Oil Demonstration 55The Coniston Fells from Lingmoor Fell, oil on canvas, 70 x 100 cm (27½ x 39")
This painting was a doorway to exploring the variety of possibilities available when painting with palette knives. Pressing the blade of
the knife flat onto a thin pool of paint will leave intricate raised textures on the blade when lifted, and these can be applied delicately to
the canvas leaving you with a wide range of marks and broken textures to play with.
mountaineering then I would strongly
advise getting out there and walking
in the mountains before you paint
them. This will help give you some
essential experience and respect for the
environment as well as valuable time
spent getting to know your subject.
Winter mountaineering is a different
ball game, and enrolling on a winter
mountaineering skills course would be
essential to stay safe. If trekking in this
environment isn’t possible, there are
many areas in the mountains where you
need only go for a short walk from your
car to set up an easel and paint.
My project for this demonstration
began with an outdoor painting
adventure high up in the mountains
of Snowdonia in North Wales. Taking
a path from the Llanberis Pass I
climbed up high and onto Crib Goch,
a legendary knife-edge arête and part
of the Snowdon Horseshoe. With a full
winter mountaineering kit and a full
painting kit I scrambled along the crest
until I found a perfect studio spot nearthe end of the ridge approximately 900
metres above sea level. I carry all of my
own equipment that includes a pochade
box full of paints, brushes and painting
boards, a tripod, camera, rags and brush
washers. When I’m in the mountains
in winter conditions I will also have a
rucksack full of a “winter kit” including
crampons and ice axe. It can sometimes
take up to three hours to climb to a
painting spot so I have to be prepared.
After lashing my tripod to a boulder
to prevent it from taking flight in the