Following the lumpy picture of Bosham I wanted to see if I could produce lighter, more atmospheric paintings. My daughter and I walked the dog on a very cold, frosty but bright morning on Ranmore Common. The views over the Surrey Hills are stunning and one of my favorite places to draw inspiration from.

The first painting was a really simple subject. Distant hills, a line of trees and some foreground. I decided to add my daughter and Molly to create interest, a story line and scale.

Laura & Molly at Ranmore

This was an improvement on Bosham, but there were still elements I needed to test out and resolve. Such as distant trees and buildings. I moved on to another photo I took on the same walk. This photo ( the composition) was always going to be an odd one but I liked the distant line of trees and the solitary pine tree. The church spire, peeking out from the hillside and the house emerging from the mist were challenging to get right and could look very out of place if dealt unsympathetically. The painting was more about atmosphere and working on my technique.

St Barnabas, Ranmore