Sometimes the Landscape is just TOO Big!!

My Go To Place!

Do you ever get that feeling? That the landscape is just too big, too vast and expansive to possibly capture in a painting or drawing? It's a feeling I often experinence, alongside a sense of awe there's an overwhelm! How can I possibly capture all that I see, hear, feel & smell in a place?

So rather than looking outward, upward and far beyond to the distant horizon, I sometimes go smaller. Looking to the detail that makes up the landscape around me, the component parts if you will.

The colours, shapes, textures and edges. The interactions, collisions and history between the elements. From geological layers and cliffside patterns to fishing nets and quayside eddies. The lobsterpots, or random rope. The flotsam and debris. Stone steps polished with wear. Green star plants that huddle in low cushions and the bundles of bright red buoys. The sea's indents on the sand and wind dips in the dunes.

All these details, that catch my eye are parts of the landscape, and capturing these motifs helps me embed the place in my memory.

During this gathering phase I photograph, collect and sketch what I'm drawn to notice.

I make notes, as well as sketches, so that I can summon back the place when I'm tucked up in my studio.

I'll also take videos and put them on a loop, which is really helpful if I've not been able to draw when I've been out.

Then when I'm home I'll review my images, selecting & collating them. I'm looking for elements that remind me of my time in the place. Small details can capture the essence of a place without having to depict all the wider landscape.

Rather than draw the spiky gorse for example, it may be the sharp marks or splashes of vibrant yellow I hang on to.

It could be the long thin swaying reeds that I denote in marks.

Or the purple black of the vertical cliffs that I will sweep down the paper.

I'll also look for a palette that spells the place and time. Summer will look different to Autumn etc. See my blog on 'Finding my Palette" for how I go about this.

Using the photo editing tools on my phone is also a fantastic way to abstract a photo. Turn it and see what shapes I get.

Put the image to black and white and see the areas of contrast.

Focus in, zoom out or move the image around and see what appeals.

Sometimes I print photos as a grid to work from, moving across them, picking and choosing the mark, shape or texture I like and pulling them all together.

Printing the images onto a page of sticky labels is also a great way to dissemble the image and use them as starting points for my studio sketches.

I sort my booty of beach and coastline detritus - most are foreign objects discarded on the shore as opposed to the natural surroundings - not great for the shoreline!

Pieces of plastic rope, fishing line, pottery & pieces of rusty metal.

This collision of humanity, industry and nature is a timeline of our lives together, sometimes in harmony, often not.

And you know what they say - one man's rubbish is an other's treasure!!

If I've been able to sketch or paint out in the field, I'll usually crop what I have and maybe collage to create combined sketches with as much varied interest as I can.

Then when my sketches, photos and booty have been sorted, this forms the basis of the landscape in my studio. Now it's time to draw and paint more images from all I’ve gathered but there's no set way I do this.

It could be onto loose pages, sketch books, concertinas or small boards. Palette daubes, full A2 scribbles or pencil thumbnails. It doesn't matter - this is the exploration stage. Dissembling and reconstructing the details of marks, colours & textures from all the sources results in my unique view of the time spent in that specific place, from the micro to the meta.

What ever comes forth - it doesn't have to look like the place, but it does have to feel like it. And so the cycle continues, until the time feels right to start on bigger paintings. And this can be as long as a piece of flotsam rope!

This is the freedom that abstraction gives me to create my own landscapes. Our experience of the world literally leaving its mark. We can each create something that never existed before!

It’s very exciting when I think about it.

Let me know how you capture your landscapes?

And if you want to see how these early stages move onto finished paintings check out my blogs for more of my process and my gallery pages for finished work.

Once again thanks for reading & being here!

Post Script - After reading this blog my daughter, clever rabbit that she is, directed me to Immanuel Kant’s Theory of the Sublime. Not something I was familiar with, but on reading this summary, it occurs to me that many of us would be familiar with the sense of fear and discomfort that accompanies the awe of some landscapes that Kant describes. Something to explore further maybe?