2020 Joint Winner
Medium used
Oil on canvas
What inspired this painting
I had never fully appreciated the area in which I live, possibly because I hadn’t had time or maybe because I had been preoccupied by working in the nearby town.
Lockdown has allowed me to explore the landscape around me and to take the time to become more aware of the space I live in.
On my doorstep, I have discovered various beautiful country walks where it is possible to walk for miles without seeing anyone.
This landscape painting is a first for me (as I usually paint portraits), and it depicts the start of a walk that I have been doing most days during the lockdown.
This makes the scene important to me because it is a place that I possibly wouldn’t have discovered if it hadn’t been for the change in circumstances at this time.
It has provided a much-needed calm space and I have been pleased to be able to represent it on canvas.
The early evening light in this scene felt particularly magical. I recently read that ‘magic only appears to those who believe in it’. I am grateful to have had the time to discover and paint this moment of magic.
