Old Work, New Space

Well, after the move we are finally out of boxes ...mostly, but we still have to get rid of a load of stuff. I suppose that's the next job before we try to get the planners on board and start knocking the house about. One of the jobs that will need to be done is to bring the studio up to a living standard. Until that happens I have cleared a bit of space in it and have managed to do some work this weekend (to be posted later). This is how the studio currently looks;

Whilst unpacking my painting stuff I took a few photos of old paintings that I have never posted, and hadn't seen for years. Whilst packing, moving and unpacking might be a pain in the rear, I do like pottering in my studio. These are 15+ years old. I think  they were painted after Seth was born, but I could be wrong.

 Sara's Granny

 Abstract Landscape

 Abstract

 View From Crayke

 Abstract

 The Field

 Tholthorpe Tracks

 Sandy Lane

 Abstract

Sunflower

The Old Rocking Horse

A painting from the old old house.

This rocking horse has been in my family for generations and is in a beautifully distressed state. It really ought to be restored, but I like the peeling paint and gesso. It's probably about a 100 years old, give or take, although if you believe what the family says, it is old enough to have been made from fragments of the true cross.
I painted it about 17 years ago, when we lived in York. Seth was a baby, and we had finished renovating the house we were in. It took us months to finish it, coming home from work stripping walls and wood. It was hard work but was worth it; the house looked great. As it turned out, we weren't to stay there for long. As Seth learned to walk, and kept falling over in the back yard, we decided that we needed a garden. We wanted another older house, which more or less took York out of our budget. There was also the issue of schools. We eventually found a house in a village that we had never heard of, in the catchment for a soon to be 'outstanding' primary school, and a decent secondary school. When we went along to have a look, which we nearly didn't do, we were sold, and bought Grenouille (the previous lady of the house liked frogs). We quickly  renamed it Hector's House.
15 years (and Archie) later we have moved again, this time into Burnside, Easingwold, with less garden,  a smaller house that again needs work...but with a potentially great studio. The rocking horse is the with us, the painting of it is still with us and, hopefully, we will be saying in this one.
We are also sticking with the name.

The Old Rocking Horse.

Room With A View

From the old house.

This was painted back in May, whilst the GCSEs were on. 

The back of the old house looks out over a few roof lines with lots of trees; the front onto open fields, with the Pennines in the far distance. Our new house is in the centre of Easingwold so the views are very different. We got lots of wildlife visiting the garden in the last place, particularly birds, with regular woodpeckers, bullfinches,sparrowhawks and different owls. Here not so much. Paradoxically, here we have more walks for the dog, with more, and easier access to open countryside. Thomas the Bakers is seconds away (pies!), there are several pubs just 100 metres away and  plenty of restaurants and shops, ranging from co-ops to more gentrified deli's....and then there's the studio. It might be stuffed to the gills at the moment with bikes, boxes and furniture, but it will be a great space when we get it sorted.

Just don't hold your breath.

View From The Old House.

Last Of The Summer Paintings.

This is a view of the river Nidd at Nidd Gorge in Knaresborough. It's on a fairly small canvas and was painted during the summer, after we had been for a walk in the gorge. Beautiful place.

Nidd Gorge

Peep O'Day.

Before The Summer Holiday.

This was painted before we broke up for the summer. It's just about half a mile from the house that we are moving to in Easingwold next Friday. That was interesting fact number 1. Interesting fact number 2 is that this was the first time that I used my little old lady style shopping trolley to carry my easel. The French easel is a pain to carry so it's worth looking like a bag lady, and to be fair I'm sartorially challenged at weekends anyway so when I'm plodding along in my painting shorts and flip flops it probably just completes the ensemble.

Looking Towards Peep O'Day Woods.

Portrait Of An Old Man

 Portrait Of An Old Man.

Better Out Than In

During the holiday we decided to have a drive out to the coast. We didn't set off until late afternoon. I threw my paints into the car with the intention of painting from the beach. We headed out to Ravenscar, only to find that you can't get to the beach from there - you have to go to Boggle Hole to get onto the beach. It was getting late so I painted this quick sketch (in record time) whilst Sara sat and read. It was a long way to go for such little time. Still, better out than in.