DAVID HOWELL RSMA
STUDIO NEWS
STUDIO NEWS
It's been a great summer for painting on location but all too soon there are signs of Autumn appearing, particularly early in the morning when I'm out with the dog. Other signs of Autumn include deadlines for the exhibitions that always take place in October and mark the start of the of the pre-Christmas demand for new work. I've been enjoying working locally in the past couple of weeks on the Somerset Levels. This is an extensive area of low lying moorland, much of it only a few metres above sea level and which offers landscapes that rival anything that Norfolk can offer. The moors have the same big skies and whilst they don't have windmills, they have surrounding hills and frequently prominent church towers in the distance, which were built on slightly higher ground to avoid the winter flooding that is a feature of the district.
The watercolour below was painted at the beginning of August at the junction of the Rivers Yeo and Parrett, just outside Langport.
This painting will be on show at the Pure Watercolour Society Exhibition that opens October 3rd at the Windrush Gallery, Burford, Oxfordshire. I've also been working on some of the sketches that I produced whilst teaching at Dedham Hall in Essex, earlier in the summer and the picture below was developed from a smaller version painted on the spot at Wivenhoe. This picture will be on show at the Mall Galleries in London for their Watercolour Academy Exhibition which opens on August 18th. More details on www.mallgalleries.org.uk
