Shibden Valley

This valley is the countryside of my childhood. On visits home from overseas I would retrace the lanes and footpaths that I had known so well. This painting dates from the first visit my Grenadian born wife made to England. Her fresh vision of the countryside – a dandelion was seen as an exotic flower – prompted me to reassess the scenes I had known so well.
 
The late autumn of 1992 was freezing cold. At times my container of water developed a film of ice and mist frequently shrouded my subject. But these trials and tribulations are what infuses life into a painting. Rather than conspiring against me, the very elements contribute in way that a sterile photograph never can.