Cannon Heath Down (3)

My third painting of Cannon Heath Down didn't work so well. In fact, I'm not very happy with it at all. The weather that day (the 27th of August, 2011) was cooler, windier, and wetter than on my previous expeditions, and I learnt an important lesson about painting outside: it is very difficult to paint well if you are cold.

I usually start with the sky, and I was feeling cold before that was done. I think I hurried the rest of it, refusing to give up, and consequently botched the image. There are a few passages that I think worked well; the trees, painted light-over-dark in the time-honoured tradition of oil painting, aren't bad. But on the whole, I don't like this one. I'm including it because it is part of the series and to illustrate why it is a bad idea to paint when you are physically uncomfortable.

Oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm