As we rattle through November I can see the garden looking bare and rather chilly through the studio windows. The bigger trees are fully dropping their leaves now and those bark fingers are stretching up into the blue. Although we’ve lost most of the vibrant autumn leaves, I still love the variety of colour that is left behind… the reds, yellows and whites of the spindly branches and spiky undergrowth.
It’s all perfect inspiration for some festive scenes and here i’m sharing a new painting of our nearest steam railway. Maybe you can see where i’m trying to play with those branch colours!
I have painted the Watercress Line before, but i’ve always wanted to include one of the old trains as it passes through the station. Here i’ve attempted to capture the release of it’s white cloud into a wintery sky. ‘Alresford Steam Engine’ has been created with acrylic and ink on a 39 x 29cm paper sheet. I’ve already scanned into photoshop and it will likely be used as a new card design, especially as my other railway designs have proved quite popular.
