Prior to my initial meeting with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust to discuss the details of the project that I would be assigned to, I decided to create a painting based on one of the images that had been posted on the HWT website, and the one that took my eye was Nupend wood.

This was an idyllic view, typical of many of the beautiful glades that I have walked though, in Herefordshire, and derived a great deal of pleasure from. I saw a great opportunity for abstract interpretation, with lots of interesting shapes and natural colours. Despite the choice of intense colours they complement each other in a pleasing way and give a feeling of vibrancy and joyfulness. The line work is very loose, by design, which suggests spontaneity and there are many unexpected but desirable effects such as that used to depict the tree canopy that creates an enveloped and peaceful, remote, atmosphere. The blurring of the colour shapes is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. 

Most of these effects were found by accident during the process of creating the work, which makes them much more interesting, and useful from the point of view of style development. The image stands up scrutiny from close up to viewing from a distance, which was one of my intentions. 

Nupend Wood; background information from Herefordshire Wildlife Trust

 Nupend reserve was purchased by the Trust in 1973, it sits astride a steep-sided ridge of Wenlock limestone, dipping steeply towards the south-west, and comprising one of the concentric bands of Silurian limestone forming part of the Woolhope Dome. Ancient semi-natural woodland covers most of the reserve and forms a southern outlier of the much larger West Wood, which was included in Fownhope Park, and originally extended as far as the River Wye. 

 Documentary evidence as far back as the sixteenth century attests to the wood’s ancient origins and also shows that it has probably been coppiced for many centuries. Remains of two pre-nineteenth century quarries are found at the upper, northern end of the reserve and their south-facing slopes are now covered in flower-rich calcareous grassland.

 Most of the woodland canopy is dominated by oak and ash, together with occasional wild cherry, holly and wild service trees. A notable feature of the reserve, and unique for the area, is the large stand of well-established, ancient yews growing along the top of the ridge which are captured beautifully in this painting. The woodland is managed to retain its diversity of tree and shrub species by a programme of coppicing with some thinning.