British Landscape Paintings & Prints

The less said about 2020, the better. We're all fed‑up with it anyway, aren't we?

Three kicks in the guts, one after the other, each knocked me over right at the end of the year, in December 2020.

So the words of perseverance, by the matchless and much‑missed Tom Petty, are my anthem for 2021. Won't be turned around, And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down, Gonna… (You know it).

Yorkshire Wolds landscape collection

The 2020 lockdowns made travelling into the landscape, sketchbook in hand, a questionable activity.

I errored on not going – it felt like the right thing to do – though it's meant I'm at least six months behind now.

Frustrating, but I'm determined to persevere.

Outdoor Sketching machine (Phase I)

Between lockdowns one and two, I scurried outdoors at every opportunity – sketchbook clasped in feverish hands. Fortunately, the weather was mostly dry and often sunny, though still bone‑chillingly cold!

So I made enough sketches on location in the Yorkshire Wolds to complete phase one of my project: the outdoor study phase.

An epic view of Selwicks Bay at Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire, is rapidly coming together too, after being a bit of a fight.

Paintings always go through a Struggle Stage – that's normal.

Being an artist requires perseverance – that's if on a constant quest to be a better artist, as I am.

Many artists go straight onto a canvas after completing their outdoor sketches. Otherwise, they make a couple of very casual thumbnails, before launching into their final artwork. Their 'painting planning' step is brief – mine is not

I don't copy what's there, you see. Instead, before I pick up a canvas, I ask questions like: Should I move that tree to the left, or the right – or leave it where it is, because it's not the problem?.

Only sketching things out provides answers. There are many questions to deal with when you don't copy, so there are many sketches to do!

No matter how beautiful your colours or brushwork is, how much you try to fudge‑it, or how much time you spend on the art, mistakes in a composition will show through and spoil it.

Both trained and untrained eyes will see the mistakes, though the untrained can't explain why they don't like the artwork.

This is why I make multiple sketches precisely planning my landscape art. I'm knee‑deep in this planning stage of Phase II as I write.

Both phase I and phase II sketches are on my new Instagram feed, and there will be more as I progress. To see them, search instagram.com using my name and the word: 'sketchbooks'. For those familar with Instagram, it's @lynneroebuck.sketchbooks.

So that's where I'm at, and I wish you well in 2021. I hope you and yours are persevering, safe, and prospering (in body, mind, heart and the rest).

My Yorkshire Wolds outdoor sketching phase in more detail.