There’s definitely that sense of the season changing this week. We’ve had some lovely sunny days and the Spring garden that I can see from the studio is starting to come to life. Bulbs rising from the ground. Green shoots on the trees. My favourite Cherry (an ornamental tree we planted 8 years ago after buying our house) is bursting into a celebration of pink blossoms. I find myself distracted by these growing things with my paintings too… focusing on a couple of nature studies with trees at their heart. The first is this Spring garden in Chawton, the former home of the novelist Jane Austen. I picked out a view that looks back to the house past a beautiful old tree that is cast its dappled shade across the mossy lawn.
Jane Austen’s House, Chawton (2025)
This is another acrylic and ink on a 30 x 30cm canvas. It’s a size i’m particularly fond of at the moment; allowing for plenty of detail without having massive white areas to fill. I’ve mounted this one within a white floater frame. It seemed right for the play of light in the scene.
Painting IRL
The process for capturing this painting has been a good reminder of the differences between showing the work on screen and seeing it in real life. The finish on the acrylic paint is often thought of as a more muted palette compared to oils or watercolours. Even so; seeing the painting surface in person, rather than on a screen, is so much more vibrant and dynamic. Saving a decent photo or scan with accurate colours is almost impossible but you can probably see some of that difference between the scan of the artwork (above) and the photos of the framed canvas (below). Sometimes I can get a little of that pop and heightened colour… but it’s never quite as magic as viewing the picture directly. Another excellent reason for building up to an exhibition.
Timelapse: Jane Austen’s House at Chawton
Here’s a time-lapse of the painting… the execution on this one felt good. Loose brushwork and great fun playing with the light across the grass. As well as the bark and moss on the tree.
This piece was created for myself, although I’m well aware that this year is being marked as Jane Austen’s 250th Anniversary. It’s a year long celebration, marked from the date she was born. There are several locations around Hampshire with Austen connections that have been on my wish list, including the National Trust properties The Vyne and Hinton Ampner. I hope to find time to work on those seasonal studies this year.
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