About art marathon

"There are many lakes and ponds like this in England. They are referred to as ponds.
This is one of many created in the ancient rural Weald of Southern England after much of the great forest was felled. They were created as Mill ponds centuries ago, in the early medieval era, before the birth of modern technology. In some places, such as the Tillingbourne Valley, battles were fought in the fields by workers for competing estates over water rights.

The local people in the Countryside are often direct descendants of the people in these events. This pond is in the water catchment area for the very beautiful people River Arun, whose lower reaches form the longest tidal river in England. 500 years ago, some of these pounds were used for iron making forges, (hammers), and furnaces, and many local place names feature the words "hammer" and "furnace", and also "fold" (German "Feld"), for the clearings in the forest from which the English word field originates. The ponds, fields, and forests are all connected with one another, and with the culture and landscape of this region.

Now the Mills have gone, or are no longer working, but the ponds remain.

Understanding what a place is about, knowing the people working in the area, and the history in a landscape, allows me to be more observant and accurate. Truth is beauty. For example, to paint the far shore of a pond or river, where it's difficult to see it, understanding what the shoreline is doing enables me to paint it authentically, so the painting speaks with authority. On a lakeside shore, the trees are slowly falling in. An urban park lake or a lake in a public garden is manicured and tended, so this is not happening. That is why a wild lake like this is always going to be far more beautiful than a well-maintained lake in a controlled setting. It is why the more chaotic, slowly degrading landscape of Southern England is so beautiful. It is no longer maintained to a great extent. Knowing this enables me to paint it more effectively. A painting has to do this to put the viewer's feet on the ground - to put them in the scene. A good landscape painting does not tell you how to feel, any more than a real landscape dictates to you what your emotions should be. A painting allows you to generate your own response, by putting you in that place.

I was working in this region when I stopped for a break at this pond, and I had not intended to paint it. Many amazing views are stumbled across by accident. The most challenging part of watercolor is finding great material. My main concern is not simply finding locations, but finding good light conditions. I spend my time looking for the ideal light and working out the best time of day to visit a location.