be fun to find some of the places in the books so they could see them for real.
Now we couldn't possibly go on a "Pooh Expotition" without a visit to Pooh bridge and indulge in a game of Pooh Sticks . Although the weather wasn't at it's best our six  year old granddaughter enjoyed it, just like Christopher Robin ...

Playing Pooh sticks

We then headed off to find the memorial plaque commemorating A.A.Mile and E.H. Shepard . From here you can see some wonderful views over the forest and beyond.
 Most of the year the landscape is a blaze of yellow from the gorse bushes but in Summer the heather carpets the forest in purples and pinks.

The A.A.Milne memorial

Next we passed "Rue's Sandy Pit" (Old quarry) and headed off to  "Galleons Lap" (Gill's Lap)....
in the words of A.A.Milne....

“Being enchanted, it’s floor was not like the floor of the Forest, gorse and bracken and heather, but close-set grass, quiet and smooth and green. It was the only place in the Forest where you could sit down carelessly, without getting up again almost at once and looking for somewhere else. Siting there they could see the whole world spread out until it reached the sky, and whatever there was all around the world over was with them in Galleons Lap.”

–  The House At Pooh Corner; A.A Milne

Here at "The Enchanted Place" you could see what so inspired Milne to write his stories. The beautiful views, the vast array of earthy colours and the endless places for a young Christopher Robin  to explore.
I have taken a small piece of his inspiration and have used it to inspire myself!
Thank you A.A.Milne......
                                           "The Enchanted Place"
                                   Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18"
 

"The Enchanted Place" Ashdown Forest , Acrylic on canvas