Ilkley Moor, The Cow & the Calf, England

 One of the many things I thoroughly enjoyed about my trip to England, was the moors. My cousin Gary and I went to Ilkley Moor, just north of Leeds and had a wonderful day. When we arrived at the top of the Moor, where the heather grows, we lunched on a tasty Cornish pasty, it's a warm flaky pastry with a meat filling. Wonderful! Then after putting on our jackets, we set off hiking to the Cow and the Calf. These are two huge boulders. Not boulders by our Canadian standards but much,

 much bigger. If you look closely you can see Gary and myself, walking side by side up the narrow path beside these  two ginormous rocks. We hiked around the rocks and then around the very large "crater" that forms part of the rock formation. We were glad to get back to the car, at the end, and get out of the wind that was howling around the Moors. This oil is 12"x24" on canvas.

 

                              

Kingston Ont.

My oldest son wanted an oil painting for his dining room and asked me to do one of the City hall. Tourist information Booth, and the new train, The Spirit of Sir John A.. I worked on this for a few weeks and found that it was a challenge. The perspective of course had to be correct, the colours had to be close and the composition had to be true to the real thing. That's what he wanted. This commission, because it had to be  realistic, stifled any creativity. It was more like a paint by numbers where after the sketch you just fill in the spaces. I wonder why he just didn't enlarge a photo and frame IT!! When I paint I like to put my own impressions and artistic feelings into the finished painting. It does not have to be exactly what is there in front of me, I can use artistic license and move things around and change their colour. This difference is important to me. It seems to be the difference between being an illustrator and an artist.

This is the finished oil painting on an 16x20 canvas.

                                   

A rainy Day

This was a Wednesday paint out day when the weather just did not cooperate. No sunshine just rain, wind and clouds. I think the painting reflects the weather conditions. We arrived at a small park, called Floating Bridge, early in the morning (about 9:00), and parked beside the outhouse. When I organize these Paint Outs I always try to make sure there are washroom facilities for everyone. This day I outdid myself. This park had a newly built concrete block outhouse. There was a men's and a woman's so it was quite large. I thought we were all set. I forgot to factor in my calculations that the township that cleans the outhouses in the parks had not emptied this one in a very long time. I will leave the rest to your imagination. Needless to say, only the very desperate used this facility that day. 

There was  a large covered pavilion with four picnic tables where we set up our equipment to paint. This meant we were out of the rain but the view was very limited. I chose this boathouse on the opposite shore of Lake Ontario and through the rain and wind attempted to capture the scene. This was one time when I used my "artistic license"!!

                     

                                  

Back to Reality

Two weeks in England was just not long enough! What an incredible place to visit. I had eight days in London and the rest in Leeds. There is so much to see, with such history at every turn that a tourist just doesn't know where to start. I'm glad I did quite a bit of research before going and therefore I was pretty well prepared, but, there is so much when you get there that it can be overwhelming.  My greatest thrill was standing just above the promenade that runs beside the Thames, and staring at the Tower bridge. The bridge was shining in the sunshine and right beside it was the Tower of London. I spent the day there and then had High Tea on a Thames River cruise. What an experience. My favourite. No wait! I really enjoyed Westminster Abbey, the Mall, the castle and the national Art Gallery. That was a great day too. When I was in Leeds, the moors were just there on the horizon. So much green, and the stone walls and the historical villages. I think I will paint Inkley Moor first. I'll have to return some day and do some painting on location and not from photos when I return. What a trip, one I will remember for a long time.