"Living in the Yorkshire Dales for the last four years and experiencing their dramatic ancient landscapes of Coverdale, Swaledale, Wensleydale and Richmondshire have brought new, thought provoking, ideas into my paintings. During these years I have painted the seasonal drama in this often remote countryside: depicting the turning of the wild purple heather clad moors during the middle of August, the extraordinary abundance of summer wild flowers, the first poppies and the inescapable harsh blizzards of winter snow.
These atmospheric places encompass the arrival of the Curlews and their distinctive haunting call which resonates clearly over the lands inspiring my first thoughts for paintings. The ever-present stone walls are a constant element in my Yorkshire paintings and emphasise how parts of the landscape has not changed since medieval times and some of these tumbled down field boundaries date back to late prehistoric preserving Romano–British field systems. The irregularity of the stone walls and their moss covered and lichen-encrusted appearance give them a look of having grown organically from the landscape over centuries–all wonderful to paint as no two are the same!
Over recent years I have been revisiting the West Coast of Scotland including the Isle of Mull, Kentra Bay, Ardnamurchan, Jura, and Arygllshire".
-Oona Campbell
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