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"

 AUTUMN PAINTING 

It appears that my desire to walk and paint is still stronger than to write about it ! Ha ha! Keeping up with my Blog has not been as often as I intended ! I think the problem is that the internet can be all too time consuming and before you know it you've lost half the day. 

Anyway, life is good and I've enjoyed many walks this year discovering new places and paths. 

I was sad to see the Summer end but waited eagerly for the Autumn colours to arrive. But it was a long wait and the trees were reluctant this year to change and drop their leaves. It resulted in just small patches of colour over a long period of time.  I searched various paths looking for areas where the low sunlight broke through the trees. It was not as easy to find such places as I had hoped. I discovered some wonderful woods and  found the perfect bridleway not far from my home ....

Along the Woodland Path

The Woodland Pond

The Autumn Bridleway

December arrived and still many of the leaves hung onto the trees . This turned out to be to my advantage . 

Over the past few years here in mid Sussex the Winters have been bleak and dreary . Barely any frost and only a wish for snow. Imagine my delight this year when snow arrived and turned my surroundings into a Winter Wonderland ! Just wonderful ! 

Snow in Sussex !!!!

The colours of the trees almost glowed and looked stunning . I've only ever painted 4 snowy landscapes so I've been delighted this year to have the chance to take on the challenge and I've loved every moment of it :) 

                                              "Woodland Winter " 

                           Acrylic on canvas 24" x 18"  

Painting of the snow covered woods at Danehill, Sussex

 

Frosty morning painting

Goodness! It's been soooo long since I've been here!
Christmas arrived and brought with it a rather unpleasant flu virus . No painting. No walking .
It's been a frustrating time but now at last I'm happily back on track.
The year has got off to a good start with 4 painting sales and the Winter weather is finally arriving....HURRAY!
I awoke last week to be greeted by a wonderful frosty morning and couldn't wait to get out !
The sun was just rising and created a glorious glow upon the scenery around me .

A frosty morning around Newick and Chailey

The colours are so different at this time of the year and painting with them was a new challenge for me. It took a lot of work but I'm happy with the result .

                                            " One Frosty Morning" 
                                  Acrylic on canvas 24" x 18" 

"One Frosty Morning" A painting from my early morning Winter walk

 

"Snow and Still Water" Painting the Winter landscape

Winter in Chailey, East Sussex

Wow! How different the landscape looks with a little bit of snow!
For my third and final snowy landscape of this Winter I return once again to my walk around Chailey.
I loved the contrasts of light and dark, the crisp clear reflections against the frozen patches of water. The brown and purples among the Winter foliage....
"Dear Winter snow...
you were short and sweet...
but a delight to paint!!!  "
                                        "Snow and Still Water"
                                    Acrylic on canvas

"Snow and Still water" Acrylic painting . Sussex Winter landscape

  

"Snow and Still water" in progress

A light dusting of snow

Snow! We actually got snow!
I have to admit though it was only a tiny bit and it was all gone by mid day. But...it was just enough to get out into the countryside and enjoy the views.
I set off to cover some of the footpaths in Chailey. There are some really nice walks and as the area is mostly agricultural it has a constantly changing landscape. It's also quite flat terrain and as I'm recovering from a cold it meant I didn't have to try and tackle any hills  ! 
I wished I had been feeling better though and able to venture up the South Downs as they looked rather splendid in the distance ..

Snow on the South Downs

So anyway, as I said, it wasn't much snow but just enough to enjoy and make the most of ...

A Winter walk around Chailey, East Sussex

I usually see deer around here and was surprised not to see any, just saw a few rabbits and pheasants that were far too quick for me to photograph! 
It was a good walk and opened up the opportunity for me to paint a snowy landscape at last!
                                               "A light dusting of snow"
                                               Acrylic on canvas 24" x 18"

"A light dusting of snow" Painting the snowy landscape of Chailey in East Sussex