Flooded Forest

Flooded Forest by Martin Howard (2014)
Watercolour, 30.5 x 40.6 cm, 140 lb fine grain paper.
Bergebo, Borlänge, Sweden.

When the winter finally loses it's grip and the snow and ice disappear, it is wonderful to be able to go walking in the forest again. As soon as I got the chance, I was off into the forest, to explore new areas after several of my favourite walking areas had been destroyed recently. Not by fire or any other natural event, but by some overzealous tree felling that had left a large area unrecognisable after cutting down too many trees. On top of that, a new water pipeline had been laid to the next town. One day, that might make a pleasant walk or even cycle route, but at the moment it is just a long stretch of devastated forest. I found a new path to explore and walked quite a way along it before I came to this spot where the path was totally flooded. It was icy in places, but not enough to walk over it. I was forced to go through some tightly packed young trees, but not before I had got a few photos.

On The Edge

On The Edge by Martin Howard (2014)
Watercolour, 40.6 x 30.5 cm, 140 lb fine grain paper.
Klippan, Domnarvet, Borlänge, Sweden.

I've had my eye on this grand looking building for some time now as a possible subject for a painting. I had been impressed by the view from the front of the building because of it's dramatic shape and I had seen it a few times when it has been highlighted by a stunning sunset. It was the building I wanted to paint more than the sunset, but I've only managed to photograph it with cars and vans parked outside which spoiled the scene and obscured my view. This day was after the last heavy snowfall of the winter and it was sunny. I set off down to the river to try to get some new photographs. This building is on the edge of the slope and a pathway down to the river. I took a photo of the house on my way down the path. When I got home, I realised that if I took out a few trees and a fence at the side of the path, I had finally got a picture of the house I could paint.