Original artwork description:

“Tarn Hows Waters” is an acrylic on canvas painting 89cmsWx89cmsHx3cmsD. The canvas is of exhibition quality and is stretched over a strong custom made frame supported by steel corner braces. Please see the pictures. The painting is part of an ongoing series of works related to observations of light reflected on water. Tarn Hows is an area of the Lake District National Park in North West U.K. It contains a picturesque tarn, approximately 2 miles northeast of Coniston and about 1.5 miles northwest of Hawkshead. I visit this location at least once a year and it never ceases to inspire me. Tarn Hows was originally three natural tarns but when the owner of the Monk Coniston Estate, James Garth Marshall bought it in the 1860’s, he started on a project to create a new body of water surrounded by a bold, ornamental planting scheme. The dense forestry that surrounds the tarn is mainly larch and spruce. It is one of the most visited Cumbrian locations. If you haven’t been there, go early morning or just before sundown. The atmosphere is remarkable. When visiting in October 2021 I took several photographs of the light over the waters at sundown. This painting is inspired by those pictures. The painting tries to capture the atmosphere and dramatic effects of light on water. The reflections across the waters are from the established conifer trees. I build the paintings in layers of thin, transparent washes of colour combined with and overworked with impasto applications. I use brushes, knives and cloths. I let the paint take its own course. I like the process of painting, so I purposefully leave in the traces of its behaviour such as the marks of knife and brush and the stream and trickle of diluted pigment. I respect and work with the nature of paint. I also use crackle paste to bring textural qualities to the painting. This can be seen on the waters in the painting. Crackle paste creates hairline cracks in the applied paint giving the surface of the painting and ‘aged’ and fragmented appearance. Please see the photographs. I am inspired by the work of contemporary artists such as Barbara Rae and Sandy Brown, modernists such as Gillian Ayres and John Hoyland , Romanticist, JMW Turner , Abstract Expressionist, Mark Rothko and the shifting effect of light and colour of the Impressionists that seeks to capture a feeling or experience rather than to achieve photographic depiction. The painting is shipped in a robust custom made cardboard crate (same as those used to transport large screens). The painting is bubble wrapped to protect the canvas. Further wrapping is made with corrugated card. A wooden frame is placed inside the cardboard crate to preserve the structural strength of the packaging. Each painting is insured to its sale value. Shipping costs within the U.K. take into consideration weight and insurance. U.K. shipping costs for this artwork are £75

Materials used:

Acrylic on canvas