As mentioned in other posts, the hobby of creating through art started during the coronavirus pandemic. This creation was formed after the third lockdown. The UK went through three lockdowns and all were different from each other.
The third lockdown, which came into effect in January 2021 was caused by the rapid increase of infections from the variation of the COVID-19 (Sars-CoV-2) virus. The variant was first detected in Kent, in the UK, and was profiled scientifically as B.1.1.7. As the pandemic progressed, variants of the virus were named and referred to within the media and in discussions as the places, they were first detected. However, in May 2021, the World Health Organisation announced that it would be profiling the variants after letters in the Greek alphabet. The once called Kent variant was now known as the alpha variant.
The restrictions of the third lockdown, once again, meant that travel was no longer permitted and the instruction to ‘stay at home’ was sent out once again. With this, it meant that I remained with my family at their home in Lancashire. The location inspired this creation.
Near to my family home is the Leeds to Liverpool Canal – a man-made waterway that calves its way through the urban settlements, farms and countryside between the two cities of Leeds and Liverpool. A great route for dog walking with gravelled towpaths and scenic views.
This piece is created from a reference photo from walking along the canal. This was the first time at trying water reflections and, to be honest, this is something that needs improving. The effect that was wanted wasn’t quite achieved in this instance. However, the bright and bold colours used across the piece made it one of remembering some of the better times during lockdown. The perspective is also slightly out portraying the creation to have a living angle to it – but it seems to be okay on this piece. This was also the second acrylic creation and first attempt at a landscape – so all round, not a bad effort.
This blog post is available in audio as a podcast and can be found here: The Farmer in Huncoat audio
The images below show the painting and the reference image used for the creation
Artwork in Progress 