Recent plein air watercolours

Recent watercolours on location. The Eiders were sketched at Hartlepool. Wonderful to be so close to these gorgeous sea ducks. The drakes were displaying and making their “ahhooooo” call to the females. The light was fantastic for painting.
Then on to Skinningrove where an Eastern Black Redstart has resided on rocks near the jetty since arriving in the Autumn. This is a race of Redstart which should be thousands of miles East of here at the moment. This stunning little bird has entertained hundreds if not thousands of birders over the Winter. This morning I had him mostly to myself. He approached within 4 feet at times. He can be seen in the top left of one picture.

Both paintings for sale on GALLERY page.

Watercolour at Sandsend, Whitby

I completed this 22″ x 15″ watercolour at Sandsend this morning. Hampered by a biting south easterly wind the conditions were challenging for watercolour en plein air. But the experience is always so rewarding. Fulmars were busy on the cliffs nearby. Hardy souls walking out to or back from the headland peered down at my work from the nearby steps. I enjoy people watching me painting and sometimes wish they were less shy about coming to have a look. That said, I was too busy to talk any sense. Watercolour outside changes fast and dries slowly and demands great concentration.

 

Sandsend, 22nd March. Watercolour 22″ x 15″  £375 unframed

 

Waxwings in Ampleforth

 

Waxwings at Ampleforth. Watercolour. 13″ x 11″ £300 unframed

The Waxwings are on their way back to Finland and Russia. This is giving me a second chance to sketch them. I had many sightings as they moved west before Christmas. But now they are on their return journey. They have been seen around Ampleforth College orchards over the last week or so. Strangely this orange rowan still has a heavy crop of berries. Waxwings are truly beautiful. Some winters there are just a few in the country, but this has been a Waxwing winter and they have filtered West across Britain in their hundreds. They gorge themselves on berries in smash and grab raids, filling a pouch beside their throats, then retiring to digest them in a nearby tree. The current Ampleforth flock will be eating any berries they can find and in warm weather catching insects on the wing which they do with grace and agility, ahead of their North Sea crossing.

Waxwing sketch available. 13″x 11″   £300 unframed   email: jonathan@pomroy.plus.com

 

North York Moors in winter

North York Moors in winter. Watercolour “27x 21”

This is a new large watercolour. Measuring 27″x 21″ I wanted to show the moors in their winter garb of ochre and sepia on what some would consider a drab winter day. For me, this is when the moors are at their best and they still look like this when the breeding birds return. The bubbling song of the Curlew joins the sound of Lapwing, Golden Plover, Snipe, Meadow Pipit and Red Grouse to form a very distinct moorland dawn chorus. I have avoided adding any birds to this composition. For those who know the moors, I hope you can stare at the vast sky and hear the upland birds and the sigh of wind through grass and heather.

To reserve this picture please email jonathan@pomroy.plus.com