The walk between Fiskerton and Hazelford Lock can either be taken on the path which runs alongside the River Trent or by crossing fields which link up with car parks for people fishing on the river. The second route provides landscape photography opportunities looking across the river to Stoke Woods and the hills behind. The is also a fine tree which stands in isolation in one of the fields. These were some of the scenes captured during September:
Over the summer I have used Hazelford Lock as a location to practice outdoor painting. Initially I started with watercolour and then moved to gouache which I find easier in an outdoor environment. Loaded below are two examples: the first painting is a view of the weir at Hazelford Lock and the second selects part of the lock wall. Both are postcard (A5) paintings completed with a small flat brush using a primary colour palette. The main aim was getting used to drawing and painting outdoors and I allowed myself about an hour to get something down on paper (the second scene took a little longer and was finished at home):
My biggest challenge working outdoors is the drawing; getting the scaling and perspective correct. For example, the first scene was drawn with a slightly elevated point of view. In reality, the eye line should be closer to the top of the weir and the right hand wall should follow the perspective line from the horizon i.e. it should be higher on the page, probably a little above the floating barrier across the weir. That said, choosing a scene with a lot of fast moving frothy water was possibly more naïve! But, looking positively at the outcome, the rendering of the water is the part of the painting I like the most.
I think I was influenced to paint the flowing water by my photography at this location. I particularly like the reflections on the lip of the weir which tends to produce some vibrant shapes and colours depending on the overhead conditions. These are some of the reflections captured on one of the a painting days:
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