The Teesdale Gallery

Book Update.

2012-01-19T20:07:00.000Z

In the past week or two I have had a couple of enquiries regarding the Wainwrights in Colour Book so I thought a blog post would be useful.
As I work my way through the list of fells I try and juggle several balls in the air at the same time, not only completing the paintings but then doing all the follow up admin. From scanning the images and updating the website right through to all the ancillary admin such as answering emails etc. At the same time I am actually working on the design of the book. This is so that the publication of the book can go ahead as soon as all the sketches are complete.
We have done a bit of re-working of the design and this may not even be the final layout. This is an example of the Chapter pages.

The 214 fells will all be featured with as many of the 1500 sketches as possible shown in the book. The intention is to let the sketches speak for themsleves but there will of course be notes on how the scenes have changed etc. Below is an example of just one of the designed pages for the fells.

To date we have over 1000 potential orders for the book and already we have had email enquiries from bookshops to supply them with copies. We have a date in mind for the official launch later on in the year but we will post more news here shortly.
In the meantime, keep watching the website for updates.

Wainwrights at your fingertips.

2011-09-15T14:39:00.000+01:00

Did you know that here on The Teesdale Gallery website not only can you find gallery information but also a photographic record of walks to ALL of the 214 Lakeland "Wainwright" Fells?

Visit the On Location section and you will find hundred of walks in all seasons, all with a set of photographs to inspire you to get out onto the hills or just enjoy. Andy's walks are not usually standard recognised routes as they are from his reference search for his Wainwrights in Colour Project so you will find many photographs from unusual locations.
Why not bookmark the website: www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk or "Like" the Facebook page?

Ten Years On

2011-09-03T13:23:00.000+01:00

A friend of mine off Facebook, Gary Jones recently posted some super photos from a recent trip to Chester Zoo and in particular some great shots of Black Rhino. The photos took me back 10 years to a trip that I did to Northern Kenya.
I'm sure that we all remember where we were on that fateful day- 11th september 2001 and for me it certainly was memorable as I along with a team of about 12 others were cycling across the remote dusty tracks of Laikipia raising money for Save the Rhino.
So the other day I had a rummage in the studio. There in a small box are pages from a sketchbook from that trip. These sketches have never been on display since they were done so I have scanned a couple and put them on here for the first time.
I'm actually not too sure what to do with them, some as you can see are quite saleable where as others have a special meaning and little commercial value.
Anyway, here they are.

White Rhino in the heat of the day.

These were on the Lewa Reserve and we were able to approach to within just a few metres. We did see Black Rhino as well but they tend to be more cautious.

Lone Bull Elephant.

Samburu Tribesman and the type of terrain through which we cycled.

White Rhino mother (Opndo) and 8 week old calf at Lewa.

A return to the blog.

2011-09-02T12:34:00.001+01:00

Time flies, nearly a year since I posted here on the gallery blog. Obviously some readers of this blog (if there are actually any?) will realise that regular updates of what I actually get up to can be found on the gallery Facebook page or for the more photographic side of things on the Andy Beck Images website and blog.
Of couse I haven't been sitting doing nothing, in fact I can say that I have never been busier. The Wainwrights in Colour project is progressing well albeit slower than I intended. Currently in the gallery there are 15 completed fells fully framed and on display and awaiting collection.

This is quite and unusual situation as normally once a fell has been completed and I inform the customer the work is collected right away.

Of course these fells are all sold so now is a good time to call into the gallery to see these fells before they go to the customers homes. If you are not able to call in then do take a look at the website where the work can be viewed.

A Damp Castle Crag

2010-09-19T22:35:00.000+01:00

An early start was called for so that I could deliver a couple of the completed Wainwright in Colour Fells this morning. Fortunately the deliveries were over in the Borrowdale area so I was able to incorporate a walk with the plan. The weather forecast was pretty poor so I opted for a simple low level route to Castle Crag. At about 8am the low cloud looked as if it would spoil my chances of even obtaining the one reference that I was after today. This was a reference which I should of ticked off on my previous visit to Castle Crag a while ago but due to the fact the subject was from a completely different fell I missed the connection.
So today I would hopefully get the shot and also give Bailey the chance to tick off another Wainwright.

On Castle Crag.

As can be seen from the picture, the low cloud had been matched with rain by the time we reached the summit. On clear days there are fine views from here of both Borrowdale and to the north but today we were shrouded in mist. never mind, there is always another day and besides, I did get my reference!

Recording the changes

2010-09-16T18:46:00.002+01:00

One of the most often asked questions to me regarding the Wainwrights in Colour project is "Have you seen many changes since AW's day?" The usual answwer to this is "tree growth" in many of the views where AW indicated small trees in the foreground these have now usually grown up to such a height that they can obscure the view in part or in full. On other ocassions there is evidence that the rock scenery has changed with portions of crags having broken away to change the profile of the rocks face. The most dramatic of this so far has been on Gavel Pike, Seat Sandal.
However, in a painting that I have completed today there is evidence where man's intervention has "re-shaped" the rocks. It is on the summit of Gowbarrow Fell. In the early '50's the summit sported a small pile of stones as the summit cairn, nowadays these rocks have been gathered together and formed into a Trig Point. In the past I hadn't taken much notice of these columns and for some reason assumed that they were constructed around the first few decades of the 20th Century. Obviously not, and with a bit of research it appears that they continued to appear right up until 1962.

Gowbarrow Fell.

What makes Gowbarrow fell unique in all of the 214 fells is the fact that this is the only fell where since AW's visit the cairn has been replaced by a Trig Point. it also gets sketched twice, once for here in the Gowbarrow Fell chapter and once again in the Little Mell Fell chapter.

Sunday evening on Sheffield Pike

2010-09-13T09:36:00.004+01:00

As the forecast for the start of the coming week doesn't look too promising I took the dogs once again over to the eastern fells for a walk. Like all of my routes at this time nothing is hap-hazard but planned to obtain as many of the remaining references as possible in the quickest amount of time. Todays route was no different and if things went according to plan I would get the remaining references for three fells.

The full details of this route are now online with the photos at http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/ but basically it was a start at Glencoyne, up the valley to Nick Head, drop down to the old Sticks Reservoir, back up to Sheffield Pike, across to Glenridding Dodd (just so Bailey could tick off another fell!) and then back to the car in Glencoyne past the quiet cottages at Seldom Seen.
All in all it was a good walk out, unfortunately the evening sun failed to appear and I did fail to get one reference but it was well worth the trip over.

Damp on Dollywaggon

2010-09-11T20:56:00.001+01:00

Just to prove that I do actually own a full set of waterproofs (and to test that they still work) I headed over to Dunmail Raise again to try and confirm the location of the elusive cascades in Raise Beck. There cant be many ocassions where poor weather has helped in my reference finding but after the recent rains I reckoned that the water flow down Raise Beck would be an advantage in locating the watefall that I looked for a few days ago. Conditions were excellent if you love waterfalls but pretty dire for walking.

Raise Beck in Full Flow

From the top of Raise Beck, and after locating the required photo, we headed up to Dollywaggon Pike and along to Helvellyn via Nethermost Pike. Low cloud and rain were the conditions of the day and the dogs really did enjoy themselves despite the looks in the photos! Unusual to be all alone on the summit of Helvellyn in September but considering the condition, not surprising. The full set of photos are now online: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/

On Location gets a re-vamp

2010-09-11T09:15:00.002+01:00

When looking at the gallery website over the past few months I had decided that it needed a bit of a "tweaking", I reckon that there are in the region of 750 pages now on the site, mostly related to the Wainwrights in Colour project or my days out on the fells. It was rather complicated to find on the site the days on the fells if they were completed over six months ago.
As the website features day out on all of the 214 Lakeland Fells I considered that this resource needed re-organising. So, over the past few weeks I have been linking and re-shaping these pages as well as Teesdale pages so that they should be easier to find to the website viewer. What has resulted is a "new look" On Location page. The work is now almost complete and just needs a few final adjustments. I would be interested to hear any comments from visitors to the website.

Whin Rigg Complete

2010-09-09T14:07:00.002+01:00

There is something special about completing this fell. Not only has it one of the three "double page spreads" and all the seven Pictorial Guides but it also has the sketch of the "April Fool" Fish sign. (See the Whin Rigg page of the Wainwrights in Colour for the full story)

Wastwater Screes

I recall that it was after a good walk over Whin Rigg and Illgill Head with a return via the notorious Wastwater Screes path that we returned to the car just as the last light of the sun was striking the face of the Screes. It was a glow which I will remember for ages as the sun was only on the scree as low cloud was shading the fell tops. I stood until the glow had gone, almost mesmerised by the sight. A great end to a great day. The small image above hardly does the scene justice.

Teesdale's Limestone country

2010-08-27T14:38:00.018+01:00

Teesdale is noted geologically for the Whin Sill shelf which helps to form such features such as High Force. However, there is a large amount of Limestone here which as in the Yorkshire Dales forms some other interesting features. So today I walked out to find and photograph such locations. Once again, the car wasn't needed some of the best Limestone locations are within a short distance of the house. Nearly all of these places I have visited before albeit in different seasons.

Trough Head Gorge.

The water levels were quite low in certain places making for interesting comparison shots. So on the website I have made a page from this walk but also added in some of the comparison shots from other days. The page is now available to view on the website http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/ visit the On Location link and click on the Teesdale section.

Purple Moor

2010-08-26T19:51:00.002+01:00

I thought the heather was looking pretty good a week ago but a short walk up to Ravock shows just how good the scene is now.

Heather on Ravock.

Its the shorter heather which seems to bloom best. This is partially due to the management of the moor where the older "tired" heather is burnt off at the back end of the year allowing the fresh young shoots to re-generate. Below are a couple of photographs from a days heather burning. Its a controlled method but non the less a dramatic scene.

The moor alight.

Feel the heat.

(Its the foreshortening of the scene by the camera which gives this shot such drama, the flames are quite a distance behind the Keeper)

Moor management not only benefits the game population but also the numbers of breeding wading birds are increased as a side effect.

Self Portrait?

2010-08-26T11:02:00.023+01:00

In all the Pictorial Guides of the Lakeland Fells, Wainwright did a sketch of himself in at least one of the scenes. As part of the Wainwrights in Colour project I decided to emulate his idea so instead of putting him in the scene I will add myself to the spot where he was standing/ sitting.
In the Central Fells (Book Three) AW places himself on the edge of the cliff of Raven Crag overlooking Thirlmere. I personally think he just added himself at a later date and didnt have a photo of himself actually standing there. Possibly there was no one to take the photo for him "on location" and also his camera didnt have a self timer. Fortunately I usually carry a tripod and my camera has such a facility.

Thirlmere from Raven Crag

Ok so its not a brilliant self portrait but surely you recognise that stance and of course the lack of head hair? The trees on the left have now gone and the once on the right have seen better days. Non the less, this is a fine place to stand and admire the view.

Heather and summer showers

2010-08-21T11:58:00.041+01:00

Taking time out from the studio today I had a wander up to the moor. Fortunately the house sits in close proximity to some fine heather moorland so its just a case of putting on the boots, grabbing the camera (as always) and trying to encourage the dogs to come for a walk!
The weather was a bit mixed today to say the least with sunshine and heavy showers but I was hoping to keep to the sunshine bit. Out on the moor the heather is in full bloom and with the fresh sunshine the colours of the moor were splendid.

The mixture of colours of the moor.

The dogs have a great time, plenty of warm wet scent amongst the heather, mostly of the resident Red Grouse.

Zeta in the heather.

After a nice wander we could see the storm clouds heading our way so we headed home at a brisk pace, unfortunately the weather beat us. On the lane back to the house torrential rain fell and we took shelter under a Hawthorn tree but it was a waste of time, we got drenched!

Its had to photograph such a downpour to express just how heavy it was but this is the scene mid shower. And below the same scene minutes later as the storm had passed.

Before the next shower came in we headed home to get dried off. Amazing how the weather can change so quickly.

Another change of plans

2010-08-20T11:17:00.001+01:00

The intentions were good, a day to tick off some references near to Helvellyn and also a good long walk out. Sadly, as happens the weather didnt play ball with low cloud litterally putting a dampener on things. As I left the Car Park at Swirls I was hopeful that the cloud cover would have lifted off Brown Cove Crags by the time I reached them. On route I had to visit the watefall in Helvellyn Gill (an awkward descent and re-ascent on steep, wet grassy slopes) and once that had been done we approached the crags as the rain came in. Huddling behind a rock for shelter I formed Plan B as I supped a hot drink. Plan B was put into action as I cant afford the time to wander across mist covered fells just for the sake of it.
So a return to the car was called for from where I travelled to the Heaton Cooper Gallery in grasmere to pick up some art materials. By the time this was done there was a hint of clearing weather so we returned up to the summit of Dunmail Raise. From there we were able to take the second half of my original plan and ascend besides Raise Beck to then continue up to Seat Sandal.

Seat Sandal above Grasmere.

I have learnt over the past few years to be adaptable and today it payed off. Not every target was achieved but at least I had something to show for a poor start to the day. More photos and details of the day can de found on the website via the On Location Page http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/

Grouse on the Moor

2010-08-07T14:02:00.000+01:00

Teesdale is renowned for its landscape with its extensive Grouse Moors. The upland landscape is the home of the indigenous Red Grouse who lives and breeds in this harsh environment. Habitat management for this bird also benefits the visiting and breeding wading birds. Now in early August there are a good number of grouse families seen amongst the heather. Their remarkable camouflage makes them difficult to spot.

Young grouse 7th August 2010

My painitngs of Grouse seem to be quite popular so given the opportunity amongst my other work I try to include sketches of grouse into the gallery as often as possible. Below is a small sketch completed this week.

"Heading West"

A covey of grouse cross the moor in high summer. Based on an actual location, Ravock Castle near Bowes.The cairn is actually on the Pennine Way.

Standing on the edge.

2010-08-05T17:13:00.001+01:00

Of all the sketches for the Wainwrights in Colour project there are one or two which stand out for some special reason. So it was for this painting from the Whin Rigg chapter, page 8.

The viewpoints.

It was 13th April 2008 when I was on the Illgill Head, Whin Rigg ridge obtaining the references required for work on thses two fells. There was hardly anyone else about, I seem to recall it was maybe a Tuesday. Unusually enough AW even marked on a map the exact location for these viewpoints so all I had to do was find the exact spot where he stood for his reference photograph. Not quite straightforward as AW's shoreline of Wastwater is incorrectly drawn, possibly due to a poor contrasting reference photograph.)but once found all I had to do was to take the shot. In his drawing he includes a figure on the top and a couple of the lower viewpoint (possibly added in later to give a sense of drama as the y are slightly our of scale.) Just as I was lining up the camera a couple (who I later found out were German tourists) came and stoood in exactly the right place in the scene. How spooky is that?

Black Force...again.

2010-08-04T12:15:00.000+01:00

It was on the 21st May when we did this route first as part of the Wainwright Society's "Best of the Rest" challenge. On that occasion we were unable to complete the required route due to the restrictions in the area due to breeding birds.
So it was that once again we headed over towards the Howgill Fells do re-trace our steps into Carlingill. Unfortunately we were not so lucky with the weather this time as it was rather overcast with a threat of rain. However, we were able to follow AW's route which takes in a steep ridge adjacent to the deep gorge of Black Force. The Howgill fells are normally associated with fairly easy walking on grass covered fells so this edge has a bit more excitement.

Black Force and Carlingill.

Once out of the gorge it was a really pleasant path that lead us up and over Linghaw before descending back to the car at Carlingill Bridge. More photos are online: wwwtheteesdalegallery.co.uk

A Lunedale wander

2010-08-01T19:30:00.001+01:00

There is some excellent walking to be done here on our doorstep in Teesdale so today we headed over to Middleton in Teesdale to do this route into Lunedale. A walk that mostly passes through pleasant meadows aso has the bonus of following the shoreline of Grassholme reservoir for some of its length before picking up a section of the Pennine Way.

Kirkcarrion in the sun.

Many of the meadow and verges had a wonderful variety of wild flowers and the patchs of bright sun made this a delightful outing. More photographs online: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/

Raven Crag

2010-07-28T20:24:00.002+01:00

It seems such a long time since I have been out on the hills, so today I was able to combine a bit of business with pleasure. After first meeting up with some clients and delivering to them their purchased Wainwrights in Colour fells I had then planned to complete a short route up at the head of Great Langdale. Things were not in my favour, as I drove up to the head of the valley I could see that low cloud covered the top of Bowfell, one of the references that I needed to see. So I opted for plan "B", that was to head homewards and maybe to do a short walk elsewhere.
Fortunately there were some breaks in the cloud and some late afternoon sun made an appearance. I grabbed the opportunity to walk up to the top of Raven Crag, a small fell near the dam of Thirlmere. The good weather held and our small effort was rewarded with some fine views.

The Dodds and Thirlmere.

I dont usually "do" panoramas but I thought that this one was worth the effort. (Click on the image to view in full)

Fishy Tales

2010-07-25T22:34:00.002+01:00

Obtaining the references for the Wainwrights in Colour project is usually fairly straight forward. Once I have done the research the task normally consists of visiting the location and photographing the scene from where AW stood. However, there is one referencem in all of the pictorial Guides that I knew would be difficult or amybe impossible to obtain, that being a wooden "fish" signpost that he drew on page 6 of the Whin Rigg chapter. The fact that it was made of wood and of a small size meant that it had probably disappeared long ago.
What should I do? Look for it anyway and if not found just leave it out of the project?
The words thjat AW wrote about the signpost "-artist unknown,..congratulations on a bright and original idea" these gave me an idea.
So it was that on the 31st March (an important date for my plan) I set off to complete a route that would end up with me heading down from Whin rigg past the place where the signpost had been located. A few days prior to this I had fashioned from wood a replica of the Fish sign, spending some time weathering it and even adding some moss to give it an aged look. Taking it with me I was able to photograph it on site. I did of course spend a considerable time looking for the original sign but with no luck. consequently on return from my trip I was able to upload onto my website my photos from the day including the "finding" of this fish sign. The photographs were of course uploaded and posted on the morning of 1st April, hence my reason for doing the walk on the 31st March. As far as I know, no one cottened on to this April Fool prank until the exhibition in october when my replica fish was put on display.
The end result from this? I was able to complete a sketch of the Whin Rigg sign, OK it may not be the original but I would like to think that AW would find it amusing!

Bailey's training- six months on.

2010-07-21T22:50:00.004+01:00

Hard to believe that it's been six months since Bailey came home with us from the Dog's Trust. Patience and understanding has meant that we now have him under a bit of control but there is still some more work to do.

Crinkle Crags Complete

2010-07-20T12:26:00.002+01:00

The work on Crinkle Crags, one of the Classic and popular Wainwright fells is now complete. Comprising of eleven seperate sketches this fell has been a challenge and a joy to do. Every drawing reminds me of great days out on the fells where I can recall the adventures of the walking whilst being in the studio.

Crinkle Crags from Pike o' Blisco.

All of the sketches for Crinkle crags can now be found on the website.

A Snipe sneaks in

2010-07-17T11:47:00.000+01:00

Nearly all my time is currently taken up with the Wainwright project and consequently there is very little fresh work in the gallery from my normal protfolio. It is great to have such a full order book but frustrating that visitors to the gallery dont see much fresh work.
I took a short time out today to produce a quick watercolour sketch of a Snipe, produced on a spare piece of paper and no doubt it will slip into a frame that I already have.

Evening Snipe.

More information on this sketch will apprear on the website shortly, meantime, back to the Wainwrights.

Doing the rounds

2010-07-15T13:18:00.001+01:00

A day away from the easel yesterday, delivering completed works to customers around the Yorks/ lancs area. I pefer to deliver the works by hand as it seems a bit more personal than sending them in the post (and its safer!) Its a shame but these works hardly ever to get to be put on public display in the gallery but at least on the website all the work can be seen.

Red Deer - The Nab.

After returning home its always a joy to recieve email messages like this.

"We are amazed and full of admiration for Andy's vision for this project, and the extreme fortitude needed to make it happen. We have bought "The Nab", personally delivered by Andy yesterday (14/07/2010) and are delighted with it. When it is possible to register for a copy of the limited edition book, we would like to be considered. A "must do" for us in the coming months, will be to make a trip to the gallery. Best wishes, E. & G, W.."

It makes all those long days our on the hill well worth while.

Pages from my sketchbook

2010-07-10T15:33:00.001+01:00

Over the past few years the "normal" subjects for my artwork have had to take a back seat whilst I complete my current Wainwright project. So much so that some people think that painting Wainwright scenes is all that I do. To put this right I will shortly be carrying out a bit of re-designing my website which not only will be more informative but also make it a bit easier to navigate.
One of the new features which is going to be included is "pages from my sketchbook" which should hopefully give visitors an insight into the background work to many of my paintings whether landscape or wildlife.

Eggleston Abbey, Teesdale.

Brown Hares-study

I will post an update when the work on the website has been carried out.

Greetings!

2010-07-08T11:10:00.002+01:00

After a bit of re-furbishment of the gallery counter I was able to get on display the full range of greeting cards. Gone are the old framing corners as I now no longer have time to undertake framing for customers, and in are some nice new racks filled with my cards. A bigger range is planned for the near future but the response to the current range has been really good.

The new look card display.

There is a link to this range of greeting cards from the front page of the website: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/

Great Asby Scar

2010-07-07T22:42:00.001+01:00

It was only by studying the map of the Eden valley did I spot this area of rocky landscape just to the south of Appleby. A bit of research online threw up some more information so I headed off to take a look. Not the best of evening light for a visit but just good to see the potential for a return visit.

Limetone Pavements of Great Asby Scar.

There is a large expanse of Limestone pavement here which make interesting patterns on the landscape, definetely a place for a return visit. There are a few more photos now online: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/ and click onto the "On Location" page.

Working my way along Crinkle Crags.

2010-07-05T20:26:00.002+01:00

Another of the Wainwright in Colour fells, this time Crinkle Crags. AW drew this ridge from quite a few different angles but then he did rate this as one of the best ridge walks in Lakeland. there have been a couple of challenges to doing these sketches, firstly, the landscape is very rocky and the idea is to put over this effect in painting without drawing every single rock. Secondly, the ridge basically runs east/west which means that from mid-morning to early afternoon the sketches are either directly into the sun making harsh lighting or directly facing the sun making a flat light effect on the crags etc.

The fifth crinkle seen from the main crinkle.

The bad step.

By visiting the website: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/ you can follow the continuing progress of the rest of the Crinkle Crags sketchs and the project in general.

A wild Friday night out.

2010-07-03T13:06:00.001+01:00

Maybe it's something to do with my age but to me now a preferred "wild night out" is standing on top of a windy fell watching the sun go down! So that what I got up to last night after heading over to Kirby Stephen I took the simple there and back route up to Nine Standards Rigg. Leaving the car at 8pm I hoped that my visit to these fine cairns would be timed just right for the sunset which on my last visit on 21st April didnt come to much. Even tonight didnt look too promising as I crossed the moor. However, luck was on my side and after a short wait on the summit I was rewarded with the collection of cairns being lit by the late sun.

Nine Standards.

This is just one of the earlier shots as the sun went down. Photos are now online: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/ and visit the "On Location" page.

All that glitters isn't gold.

2010-07-02T11:34:00.000+01:00

A visit from Emma gray today meant that we are now re-plenished with some of her fabulous silver jewellery. Fortunately as she is a fellow Teesdale artist she doesn't have far to travel to deliver her wares. Emma works in solid silver enhanced with precious and semi-precious stones. She also works with natural pearls.

Some of Emmas new work.

I am just in the process of photgraphing the pieces so that I can update the website which will be updated in the next day or two.

A bit of re-organising

2010-07-01T19:58:00.003+01:00

The continuing turn-around of the Wainwrights in Colour work means that the two upstairs showrooms are now constantly changing. As soon as I complete a fell and put it on display I contact the customer and nearly always they are straight into the gallery to collect. The disadvantage to this is that the finished fells are not on public display for too long. Now I have re-organised the rooms so that the few unsold works are on display in one room and the incomplete and sold work is filling another of the rooms.

The room with unsold work.

The other room with sold work has a few completed fells awaiting collection.

What you cant see from the photographs is that many of these frames show the pencil drawings just waiting to be filled in with colour. With the accompanying notes on display customers really get to see this project "in progress".

Bailey seems to have settled in.

2010-06-30T21:06:00.002+01:00

It's not quite 6 months since we brought Bailey home from the Dogs Trust. Where has the time gone? He is a much admired dog, some even say handsome but that only mades him big-headed! lol. He is responding well to training especially once he cottoned on as to who was really the boss. He has ticked off quite a few Wainwrights on some big days on the hills but as yet we have still failed to tire him out. Compared to when we first got him he has put some weight on but I don't think we are ever going to have a fat dog here.

Most importantly and the question we get asked most often is "how does he get on with Zeta?" The photo below speaks for itself.

Yes, that is Bailey lying directly across Zeta's neck as she is sleeping! He often takes the liberty of lying or sitting on her, most of the time she just puts up with it but every now and then she tells him enough is enough. Nothing agressive, just ensuring that the "pecking order" remains intact.

Summer colours

2010-06-28T11:21:00.001+01:00

I have just spent a bit of time giving the front of the gallery a touch-up on the paintwork. Thankfully not much needed doing but it was a good time to attend to the job as I was just about to put up the hanging baskets for the summer. These sort of tasks at the gallery dont directly bring in customers but with such a prominent location within the town of barnard Castle it would be a shame not to make the most of our position. Many visitors take photos of the Market Cross and if they think that including The Teesdale Gallery in the composition makes for a better picture then I'm happy with that!

Feeling Sheepish!

2010-06-25T20:07:00.001+01:00

Another new artist for the gallery. This time a collection of work from Midlands based artist, Garry Jones. We met Garry recently at a trade show and just loved his work, it really brings a smile to your face. His ceramic animals are all hand-made and his sense of humour really comes through in his work.

"Ewe and Me"

It will take me a couple of days to get the new stock photographed and put on the website but it will be well worth taking a look at sometime.

Hot off the easel.

2010-06-24T09:47:00.001+01:00

After a busy period of sketching and painting recently I was a bit under presssure to complete a couple of fells for the Wainwrights in Colour project. One of my customers happened to be having a short stay up in The Lakes and as he lives down in the south of the country I thought it would be a good opportunity to finish his purchased fells and deliver them whilst he was up here. I was hoping that the painting would go according to plan (one sketch recently took me 3 attempts to get it right.) Luckily the paintings worked out and I was able to complete the fells, frame them up and deliver them over to the customer all on the same day.

Buckbarrow.

Swarthbeck Gill, Arthur's Pike.

There was an added bonus to doing this delivery though, an enjoyable evening was had with our friends at The Britannia Inn, Elterwater. Altogether a great trip.

Overnight on Haystacks

2010-06-22T19:44:00.000+01:00

I took the opportunity yesterday to have a "wildcamp" over on the Lakeland Fells. There are plenty of places to go but I opted for a location which would not only enable me to capture some more references but also provide some great views at the end of the day. At this time of the year the sun sets almost along the length of the Buttermere valley so I headed for an ascent of Fleetwith Pike. The weather was perfect and a I was fortunate to watch beautiful sunset as I walked round to my camping site on Haystacks.

Sunset on Fleetwith Pike.

The next day was meant to one of a long walk over Great Gable but unforunately low cloud hung over the tops of the western fells so I had to make alternative plans for the day. It was still a great day to be out on the hills. The photos are now online: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/

Gallery on TV

2010-06-18T18:46:00.000+01:00

Today was the day for the airing of the programme "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is" in which the gallery (and me of course) appeared on TV.

Last Autumn when the film crew were in town it took several hours of filming in the gallery to get what ended up as just a couple minutes or required footage. Zeta even gets her moment of fame but took it all in her stride by sleeping in her basket!

Later in the programme we make an aopperance in the Bowes Museum as part of the "crowd scene" at the auction. All good fun and nothing like a free plug on TV!

Andy and David Harper seal the deal!

Sketching at full speed

2010-06-16T11:42:00.001+01:00

Work continues at pace for the Wainwrights in Colour project. With the recent good weather it has been tempting to head over to the hills to get more walking done but the rucksack sits quietly in the corner. My priority at this time is to complete more of the fells in painitngs before I hatch some plan to get up onto the fells to obtain some of the missing references that I need.

Arthur's Pike.

Ullswater from the Howtown Path.

Cats in numbers

2010-06-14T19:40:00.000+01:00

Another delivery of new stock today, this time all the way from Cornwall. The quirky pottery animals from the studio of Jane Adams have always been popular here at The Teesdale Gallery and it was great to open the bowes to see what was inside.

Pottery cats.

As well as the cats, Jane also sent a selection of sheep, cows and hares. I will hope to get all the new stock on the website shortly but there is no doubt they will make you smile.

Short visit to Swaledale

2010-06-12T08:48:00.000+01:00

Every now and then I get chance to head "over the valley" out of Teesdale and into Swaledale. Today the excuse was that I had a bit of business to conduct over there so I used my visit to take the dogs on a couple of short walks in the area.

Upper Swaledale.

It was also a good time to take a look at some of the wonderful wildflower meadows near Muker. These fields are mamaged so that they support the large variety of plants which bring colour to these meadows. I was just a bit early to see them at their best but it was still worth a look. Photos are now online at: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/

Wainwright's First Big Day.

2010-06-08T22:34:00.001+01:00

Following on from the previous days celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of AW's trip to Orrest Head, I considered that it would be interesting to follow up that day by re-tracing his steps for what would have been his first ever venture up on to the high lakeland fells. After resting the night in Windermere, AW and his cousin set off on the morning of 8th June 1930 to walk from Windermere to Pooley Bridge. So it was that 80 years on I would follow his route.

Thornthwaite Crag, this was to be AW's very first lakeland fell summit. The route for the day basically followed the High Street ridge, his day was in better weather, for me it rained most of the time.

Many miles later we ended up here at the Crown Inn, Pooley Bridge where in 1930 AW and his cousin spent the night before continuing their walking tour of the fells. For me it was an interesting day to follow in the footsteps of the man whose later work has been so important to me recently. The full album of photographs for the day are online at: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/

80th Anniversary Celebrations

2010-06-07T22:41:00.002+01:00

7th June was the day in 1930 that Alfred Wainwright and his cousin Eric Beardsall rode the bus from their home town, Blackburn in Lancashire to Windermere in the Lake District. The walking holiday that followed would change AW's life forever. To mark this special occasion The Wainwright Society organised a full day of events to re-trace AW's trip to the fells. After an initial meet-up at Windermere we were transported by modern coach to Blackburn from where we set out in classic coaches to re-enact the journey.

Dressed in period costume we ventured forth changing buses at Preston and stopping for tea at the Midland Hotel, Morcambe before alighting at Windermere. Just as AW did we then took the short walk up to Orrest Head.

Just as in 1930 the sun shone and the distant fells were on full show. A few short speeches and a photo call and then down to Windermere for tea. A fine way to celebrate this day. To see the full album of photos visit the website: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/ and go to the "On Location page" where the webpage can be found for this event.

Ticking off the Fells

2010-06-02T22:59:00.001+01:00

It seems a while since I had a good day out on the Lake District Fells, something which I hope to put right in the next few days. The lack of walking is purely down to the fact that I have been so busy in the studio getting work done for the Wainwrights in Colour project. The fells are now getting completed at a reasonable rate with a good "first time" success on most of the sketches, seldom do they get scrapped and put in the bin.

Seatallan from below Scoat Tarn.

However, one or two sketches have caused some problems like this one below of Arnison Crag. For no particular reason the first two attempts at this scene I just wasn't happy with but fortunately the third go came out right so now it is framed with the other sketches for this fell and is just awaiting collection by the customer.

Arnison Crag from Keldas

Brignall Banks

2010-05-28T19:56:00.000+01:00

Here in Teesdale we not only have some great open moorland walking but also some excellent woodland valleys which offer secluded and quiet days out. Today I headed along the A66 to the east to park up at Greta Bridge and walk this route along the area known as Brignall Banks. The shade of the trees made for cooler walking for the dogs. The late spring is the best time to find some of the beautiful woodland flora.

Brignall Old Church and Water Avens.

The other photos from this route are online on the gallery website: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/

A Moody walk

2010-05-26T22:42:00.000+01:00

There was time this afternoon to take in a couple of the Far Eastern Fells before meeting up witrh my brother for the evening. I had a reference or two to tick off on Arthur's Pike which is a fell easy to access from near Howtown. There was a band of rain to the north of us on the route but the skies were pretty dark and moody making for some interesting photographs like this one from Bonscale Pike.

Patches of sun broke through the cloud to the west and south and we did get the odd shower. Not all the best photos come from bright sunny days.

A day at the office

2010-05-25T21:35:00.001+01:00

When I was out on Friday on Cronkley Fell I was using the camera to shoot a bit of video and managed to put a short clip together about my days out on the fells. It was quite difficult to film and sketch at the same time (who says men can't multi-task?) but the results were quite acceptable. I may put a few other clips together in the near future.

Evening on the Howgills

2010-05-23T23:26:00.001+01:00

As part of this years Wainwright Society Challenge "The Best of the Rest" we had opted to walk the route up to Black Force. This route would be new to us and loked interesting with the possibility of a bit of scrambling up alongside the gill. We chose to go over later in the day as the air would have been a bit cooler for the dogs. Also, after looking at the map I judged that the fells here would have been good to view the sun going down behind the Lake District Fells.

Not every thing went according to plan as you will see by visitng the full photo report on the website. Still, it was a great way to spend a couple of hours on some quiet fells, in fact we saw no one else during our time walking.

Penciling in

2010-05-22T21:43:00.001+01:00

The days that I spend in the gallery are never wasted. I try and use that time to upload sketches on to the website and answer emails etc. Once those chores are done its easy to pick up the pencil and draw up some more sketches for the project. Painting them here would be a bit impractical as the watercolour needs to be applied at just the right time and with a bit of concentration. Having to put a paintbrush down would be a bit, how shall I put it..... frustrating. The pencil sketches only take a matter of moments each to draw as they are the basic outline of the layout.

As busy as I was in the gallery today I still managed to work up about 24 drawings which now need to be scanned and uploaded onto the site before the get put onto the large pile of work to be coloured in.

The added bonus to all this was that the very last customer of the day came in especially to see the Wainwrights in Colour and he managed to choose one of the remaining fells for himself. That leaves just 14. all in all a good gallery day.

A Teesdale Treat

2010-05-21T20:55:00.000+01:00

The pressure of getting work to get paintings completed has meant that my time has mostly been spent recently in the studio with just short local walks with the dogs, hardly the interesting stuff for blog material.

So today I considered getting out and about, a big walk over on the Lake District Fells was considered but instead I opted for a more local walk up into Upper Teesdale.

The dale boasts some really special flora and fauna and I was hoping to see some of it for myself. Cronkley Fell was the high point of my walk and on such a fine and warm spring day it was a joy to be out. I had timed this day just right as the rare Spring Gentian were in full bloom.

These delightful little plants are really only found in Britain here in Upper Teesdale and on the West Coast of Ireland. There were other highlights to the walk but the striking blue of the gentian made it special.

You can see the whole set of photographs from the day by visiting the website: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/

Spring Sun

2010-05-11T20:32:00.000+01:00

There have been some cold nights recently with overnight tempreatures dropping to below freezing and with light sleety snow flurries today it felt as if winter had returned. By the time I got out for our walk there were some good patches of Spring sunshine which soon warmed up the day. As the clouds drifted quickly overhead we were treated to some nice patches of bright light worthy of a shot or two.

Bailey races the sun. Interesting here to see the Sycamore tree in full leaf where as the Ash trees on either side are still bare.

Bailey and Zeta.

Bailey's training progresses. Now around the local patch he works off-lead and is pretty good at obeying commands, he does try his luck every now and then just to keep me on my toes.

A Wildlife Day.

2010-05-09T23:19:00.000+01:00

Recently I have been fully occupied with the Wainwright sketches which unfortunately means that I have not travelled far from home. I have had to make do with shorter walks for the dogs a couple of time a day. So today it was just in the local area of the house that we got a bit of fresh air. I make a habit of always taking the camera with me as you never know what is gong to pop up. Luckily for me I was giving the dogs a bit of close heel work when I spotted an adult Hare in an adjacent field to where we were. A bit of patience and he got closer and closer enabling me to get some great close-up photos of him. Great poses for future paintings.

On our later walk we were also fortunate to spot this line up of waders just sitting on a dry stone wall. Three Oystercatchers and a Redshank, even though they all breed hereabouts it was so unusual to cature them all in close proximity to each other.

All in all a good day for a bit of wildlife watching, and just on the doorstep too.

Fatma Dundar / Interview with Andy Beck

2010-05-01T14:12:00.003+01:00

Back on the 17th Feb. 2010 I did a short interview for a friend of mine who is studying to become a journalist. The short film on the subject of The Wainrights in Colour is now complete and I have attached it here. Does this mean that I will be famous in Turkey now? (lol)

New Life

2010-04-30T20:30:00.000+01:00

No matter how busy I am in the studio having the dogs is a great excuse to get out into the fresh air for an hour or so. Today was time for a walk in the quiet lanes near the house, so quiet in fact that they are good locations to give Bailey some more training as the high walls of the lane restrict his wandering. I took some short video clips which im will upload onto you tube soon.
As we walked on the lane Lapwings circled overhead with constant alarm calls, a sign that there were young chicks about. Sure enough, a quick peek over an adjacent wall and I spotted two very young chicks.

I'm guessing that these guys were less than a couple of hours old but like most wader hatchlings they are up and running almost immediately. They are extremely well camouflaged and I was lucky to spot them. A quick photo and I was on my way leaving the adults to get back to their young.

The Tees from "Barney"

2010-04-29T22:55:00.000+01:00

Just a short walk this morning through the delightful Flatts Woods which are next to the town centre.It was a really pleasant wander through this mixed woodland, penty of birds singing in the tree tops and I managed to spot the first of the Bluebells on the woodland floor.

Down at the waters edge it is surprising how low the water levels are now, it enabled me to get one or two interesting shots of local scenes such as this view of the castle. Normally I would be knee-deep in water at this point.

I will hopefully get a couple more of the photos on the website by the weekend.

Direct to the top.

2010-04-27T22:05:00.001+01:00

Today was a fell day. The weather forecast was for low cloud but as I had arranged to walk with a companion today I was really obliged to head west. As it was, our late start proved fortunate as by the time we set off the low cloud had actually dispersed. The idea was to re-visit the summit of Blencathra but this time via a new route to me, Hall's Fell. This proved to be an interesting and sometimes exciting ridge route with the added bonus that it is relatively quiet.

Once at the top of the fell we had a look down onto the classic ridge of Sharp Edge before descending back to Threlkeld via Doddick Fell, another of Blencathra's fine ridges. Many walkers "claim" Blencathra by a one off ascent up Sharp Edge but in my opinion they are missing out on some of the best features of one of the Lake District's finest fells.

Limestone Country

2010-04-25T22:37:00.000+01:00

A visit to a couple of artists in North Yorkshire meant that we were able to take a walk over some the landscape which we seldom visit. I chose a route from a small guide book which we sell here at the gallery- Walks in Yorkshire Dales from the Pocket Mountain range. Despite having to adapt the route slightly it made for an superb walk in Limestone Country near Malham.

The photos from our day out are now on the website. http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/

Nine Standards

2010-04-22T22:32:00.002+01:00

Too nice an evening not to get out for a walk so we headed west and took a wander up to Nine Standards Rigg. Unfortunately the sun didnt continue to shine on us but it was still an enjoyable "there and back" walk.

These distinctive cairns dominate the Eden Valley skyline and should be familiar to walkers on the Coast to Coast. A great place to watch the sun sink in the west, just not this evening!

Morning in Upper Teesdale

2010-04-22T16:44:00.000+01:00

Such a good morning today so I headed up to the top end of Teesdale for a short walk with the dogs. Spring is definitely upon us and there is an abundance of wildlife in this remote part of the dale. Even as I crossed Cotherstone Moor there was a chance to snap a handsome Cock Grouse on his patch.

Further up the dale I took the chance to wander down to High Force. it gets busy later in the day but at this time we had it all to ourselves. Not much water tumbling over the Force, in fact I cant recall seeing it as low as this for ages.

As ever, its still an impressive sight.

Wandering round Walla

2010-04-20T21:56:00.002+01:00

Low cloud? where did that come from? It was meant to be a dry bright day! plans were changed on site to make the most of this new weather pattern. I opted for a couple of the lesser Wainwrights in the central region so that I could tick off some elusive references for the project. It turned out to be a very productive morning even though my route was un-orthadox-nothing new there then!
Walla Crag and Bleaberry Fell have both been ticked off by Zeta and myself in the past but it was new ground to Bailey as he steadily works his way round the 214.

Walla Crag and Skiddaw. The rest of the photos are now online http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/.

More piles of stones

2010-04-17T19:55:00.000+01:00

Almost daily I complete some elements of the Wainwright sketches. In suppose one of the biggest challenges involved with this work is making each and every painting interesting. By including apsects of the weather and light I am able to enhance some of these scenes. What has proved to be a real test though is the depiction of hundreds of piles of stones either in the form of cairns, old sheepfolds, walls and tumuli. Trying to give the impression of detail without actually drawing every single stone is a problem which I am hopefully meeting.

Seatallan summit cairn. possibly an old tumulus made up of hundreds of similar rocks. Depicting AW's views means that I have no flexibility in composition or angle of view. All part of the project which has kept me so busy.

Evening on the Howgills

2010-04-15T00:28:00.000+01:00

Too nice an evening to miss the chance to get a short walk in so I headed off west to visit the Howgills, the range of fells between the Pennines and the Lake District Fells. Wainwright even wrote a book on walks in these quiet hills so I took the chance to follow one of his shorter routes from that book. Very enjoyable it was too, easy walking but with some interesting geology, wildlife and views. The walks in the Howgills and in AW's other books such as Limestone Country and the Outlying Fells of the Lake District will all be covered by members of the Wainwright Society as part of this years "challenge". Why not check it out, a good chance to explore different areas and raise money for a good cause at the same time?

Yes, I mean "Ewe"!

The photos from this evenings outing can be found by clicking here and following the Fell End link.

In the picture

2010-04-13T21:12:00.001+01:00

As a result of my postings on my "On Location" pages on The Teesdale Gallery website I have been asked about aspects of my photography. This Blog seemed a good place to answer some of those questions.

I am fortunate enough to be able to venture out onto the fells and dales on a regular basis all as part of my work (someone's got to do it (lol)). This is with the intention to obtain references for my paintings, especially at this time for the "Wainwrights in Colour" project but also for future work. In such great surroundings it is not too hard to come away with some pretty good photographs.

In answer to some of the questions, it is not my intention to branch off into the photographic print market, this field is already well catered for by some brilliant exponents of the genre. Besides, I'm a "fell-walking artist" not a "fell-walking photographer", I'll just stick to paintings. With regard to my cameras: The camera used for all the digital shots up until October 2009 was a Fuji S5500,

It is a fairly simple and light camera to use and has given some great results considering it only is 4MP. Normally it has been set on auto and with the occassional use of a polarization or graduated Neutral Density filter. It has just about clocked up 20,000 shots.

Last October I added another camera to my kit. I wanted a smaller compact camera so I opted for the Samsung WB500.

This is a super little camera and now is with me constantly. Its 10MP quaility and 10x optical zoom makes it ideal to have to hand and its already racked up several thousand shots. It also takes HD video with impressive results. Check out my You Tube page to see a few short vids shot with this camera.

As for post production: I use photoshop to crop and "tweak" some of the photos but only about as much as I would have done in the old Darkroom days. I am not a big fan of some of the photo-enhancing techniques such as HDR or exposure fusion. Used well these tools can adjust and improve colours and exposure in images but many cases that I see the end result that has a "fake" and un-natural look to the photographs. Maybe its just my "artists" eye and of course it is my own personal opinion.

Having already stated that I will not be going down the photographic print route we do of course sell a small range of cards here at the gallery taken from some of these photgraphs. They are proving popular and were originally intended to fill a space until cards are produced of some of my paintngs. We may expand the range of these cards in the future. In the meantime you can see the full current range by clicking here, this takes you to the page on the gallery website.

I am just about to re-design my "links" page on the gallery website but if you like good photographs of the Lake District you may want to check out these two other websites:

Striding Edge- Sean McMahon's excellent site of photgraphs and walks in the Lakes.

My Wainwrights- Gary Richardson's website, covers not only the Lakes but also walks in the Dales etc.

A day out on the Eastern Fells

2010-04-13T09:35:00.002+01:00

The forecast looked good so an early start saw me and the dogs heading up Deepdale just as the sun rose. This was a route I had planned to do last month but I aborted the idea due to poor weather. This time it was different, a glorious Spring day so I made the most of the conditions and managed to obtain quite a number of references for the Wainwrights in Colour project.

As usual, my route was rather unconventional, taking time to visit the places from where AW took his photographs. An excellent day out for me though. The photos are now online at : http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/ and check out the "on Location" page.

On the lookout

2010-04-11T21:54:00.000+01:00

Today was a day for seeking out new inspiration for the gallery. Even though the gallery only displays my paintings and prints we do have a good range of work from other artists in the form of jewellery, pottery, sculpture and the like. Every so often we get the chance to see current artists and meet new ones at trade shows throughout the country. At the minute one of the best shows is on in North Yorkshire so we spend most of the day checking out about 500 quality British Craftspeople and their work to see if the gallery would be a suitable outlet for their stock. We find it really exciting to see whats "hot" so we came away with plenty of ideas to keep the gallery full of interesting gifts and art.

Also a good time to see what our current suppliers are producing, like Stephanie Bowen whos glasswork is always popular the The Teesdale Gallery. Watch this space for the new items as they arrive.

Wainwright visitors

2010-04-10T19:23:00.002+01:00

The result of the Wainwrights in Colour project has meant that not only am I now exceptionally busy with work but also we are getting some new visitiors to the gallery who came to the Exhibition at Rheged last year. It' amazing how many folk are now making a detour to visit the gallery and Barnard Castle as they pass along the A66 either as they head over to or coming from the lakes. Today was also a day where customers called to the gallery to collect completed fells. One of which had only been on display in the gallery for less than 2 hours before the happy client took it home to enjoy "their fell", what you might call a quick turn-round as I only finished the final sketch at 10pm on Friday.

A change of plans

2010-04-09T23:44:00.001+01:00

Earlier in the week I thought that today was the day for a good route up over a few Lakeland Fells but as the time drew near (and looking at some mountain forecasts) it seemed as if there was a threat of cloud cover on some of the tops. This in itself is not really a problem but as I was looking to obtain certain references I needed to have good visability. Consequently I opted for another studio day. Even here there was some cloud and the sun was only out for a short time. However it was still a pleasant Spring day and on our walk Zeta took a dip in one of the becks up on the moor.

Bailey was a bit more hesitant to " make a splash" but he did though he is still a bit unsure, unlike Zeta. With April here it is now lambing time in Teesdale, much later than other parts of the country and some new arrivals were taking in the sun in the field in front of the house. Say Ahhh!

Resisting Temptation

2010-04-07T22:32:00.000+01:00

It was a real temptation today to head over to the Lakes. I have one route in particular which I need to complete before all the snow in the gullies disappears, if I dont get over soon I may have missed my chance. The day here began overcast so I resigned myself to another busy day in the studio. The easel and work surfaces are covered with sketches from various fells in different stages of completion, sort of organised chaos! I work in a order which possibly only I understand but it seems to be getting the work completed.

Hallin Fell from Mellguards.

This is one of todays sketches, interesting in the fact that it is more like the actual view of the fell compared to AW's slightly exaggerated drawing, hence the extra sky "space" in my sketch.

Training update

2010-04-06T22:48:00.000+01:00

It is now about 10 weeks since we added Bailey to the team and he has proven to be a great addition. In the gallery he settles down with Zeta quietly in the basket in front of the fire (after a good morning walk of course). Some customers don't even notice them which is a good sign. Other training is progressing well but as yet he still operates on a lead. Now is not the time to have a wild hound heading off over the skyline especially with new lambs and ground nesting birds in the vicinity. We have moved up to a longer "training lead" which I use to give Bailey practise in Recall. I'm pretty sure his former life meant that he had restricted socialising with other dogs and humans so he does get extremely excited at times but he is calming down-slightly- as the weeks pass.

His sit and stay is excellent, here he and Zeta are about 20m from me where they will wait until called. More updates will follow.

All for a good cause.

2010-04-03T13:21:00.000+01:00

I had a pleasant visit today at the gallery from one of the Dog Handlers from the Search and Rescue Dogs Association (England).

Des was here to collect a nice fat envelope of cash which was raised through sales of my limited edition print "To the Rescue". A majority of the £2180 rasied so far came from the raffle for the special copy of the print which was also signed by Julia Bradbury, Stuart Maconie and Eric Robson who are all involved with the Wainwright Society. It was the society who inspired me to produce this print as part as their fund-raising efforts for SARDA in 2009. Des himself was involved in a call-out just this week (click here)

We continue to raise money for SARDA through sales of this print. If you would like more information about obtaining a copy please email: info@theteesdalegallery.co.uk

Window to the world

2010-04-01T21:52:00.000+01:00

Heading to the Easter weekend is an opportunity to give the window diplays at the gallery a fresh look. Even though we use this Blog, the gallery website and Facebook to keep our customers informed of what is going on here at The Teesdale Gallery the windows are still an important "front" top the shop itself. the idea is to give passers-by a clue as to what we do- not just paintings in a gallery you know!

A Walkers Window.

What better than a "Wainwright" window? Teesdale draws a lot of outdoor types but I dont suppose I will be able to sell the old pair of boots in the display but you never can tell!

Looking out on Winter/Spring.

2010-03-31T20:24:00.001+01:00

The idea of heading over to the Lakes for the day crossed my mind when I heard that snow was forecast in Cumbria. Overnight it had caused chaos up in Dumfries and Galloway. Its not that I need to have a walk on the fells for the sake of it but rather that there is just one reference for the project that would like to tick off. It is a view of a fell which Wainwright drew in full winter conditions and I would like to capture it in the same season if at all possible.
With the wonders of modern technology is was able to get an one the spot weather report from Sean McMahon who is located in Cumbria. (if you are a fan of the Lake District, fellwalking etc his website is well worth a look Striding Edge.) Following his report I decided to give a day out a miss- too much low cloud I thought to make my day a success.
So was a day given over to sketches in the studio. As I did so I looked out across the moor to seem the mixture of weather today, sun, rain and light snow showers all passed by. I work on about 6 to 8 sketches at one time, whilst washes of watercolour are drying on one sketch I move on to another. Hardly "mass production" but a good method to make the best of my time.
Here's another couple of small sketches (out of the six) that I completed today.

High Street from Blea Water.

I managed to get this reference for this shot on my second visit here. Luckily I timed it just right as moments later the low cloud engulfed the summit.

Broad Crag, Scafell Pike.

This little sketch measures only about 9cm x 7cm so I was able to complete it in between other work. All in all it was a successful day, the trip to the lakes will happen soon enough.

On the Easel

2010-03-29T22:56:00.003+01:00

The forecasted snow never turned up, instead it was a day of pretty constant rain making for a day in the studio. Work progressed on the Wainwrights in Colour sketches. It is tempting to work on some of the more interesting scenes from differing fells but with a bit of discipline I just work my way through the paintings. Its quite a challenge but no the less still very enjoyable as every little drawing reminds me of a great day out on the fells.

Long Stile from High Street.

A reference obtained just a couple of weeks ago with a good snow cover on the upper reaches of the ridge.

Ill Bell summit cairn.

Just one of the cairns that stand on this Far Easten Fell. I still have a couple of references to obtain to complete this set of sketches. The route is planned, I just need a good day weatherwise.

In addition to this Blog, The Teesdale Gallery can now be found on Facebook, just search for the name The Teesdale Gallery.

Another Deepdale

2010-03-28T22:17:00.000+01:00

I stayed more local to home today again for a walk, this time venturing along the wooded Deepdale, (sadly not the Deepdale that leads up to Fairfield). Its actually a nice round of a walk which begins and ends in the town of Barnard Castle itself and is about 7 miles in length. Spring really is here now, for a time at least as there is forecast for about 20cm of snow on the high Pennine hills on Tuesday and that may include us so watch this space!

Daffodils at Barnard Castle.

The rest of the photos will be on the gallery website shortly.

Hit the Lights!

2010-03-27T21:55:00.002Z

Fortunately this evening the weather held as we gathered on Scar Top, a green space in the town to witness the turning on of the new floodlights which will illuminate the walls of Barnard Castle itself. The old lights were well past their best and now, thanks in part to Barnard Castle Vision, they have been replaced by new LED, environmently friendly light boxes. The scene was nicely set as we waited in anticipation and then out of the huge castle door came a historic figure from the past whos duty it was to turn on the lights.

It was none other than Bernard Baliol who in the early 10th Century was responsible for the construction of this fine fortress. (Bernard himself wasn't available so he was represented by local actor Ian Kilburn!)

At the given hour, the switch was thrown and there for all to see was the castle, brilliantly lit with a range of subtle colours, a fine sight.

So now visitors and residents alike will be able to enjoy this fine focal point of the town with its new coat of many colours as they pass by the castle in is position high above the River Tees.

Painters progress

2010-03-26T21:47:00.000Z

The Wainwright's in Colour project continues to progress. It seems that if I'm not in the studio painting then I'm either out on the fells or planning my next trip. Every day out on the Lake District Fells has to enable me to tick off as many references as possible and thanks to the recent winter conditions I have been frustrated in obtaining some important photographs. Time is not wasted though as I continue to produce sketches from the references already "in the bag". I would have hoped to work down the list of fells in sequence but this just hasn't been possible.

Work in progress.

Fortunately the snow on the fells is disappearing quickly now so the next few weeks should see me spending some long days out on the fells, weather permitting.

Place Fell from Birks

A Bridge Too Far?

2010-03-25T17:39:00.000Z

Here in Barnard Castle, Teesdale we are lucky enough to be surrounded by beautiful landscape, sliced through by the River Tees which flows from The High Pennines right down to the North Sea. We have sites of historical importance such as the castle itself and the impressive Bowes Museum.

Bowes Museum.

But, like most small market towns at this time we need to keep "on the ball" as far as new initatives are concerned so that we can attract visitors who, along with the resident population will enable local businesses to thrive and provide a unique and individual experience.

So what's this about a Bridge then?

In the past, Barnard Castle was served by a railway line, now sadly gone. the railway had of course to pass through not only the pleasant landscape but over some of the deep gorges formed by the rivers. Impressive viaducts were constructed to support the lines. Obviously with the railway gone the viaducts have mostly been converted to footpaths or disappeared altogether. Just outside the town of Barnard Castle sits the remnants of one of these old viaducts. Several years ago the idea was muted to look at the possibilities of using the viaduct buttress's to support a "Rope Footbridge" (not actually rope of course but steel wire). The span of this construction high over the river would have been one of if not the widest such bridge in the world.

The Viaduct buttress and the span across the Tees.

The bridge would span this gap giving a thrilling (but safe) walk high above the river with fantastic views down to the left of Barnard Castle itself. if you want to see what one of these bridges looks like then click here to see the Capilano Bridge in Vancover (remember, the bridge across the Tees will be bigger!)

Obviously there are issues to be ironed out on this sort of a project such as funding, safety, conservation of the local environment etc. Maybe the whole idea is impractical, maybe the local residents feeling will not support the project, lets see what happens. Is this an opportunity to put "Barny" well and truly "On the Map"?

There is a poll in the local paper at the minute to get the public's reaction (totally for interests sake only) so it will be interesting to see the results. Anyone can vote so why not tick a box? Visit The Teesdale Mercury website where you will find the voting form but it is for only the next week.

Head to the hills!

2010-03-23T20:12:00.003Z

Thought you might like to see this short film from Alan Fentiman, should be good if you suffer from insomnia! All you have to do is start counting the sheep.(lol)
Alan shot this clip as we were heading up to Hard Knott to film my Wainwrights in Colour video. We waited buy the gate as the farmer drove the sheep past us and they just kept coming!
No prizes for the correct number of sheep!
You Tube clip Alan Fentiman

Cotherstone Circular

2010-03-21T21:55:00.000Z

Another route today taken from the Teesdale walking guide book by Paul Hannon. Starting in the village of Cotherstone this delightful route follows the river Tees upstream, through the next village of Romaldkirk before crossing over the river to head downsteam back to the start.

Romaldkirk village.

It was a very pleasant day and this route has much of interest. I should have the set of photographs posted on the website shortly.

A Wainwright Saturday

2010-03-20T21:43:00.001Z

Very unusual for me to have a day off on a Saturday but today was the AGM of the Wainwright Society so early on we headed over to Staveley near Kendal to join some over the other members in a pre-meeting walk to one of the Outlying Fells, High Knott. The weather was a bit damp but its always good to meet up with Society members for a stroll an added bonus to visit a fell which we had not been on before.

High Knott summit.

Following the walk we replaced calories at Wilf's Cafe at Staveley before attending the Society's AGM which was enjoyable and informative. After a few of us retired to the Eagle and Child pub to "chew the fat" and sup a pint or two. Odd how the WS involves quite a bit of laughing and drinking!

Another good society day.

Have you seen this man?

2010-03-19T14:57:00.001Z

I took a wander down The Bank here in Barnard Castle this morning to have a word with one of my fellow shop-keepers here in the town. The Bank is well know for a "collection" (an appropriate term I think) of antique shops one of which is owner and run by this guy, David Harper.

Of course David has become one of televisions antiques experts and is in fact currently part of the Antiques Road Trip series on BBC2. The last episode of his week is on tonight at 6.30 so lets hope he continues his great dealing week and I am looking forward to seeing what good bargains he has found.

Going, going, gone!

2010-03-18T19:22:00.000Z

Is winter on its way out? Today I walked the dogs on the quiet lanes that surround the house. A nice enough walk but with not much too see today. However I did get this photo.

The last of the snow.

This snow arrived on the 17th December 2009 and has been here ever since. Now it looks as if its days are numbered that will be three months that we have had snow somewhere close to the house. Saying that, we can see Cross Fell from the house and it still has a white cap. It has been some winter.

A Change of Plans.

2010-03-16T22:17:00.000Z

I set off quite early this morning in the hope of completing a decent high level route in the Eastern Fells. The weather looked promising as I headed west but by the time I set off walking at 8am the clouds were starting to roll in. In normal circumstances this would not have been a problem but today I had especially set out to tick off some references for the project. Reluctantly, half way up St. Sunday Crag I turned round and adopted plan B. Instead of one long walk we ended up doing five shorter routes. Still, it wasn't a wasted day by any means as I did manage to obtain about twelve more references. The big route will have to wait for another day.

High Sweden Bridge

As you can see, the weather did actually improve during the day. The photos from the day will be online shortly.

Mad dogs!

2010-03-15T22:10:00.001Z

A busy day in the studio today but as always I did find time to get Zeta and Bailey out for a run. Bailey's training is coming on quite well albeit on a flexi-lead but now we are giving him some training and of course fun off the lead in an enclosed field not far from the house. He loves to be off the lead and runs like a Greyhound. Zeta can just about keep up with him and they love chasing each other round the open space.

Bailey on the run!

The Chase!

Tomorrow will hopefully be a day out on the fells, weather permitting so that should give them another good leg stretch. The joy of having dogs.

A Teesdale Wander

2010-03-14T00:41:00.000Z

Another beautiful Spring day here today so I stayed local to do a route in Baldersdale which is a side dale off Teesdale. I actually followed a route from Paul Hannon's book of Walks in Teesdale which we now stock here at the gallery. It is a route of about 5 miles which takes you over the Millstone outcrop of Goldsborough which happens to be on the Bowes Loop section of the Pennine Way. I should be able to get the rest of the photos onto the website tomorrow.

The rocky outcrop of Goldsborough.

Turning in

2010-03-13T21:04:00.000Z

As for the new artist that I went over to Cumbria to see yesterday? That was Jonathan Leech, a woodturner from North Cumbria whose work I had admired and considered would be great to have here at the gallery. So on Friday I visited him at his workshop and had a great chat to him about his craft and I came away not only with some of his work but also with an insight about his skills. So today I spent the day photographing and cataloguing the stock and putting it on the website.

Burr Oak Bowl

Even today we sold a couple of his pieces which is a great omen for the future with Jonathan here at The Teesdale Gallery.

Looking into holes?

2010-03-12T21:55:00.000Z

Today was a bit of a mixed day. As well as a meeting with a new artist from Cumbria I was hoping to get time to fit in a reference walk as well. I had a couple of routes planned depending on the day and the weather so hopefully I would be able to head home with not only some new stock but also at least some references for sketches. My meeting took a bit longer than expected so I opted for a shorter walk into Mosedale and onto the slopes of Carrock Fell where I had to find just one specific open mine shaft. Fortunately I found it without falling in!

Skiddaw from Mosedale.

As for the new artist, there will be news to follow.

On the bookshelf

2010-03-11T21:15:00.000Z

With all the recent interest in my Wainwrights in Colour project I do get customers both in the gallery and on the website asking about the work of Wainwright himself. So to follow up on this I have decided to stock a small range of books which will include the Lakeland Pictorial Guides. Alongside these guides I am now also stocking a limited range of walking books which cover our local area, Teesdale, the Northern Pennines and other locations.

The Wainwright Pictorial Guides.

I dont expect to compete in the book market with big online stores but at least I can give my stock of books a personal recommendation.

Local stroll

2010-03-10T18:32:00.000Z

Another Spring day here around Bowes. I had time to take the dogs out along the Sleightholme road and give Bailey a bit more training. He is progressing well but not trusted enough yet to be let off the lead especially around livestock. We are lucky enough to be surrounded by farmland and Grouse Moor so there is plenty of room to wander.

Sheep on the moor.

We are too high up here to be into the lambing season yet. There is still snow lying on the moor as you can see behind these sheep as they feed.

A Touch of Glass

2010-03-09T20:42:00.001Z

Now the new stock is arriving at a nice flow. Always quite exciting to have another box of goods turning up and with most of the artists it is usually a bit of a surprise whats is within the package. I tend to leave it up to the artist to send me a good selection of their products. Today it was the turn of Stephanie Bowen. Stephanie is a Glass Artist from Lancashire and her range of contemporary bowls and hangers are bright and attractive.

It will be a couple of days before this work will be on the website and I'm pretty sure there will be a good reaction to the new stock.

Purely studio work

2010-03-08T23:48:00.001Z

It was a day for getting on with some of the Wainwrights in Colour sketches today and quite a productive day it was. The only frustration that I have at this time is that some of the sold work I cannot complete as I need a few references for these fells where the detail of the sktech will still be covered in snow. Consequently I am having to work a bit "out of order" on some of the fells. However, some sketches do in fact need the snow to be as near as possible to AW's depictions in the Pictorial guides like the example shown below of the crags on High Street.

This was painted today from a refernce I took last week on my Mardale Round. Unlike on the day that AW got his reference Blea Water is frozen over in my drawing. It just goes to show how consistently cold it has been for the last few weeks.

A walk in Borrowdale

2010-03-07T20:54:00.001Z

It was a great day over in the Lakes today- bright blue skies, snow on the high fells, and even warm sunshine. Is this Spring? I was able to take advantage and get a walk in over two of the lower fells of Great Crag and Grange Fells which are in Borrowdale. They may be low in height but they do give fine views in most directions. And they enabled me to ticki off a few other references along the way.

Brund Fell.

It was another day of an early start but the effort was well worth it. The photos are now online, to view, click here

March- It must be hares!

2010-03-06T21:18:00.001Z

Yesterday's trip was partly to collect some more stock for the gallery. Its always great to go and collect work from the artists workshops and studios even though it takes up precious time. I feel that it gives me an insight to the artists and how they work which helps when talking to customers. So the boxes are unpacked and now all I have to do is make up a good display but it's not hard with these guys, they really sell themselves.

Boxing Hares.

photos for the new stock will be online shortly.

A day away.

2010-03-06T08:56:00.002Z

A bit of an unusual day for me today as I had a bit of business to do down near Wrexham, however it did give me a chance to call and see my Mother who lives down that way. A fair bit of driving was involved and an early start was called for. Fortunately the first part of the journey towards the M6 does involve passing close to the Howgills. The dawn was just breaking as I passed the Cross Keys Inn so I couldn't resist this photo.

Cross Keys Inn.

The Howgills are a great range of Hills basically lying between the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. They offer some quiet fellwalking over some rounded hills that give excellent views. This year The Wainwright Society's Challenge involves walks on the Howgills and other areas featured by AW in some of his lesser know guide books. To find out more click here. It's a great opportunity to cover new hills (and of course raise funds for a good cause.)

A long day of driving was worthwhile but reminded me of why you dont see me too often on Motorways.

Below Abbey Bridge

2010-03-04T20:15:00.000Z

Not a long walk today before opening the gallery so I took the dogs for a stroll alongside the river but below the Abbey Bridge this time. It was a bright frosty morning and before the trees come into leaf I was hoping to get a good view or two of the bridge and other interesting features of this section of the Tees. Sadly there is now a increase or riverside "scrub" which obscures these points of interest.

Abbey Bridge, even here this delightful arched bridge is difficult to photograph without being veiled by branches etc. Further downstream is "The Meeting of the Waters" where the river Greta and Tees join, a scene made famous by Turner in one of his watercolours. Nearby is The Dairy Bridge, another location popular with artists which can no longer be enjoyed to full effect thanks to the encroachment of undergrowth.

I might just "have a word" with one or two people about the problem, after all, it would be a shame if nothing was done to "show off" some of the jewels that Teesdale has to offer.

Any thoughts anyone? (In the hope that someone actually reads my jottings here!)

A Mardale Round

2010-03-03T22:42:00.000Z

The forecast for yesterday was brilliant so an early start (leaving the house before 6) meant that I should have got a good day in on the hills. I planned to visit the Far Eastern Fells where I needed to tick off some references for sketches for the Wainwrights Project. A star filled sky as I left home soon turned to fog in the Eden valley so I guessed there was a good possiblity of a cloud inversion once I gained height. It didnt happen though as by the time I reached Mardale Head the fog had gone.
By 7 I was heading up the north ridge of Branstree at the start of what was to be a brillient and productive day. I have put the photos online which should tell the story of the day.
It was a late finish but well worth the effort only slightly frustrating in the fact that the snow levels obscured some of the detail I need for one or two drawings. Never mind, there's always next time!

Harter Fell from Mardale Ill Bell.

To see the rest of the photos click here: A Mardale Round

Bowes Moor

2010-02-28T18:36:00.000Z

I took the dogs out today for a walk up onto the northern part of Bowes Moor. Part of the route was on the Pennine Way. Still pretty wintery up on the hills but good to see the re-appearance of the Golden Plovers and the resident Red Grouse are staking their claim to their territories.

Swaledales on the moor.

There are more photographs on the website, nothing spectacular due to the overcast conditions but hoopefully they will give a flavour of the walk. To see them click here.

Gallery Saturday.

2010-02-27T20:45:00.001Z

I managed to get a walk in this morning before opening the gallery. It may only have been a short route through Flatts Wood here at "Barny" but it was good to spot my first Oystercatcher of the year. There are areas of the wood which are being cleared of scrub to re-open up ther views of this stretch of the Tees.

Barnard Castle.

There certainly seems to be more people around in the town, thankfully and the sale in the gallery of mirrors and frames is going well, ready to make way for this new stock.

Filling the shelves

2010-02-26T20:39:00.000Z

New stock continues to arrive on a regular basis and is always pretty exciting. Today it was the arrival of a re-supply of the popular little walking guides form Pocket Mountains. I suppose we do so well with these small books because they are a range of books which I use myself when out on the hills, especially up in Scotland. Now there a couple of new additions to the list with guides on the "Yorkshire Dales" and shorter walks in "The Northern Fells"

Now of course we are mostly known for paintings and other "gallery" items but I suppose with the type of work which I am involved with we do seem to have a good customer base of "outdoor" types. I only stock a small selection of books and shortly these will also include the Wainwright Pictorial Guides as well.
Tomorrow I hope to get this range of books listed onto the website.

Good timing yesterday

2010-02-24T21:44:00.000Z

Well the weathermen actually got it pretty spot on. Overnight we were treated to a layer of about 5 inches of fresh snow. Luckily I went ot the Lakes yesterday as today the A66 was closed from Bowes to Brough. After seeing Esther off to work safely in my car I walked back home with the dogs through the snow covered lanes. I diverted up through the woods and onto the moor where the call of the Red Grouse was about the only sound. By now it was quite misty and very atmospheric and some of the scenes were very inspirational for future paintings.

An almost monochrome scene through the trees.