4. High Viewpoints

Landscape artist TOM HUGHES heads to the Devon coast to show you how to build a painting one section at a time

I wanted to conclude my series on outdoor painting with my favourite landscape in England: the view of the River Wye from Symonds Yat Rock. Set in Gloucestershire’s gorgeous Wye Valley on the AngloWelsh border, the river winds itself around the hills in a horseshoe shape here, the start of which is visible from the top of Yat Rock. This is no remote, mountainside destination either – it is easily accessible from the car park via wooden walkways, making it easy to carry your kit to the top.

Like the cliffs at Beer in Devon that we tackled in the last issue, Symonds Yat Rock is another place that seems almost engineered in its perfection. It has everything: aerial perspective, clearly defined planes, hills, patchwork fields, woodland, a river and a natural composition perfectly arranged for you. You can’t ask for more from a potential subject.

WHAT IS A “SOFT EDGE”?

A soft edge is a smooth paint transition created by working “wet into wet” – using wet paint on wet paint. I carefully pull one colour into an adjacent colour as I make my stroke, as seen in the tree reflections in the river.

Another method is to use a clean, dry brush with splayed hairs, as they create a softer stroke. Simply pull the brush over the area you want to soften until it looks soft enough for the object you’re describing.

Try completing a whole painting without blending any edges at all and then just do a few at the end to the areas that really need it. The contrast will create a more dynamic piece.”

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