"Downland Dawn" and "Old Spot and Spuds"

Walking up Kingston ridge with views towards Lewes, Sussex

My painting world has been so very busy over the past couple of months . It's now nearing the end of November and this year's sales now amount to 37....that's just brilliant!
 I always paint what I want to paint rather than creating something  because I think it would sell, so it's very reassuring to know that  my artwork is well received.

We've been fortunate with the weather this Autumn so a couple of weeks ago I decided to take one last  South Downs walk of the year . I wanted to see the sunrise but unfortunately I had no way of getting there quite that early.
I caught the 7am bus to Lewes and headed off along the old Juggs road towards the village of Kingston. By the time I reached the bottom of Kingston ridge the sun was just above the horizon . It was a beautiful morning, no breeze, blue skies and a low lying mist hovering over the hill tops.

The view south east from Kingston ridge looking towards Beddingham

It's not the easiest of walks as it's pretty steep but the views were splendid !
As the sun rose it gradually lit my path ahead causing the grass covered slopes to almost glow . This would be my fondest memory of my walk and my wonderful  inspiration !

                                            "Downland Dawn"
                                                Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18"

"Downland Dawn" Acrylic painting of the path up Kingston Ridge

 I continued along the top for about 3 miles before returning. By this time the mist had cleared so on my return to Lewes I stopped to have my lunch by Ashcombe windmill. It has recently been restored and this was the first time I had seen it with it's new sails...looks rather magnificent ....

Ashcombe windmill, Kingston

 Now, just I was preparing to paint "Downland Dawn" I received a request for 2 paintings. I don't often take on commissions. They can often come with such a long list of requirements that the whole thing gets to feel rather laboured and the enthusiasm wanes . These however were not only local subjects and views that I am familiar with but also fitted perfectly with the compositions that I have been working on this year. To top things off I was entrusted to do things "my way". 
The first subject is the farm shop in the village of Piltdown "Old Spot Farm Shop" . It sells a splendid range of quality and locally sourced food. Well worth a visit if you're in the area http://www.oldspotfarmshop.co.uk/
As you know I'm rather partial to a good ale but a good Sussex cheese comes a very close second!

  It's a unique building  .Looks like a Swiss chalet  in the heart of Sussex .  I love the quirkiness , the colours and it's originality. Autumn also seemed a perfect time to paint it ...harvest time ....
                                            " Old Spot and Spuds" 
                                                      Acrylic on canvas 32"x 16" 

"Old Spot and Spuds" Acrylic on canvas

 Behind the farm shop the view takes you over the trees and fields to the village of Fletching. This was the second painting. The contrasting shapes and colours of the Autumn trees with the farms and church spire in the distance....
                               
                                                    "Fletching Views"
                                                       Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18"

"Fletching Views"

 As I said, life's been busy and as much as my gallery needs stocking back up I have decided to have a painting break . I'm now busy cleaning through the house and getting ready for the oncoming celebrations of my birthday and Christmas....life is good! 

 

Dark days and painting a "Misty Morning"

As the days get shorter and the sun sits low in the sky it becomes increasingly harder to get good clear reference photos for painting. I dislike these dark gloomy months and try to find ways of using them to my advantage.
I have therefore been venturing out really early whilst it's still dark so as to catch the bright morning light with the rising sun. The air is chilled and the first frosts blanket the ground with an icy glow.
The landscape looks very different now and quite atmospheric . You never quite know what awaits you around a corner or beyond the hedge.
It was on one of these days that I watched the mist form in the fields as the rising sun appeared over the tree tops.
 I witnessed a painting being created. Nature was the canvas and the sun was the brush.......

                                              "Misty Morning" 

"Misty Morning" Acrylic on canvas. Inspired from a walk around north Chailey

The dark days mean that my walks will now be few and far between.
 However, on the bright side this means that I shall be working through my reference photos that I have been purposely collecting during the year.
 There will be moments of colourful Summer fun to brighten up my days once again .
For a start I am delighted to announce that this month's Artist and Illustrators magazine have included my painting "Large Cod and Chips" in their 2017 calendar ....I'm "August"....perfect! 

My painting "Large Cod and Chips" in the A&I calendar

   

"Autumn Highlights" Painting the colours of Autumn

Autumn around the fishing lakes at Horsted Keynes

It's been a rather busy week.
 My husband took a week off work which meant  I had good company to explore with and my painting "September Downs" is featured in this month's "Inside Sussex Magazine" and "Inside Kent Magazine" .....excellent!

Top left . "September Downs"

Between trips out I have been continuing with the Autumn paintings . The weather is unpredictable for planning walks and the seasonal colours will not be around for long.
I decided to to be slightly less obvious and chose to paint the conifer trees that looked so magical in the early morning mists in the woods nearby....

                                                "An Evergreen Autumn" 
                                       Acrylic on canvas 24" x 12" 

"An Evergreen Autumn"  Acrylic painting on canvas

Then the sun came out!
 We headed off to Horsted Keynes to find the fishing lakes. They are old hammer ponds that lie just south of Broadhurst Manor, a beautiful old building one occupied by my husband's ancestors ...

Broadhurst Manor, Horsted Keynes
   
The walk along the lakes is part of the "Sussex Border Path" and totally delightful!

 The bright sunshine really brought out the colour of the trees and their reflections creating so many  perfect scenes to paint ! 

"Autumn Highlights"
Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18"
  

"Horse Chestnut lane" Painting the colours of Autumn

Early Autumn around the village of Scaynes Hill.

I've spent the past couple of weeks exploring some of the footpaths in the near by villages of Chailey and Scaynes Hill.
 Paths that take me in and out of East and West Sussex.
Heading out before sunrise meant that I could catch the early morning light  and some splendid views...

Views from my early morning walks

The leaves are only just starting to change and I'm looking forward to revisiting these paths when they are in full Autumn colour.
 It's the Horse chestnut trees that always seem to be the first so you can imagine how delighted I was to find a path in Scaynes Hill that took me along a lane edged with a line of fiery conker trees !
An ideal view to become the first of this season's paintings ....
                                     
                                                "Horse chestnut lane" 
                                         Acrylic on canvas

"Horse chestnut lane" Painting the Autumn colours from a walk around Scaynes Hill, Sussex

 

"Downland Haze" Painting the South Downs

Early Autumn on the South Downs in East Sussex

Autumn has arrived ! The trees are only just starting to change colour and the sun is still shining!
This time of year can be rather bland and colourless so my explorations ....be they small ....took me to the South Downs at Berwick in East Sussex
Here a mixture of sea mists , low cloud and sunlight cover the South Downs with a soft  Autumn  haze.
The fields have been recently ploughed and I just love the white glow of the chalk soil !
Among the picturesque surroundings you will find the pretty little church of Berwick. If you are interested in the Bloomsbury Group then this church is a must ! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomsbury_Group  
  They painted the interior with beautiful murals .....

Berwick church, East Sussex

Paintings at Berwick church

Any way....back to the painting. It's the chalk white views that really caught my eye and a lovely old farm cottage in the middle of it all set the scene perfectly!

                                            " Downland Haze"
                                Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18"

"Downland Haze" Autumn painting of the South Downs in East Sussex

This is the same place that I painted a couple of weeks ago but last time the view was from the top of the South Downs looking towards the house and church

                                                 "September Downs"

"September Downs" Acrylic painting of the South Downs at Berwick

                                                *****
Now, on another note, due to past problems (loss, damage etc ) I lost confidence in  shipping abroad. However there has been such a large amount of requests that I have now joined an online gallery that will deal with all the things that tend to stress me out . So please visit my gallery to see what's available ..... thank you ......https://www.fineartseen.com/artist/paula-oakley-original-art/

Firle Hill Climb revival and painting "September Downs"

Bo Peep and Firle Hill Climb

September saw us jaunting off to watch the Firle Hill Climb. It's an event that used to take place between 1949 and1967 when it was ended due to an unfortunate accident. This is the second year of it's revival but now days the cars drive up the steep slopes of Bo Peep for fun rather than racing against each other.  It's a really good day out and great to be able to see a good selection of old and classic cars actually being driven.(The event is held to raise money for Chailey Heritage school.)

Firle Hill climb 2016

You can see more photos from the hill climb here https://www.facebook.com/paula.oakley1/media_set?set=a.10210109239225370.1073742124.1169430909&type=3
The weather was a bit cloudy at first but as the sun started to break through  the lure of the South Downs got the better of me and I wandered off to explore the route towards Alfriston .

The South Downs way, Bo Peep to Alfriston

It was a good walk and the views towards Cuckmere Haven were wonderful but impossible to photograph due to the direction of the sun .
 Looking north over the Sussex Weald saw a patchwork of freshly harvested fields .
 A short diversion off the South Downs Way took me down a chalk track where the view  just had to be painted! As the Summer draws to a close and Autumn enters in then so the colors of the landscapes change. Much more subdued with longer shadows cast by the early Autumn sun....

                                                 "September Downs"
                                     Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18"

"September Downs" acrylic on canvas

                              "Along the South Downs Way"
                                

Painting the South Downs Way

                                       One of the familiar sign posts along the South Downs Way where the wonderful views over the Sussex Weald fade off into the horizon.
Late Summer flowers put on their final display of colour among the wild and windswept grass. (The view between Firle Beacon and Alfriston)

"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

Painting the river at Fletching, Sussex

Painting the river at Fletching, Sussex

Sadly the Summer is fading away .
I didn't get to the seaside much this year due to the disputes of Southern rail. As a non driver I didn't fancy getting stuck miles away from home!
So instead I have concentrated more on the countryside which I enjoy just as much.
I took a stroll over to the village of Fletching the other day. It's only 2 miles away but I don't often go there. It's a picturesque village with a large church in the center.

Fletching church

It was all very quiet in the village so after a wander around in the sunshine I headed back to Newick . My route took me a short distance along te narrow country road and then a footpath across the fields.
I was almost at the footpath when I heard the sound of  babbling water coming from the other side of the undergrowth. Being curious....OK...being nosey  I couldn't resist crawling through the bushes to take a look.
To my delight the view that greeted me was just beautiful! The sun was shining through the trees and lighting up the leaves and ripples on the river as it flowed downstream.  I sat for a while mesmerized . This ......just had to be painted! ....

                                                   "Summer Ripples"
                                   Acrylic on canvas 182x 24"

"Summer Ripples" Painting the river at the end of Summer

 

Feature and flowers. Painting the wild flowers of the South Downs

Wild flowers on Mount Caburn, Lewes, Sussex

I think this Summer I have become obsessed with the wild flowers !
I am just in awe of their beauty and have sat for hours taking in my colourful and aromatic surroundings .

Wild flowers on Mount Caburn

Then of course there's the butterflies! So many and so many different varieties . I do however have a favourite.
 It is the small Chalk Hill Blue .

Chalk Hill Blue butterfly

To me it symbolises my return to Sussex ( I lived elsewhere for 30 years) the South Downs and the wonderful events that have happened since being back .

My recent walk took me up the slopes of Mount Caburn, part of the South Downs on the outskirts of Lewes.
 It's like being on top of the World and on a clear day you can see forever! Well....nearly.

View south towards Newhaven from the top of Mt. Caburn

With so much inspirational choice I decided to paint 2 larger compositions, each measuring 30" x 20" and both acrylic on canvas...

                                                     "Chalk Hill Blue"

"Chalk Hill Blue"

 "The Summertime slopes of Mount Caburn on the South Downs in Sussex. Here a carpet of beautiful wild flowers flourish among the grass and Chalk Hill Blue butterflies delightfully dance and flutter in the sunshine.
This painting is highlighted with tiny flecks of metallic paint that gently catch the light of the summer sunshine."


                                                         "Wild Summer"

"Wild Summer"

 
The scent of wild flowers fill the air as Peacock butterflies dance in and out of the colourful blooms. Summertime on top of the South downs in Sussex with breathtaking views towards Firle beacon.
This painting is highlighted with tiny flecks of metallic paint that gently catch the light of the summer sunshine."

 To top off my wonderful Summer I am delighted to announce that this month the Artists and Illustrators magazine have given me a full page feature ! WOW! 

My feature in this month's Artists and Illustrators magazine

                                     "

"By the water's edge" Painting the wildflowers along the river bank

It just wouldn't be Summer without a leisurely walk along the river.
There are some lovely footpaths on the outskirts of my village that allow me to indulge in some lazy daydreams and riverside delights.
A vast array of wildflowers where dragon flies dart and swoop among the spikes of  Purple-loosestrife and the fluffy scented clouds of Meadowsweet.
Summer at it's best!
I wanted to capture the wildness and colours. The dragonflies are highlighted with metallic blue so that they catch the light, just as they do by the river.

                                               "By the water's edge"
                                        Acrylic on canvas

"By the water's edge" Painting the wildflowers along the river bank

 Close up and wall views....

 Prints, cushions etc available at http://www.redbubble.com/people/poak/works/22704987-by-the-waters-edge?asc=u&p=chiffon-top&rel=carousel