Visiting Northern England: Final Painting # 6

There is a place in England,

along the River Nidd.

Where winter snows fall gently down,

the grass beneath is hid.

There is a place in England,

a place I love to go.

Where twisted trees and branches grow,

to catch the falling snow.

Rita Salazar Dickerson



Reflections On The River Nidd II
24x20", Oil on canvas
Rita Salazar Dickerson

When I saw this scene as I walked from the village, Pateley Bridge, I was so excited that I took photo after photo of it with each picture looking almost exactly the same. Sometimes I stood, other times I knelt, and a couple of times I leaned from one direction to the other. I wanted to capture this memory in the best possible light, angle and composition. In the end, I decided on this simple, straight forward view because of the trees. The grouping in the middle reminded me of a Chihuly sculpture with each tree twisting and moving in a different direction.

I started with a simple line drawing that I free handed with a number 2 filbert brush and a thin wash of paint (four parts mineral spirits to one part Torrit Grey, though any dark color will do).

Next, I blocked in the darkest value and then began painting in the light purple sky.



At this stage, I finished blocking in of all the colors. I always tell myself that this part will be quick and easy; it rarely ever is. Painting around these simple tree shapes was a lot more difficult than I had imagined.

 I completed the painting with the the second layer, wet-on-wet, using brushes and palette knives - and generous amounts of paint.



I didn't do a small study of this painting because I originally hadn't planned on painting it. But after completing the first Reflections On The River Nidd (See Visiting Northern England: Completed Painting # 2, July 15, 2012), I yearned for another winter scene of North Yorkshire and here it is.