Formby pine woods

This is one of my favourite photographs from our trip to Formby pine woods, it presents a composition a low horizon and cruciform, creating a sense of  the photographer observing the tree from a lower position and giving the tree a feel of being dominant to the rest of the landscape

summary

Summary

My initial research of the contextual landscapes began with looking at Paul Cousins ‘Flying’ piece from 2007, an extraordinary and liberating coastline response. His love of flying brought to the canvas, which inspired me to try and create a similar feel to my piece. Like Paul I explored using acrylic; experimenting with ultra-marine and burnt umber to achieve that perfect colour for the coastline.

I then went on to explore both additional and contemporary work that responded to both the natural and urban landscapes. Exploring various art works, I noticed that I was drawn to atmospheric landscapes whether through architectural structures within a city scape or multiple perspectives within a grand natural landscape. I have been pertictually drawn to the use of light both natural and artificial within the art work by Albert Bierstadt, and in a contemporary sense the photographs of Gregory Crewdson, both artists although from different periods in time manipulated and recorded light with in the landscape to create a sense of drama and almost a narrative within the work.

Exhibition piece

Exhibition piece

I have chosen to develop an  observational response to the landscape from my onsite drawing and photography visit at Formby beach. The sense of scale that experienced first hand whilst standing on the sand really stayed with me and to capture that sense of scale. I decided to explore a panoramic composition with my camera; bringing that experience of being on the beach myself to my painting. When I returned to the studio, this wide angle that I captured from on top of the sandunes enabled me to see the edge of the steep dunes, the beach itself, the sea and the sky. I have chosen to  paint in acrylic  to allow me to devlop the tactile surfaces on the piece. Here I have been attmpting to layer the surfaces with a pallette knife and brushes, for the beach in a lighter umber and added more layers with darker and lighter tints to get the right depth and tone for the beach. Again I have tried to do this with the sky and clouds, it was a very windy day with a mixture of weather fronts. Here I have experimented with ink and white paint to get a darker grey to express the feel of being at the beach yourself and the power of the weather.