Gateway to a New Year

At last I am satisfied that I have finished my painting of the Oak Tree! (See earlier post for beginning of painting).

The Oak, symbol of strength and endurance, stands like a Guardian of the Forests, and I was interested to read that to the early Celts the Oak was a 'tree of doors believed to be a gateway to other worlds'.

I'm very rarely inspired to write poetry, but I felt moved to do so when looking at the finished painting and thinking about the significance to me of this particular tree, it's location, and the beginning of a New Year.

Ingrid Sylvestre

More Midwinter Middlesbrough - Sylvan Season's Greetings!

Here is more celebration of the beautiful landscape around Middlesbrough. Some of you mentioned that you would like me to show more images of this area - and as it is one of my favourite painting places, I'm very happy indeed to do so!

Every year I like to produce new Season's Greetings cards to send to friends, and this year I painted the above design. It features the landscape just south of Middlesbrough, looking toward the Cleveland Hills. This is one of my favourite views, with the fields and copses stretching into the distance, and the phenomenal skies one so often sees over this lovely place.

I painted the scene yesterday, on A4 size blue-grey Ingres paper. Firstly I used black waterproof drawing ink, and then I added the white highlights with gouache paint. This is a combination I often use for painting sylvan and garden imagery, as I find it ideal for communicating atmosphere.





I used the above rendering of the image, with an orange layer over the moon, as a temporary Header on this blog yesterday, to celebrate the unique combination of Winter Solstice, Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse!

Season's Greetings to you all! I wish you a lovely holiday and a wonderful year ahead, full of beauty and love and light.

Ingrid Sylvestre

Oak Tree painting in progress

A friend just sent me a photo of one of my favourite trees - a majestic old oak tree next to a wonderful Wood. I was immediately inspired to paint it again!

This time I felt moved to paint it at night, in the snow. I have many special memories of this scene, with the oak standing strong, spreading it's branches against the night sky, as the Wood sighs in the breeze beyond. Ivy grows up it's mighty trunk, making intricate criss-cross patterns in the covering of snow.



I'm using mixed media, (oil pastel and watercolour), on very heavy textured watercolour paper. Impulsive with this painting, I didn't stretch the paper first, which doesn't matter as it is so thick! Wanting to continue quickly I draped the painting over the back of two chairs in front of the radiator to dry.



(I'm still working on the previous painting of the Cleveland Hills - I like to let a painting 'stand' for a few days, while I meditate on it to decide what final work needs to be done - otherwise it can be tempting to 'overwork' it!)

Ingrid Sylvestre

Painting in Progress!

Here's the promised update on the blank piece of paper! This is how the painting looks today. There is still quite a lot of work to be done on it, particularly in the distant Cleveland Hills, and the foreground and trees details.



The above photo shows the painting yesterday. I usually work the sky first, particularly with watercolour, which is the medium I'm using here. Sometimes I draw the composition in with pencil first, but with this painting I started immediately with the paint.

My aim is to express the exhilaration and sense of wonder the landscape stirs in me, and to celebrate this special place with it's dramatic skies and unique atmosphere.

You can view further paintings of this beautiful area of North East England landscape at my Grey Towers Art site.

North East artist Ingrid Sylvestre, Grey Towers paintings, Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, Cleveland.

A Blank Canvas - (or in this case, paper)!

Unlike many of my fellow-artist-friends, I LOVE a blank canvas or sheet of paper!

It's that excitement and anticipation of making the first mark, which may be premeditated after many sketches, or just joyous spontaneity.

This piece of work will be based on the landscape around Grey Towers which featured in my blogpost of November 12th. I'll be posting as it develops ...

North East artist Ingrid Sylvestre, Durham North East England UK. English Landscape Painter, English Landscape Painting, English Romantic Landscape Paintings, Fine Art commissions paintings for sale.

Wild Winds and Dancing Light

The gale force winds and lashing rain early on Thursday morning may not have seemed ideal conditions for a walk, but what exhilaration and inspiration lay ahead!


This wonderful walk begins down Grey Towers Farm Lane, where emerging into wide fields, one sees the distinctive edge of Poole Wood with it's curved trees. Today it is topped with grey scudding clourds and seems both dark and luminous.



Further along, a rainbow rises above the historic Grey Towers mansion.



The track curves round the edge of Jubilee Plantation, where the wind flurries bring rich scents of ploughed earth.


Storm clouds gather over the distant Cleveland Hills, and the young crops shimmer bright green.



A sudden mellowing of the light, and a farm leads the eye between autumn trees.


Ahead, the cottages of Old Nunthorpe village nestle snugly, as clouds race across the ever-changing sky.

A very special walk.

November - Looking back and looking forward

This time of year has always felt to me like a new beginning. A time for looking back at special times and places, and also for looking forward with excited anticipation.

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The land has always held a fascination for me. From being very young I have been entranced by the atmosphere of places.

This year I'm celebrating the beginning of November by re-reading parts of an artistic journal I kept several years ago, while painting the landscape at Grey Towers, Nunthorpe.
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I've included a couple of excerpts here, written after a walk at the end of October.

Though many years have passed since writing those words, the sense of wonder has not. If anything it has intensified. Whoopee!

Writing this blog-post was prompted by reading 'Endless Renewal and Other Things' at Solitary Walker's blog - always an inspiring read! It was through reading this and Nature's Whispers blog that I learned that now is the time of the Celtic New Year.

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North East artist Ingrid Sylvestre Durham artists North East art for sale Ingrid Sylvestre County Durham Newcastle upon Tyne Middlesbrough Teesside Cleveland North Yorkshire

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