Purely studio work

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 Mardale Round

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