Setting out in the rain the intention to achieve the clouds captures the experience of a long, solitary walk across the open moors, with a distant destination that seems almost as elusive as the clouds themselves. Rain falls around you, soaking the landscape and the path ahead, yet far off, sunlight breaks through, catching the clouds and illuminating the hills beyond. It is a glimpse of brightness that draws you onwards through the cold and damp. With no one else in sight, perhaps only the sudden rise of grouse from the heather to disturb the silence, the vastness of the landscape becomes all-consuming. The weather shifts constantly, clouds sweeping low across the hills, revealing and concealing the land in turn. There is a wonderful sense of freedom in this solitude, alongside the humbling awareness of being just a small presence in such an immense landscape.

Working with layers of oil paint, the painting builds a sense of distance through contrasting passages of colour, texture and light. Loose, expressive marks suggest the movement of rain and clouds, while brighter passages draw the eye towards the distant hills. 

Materials: Oils, cold wax and gold leaf

Image size: 51 x 41 cm

Framed size: 67 x 56.5 cm

Frame type: Wooden St Ives style frame hand painted with Little Greene Portland Stone