Today’s landscape painting is: Dorset Vista

This new painting was inspired by my recent trip to Dorset where some vistas and views go on for miles and miles. It’s actually quite minimalist compared to a lot of my usual smaller paintings but I just felt this worked. The touches of yellow and vivid green and the layers really gives this painting depth. The sweep of lighter creamy tone in the foreground adds to the feel of the day and the deliberate brush marks make an impression of trees and bushes to the right and left of the painting.

A sweep of soft, diffused colour suggests a landscape at dawn but it could be anytime. All the broad intentional brushstrokes form layers and a pale, luminous sky sits above muted mid-tones and a darker, textured foreground. The palette blends cool blues and greys with warm ochres and slight touches of brighter tones creating a visual contrast between light and shadow. Marks are loose and impressionistic rather than detailed giving a moody yet calm, reflective and slightly melancholy feel.

Small areas of thicker paint and visible brushwork give the surface a tactile quality, whilst subtle shifts in tone imply distance and atmosphere. Overall the painting captures the impression of somewhere but not a specific place.

You can see more new work on my portfolio page and I’ll soon be adding this one too.