Maestir Road Verge

by Edward McNaught-Davis

Title

Maestir Road Verge

Artist

Edward McNaught-Davis

Medium

Pastel - Oil Pastel On Paper

Description

An unusual wildflower painting showing a part of a verge along the Maestir road and with many different species of wild flowers in abundance. All were growing among a naturally wild swatch of grass to the side of the Maestir road and near the top of its steep hill.

The view beyond the hedging shows distant hilly farmland as well as overlooking part of my previous home near Lampeter, Ceredigion.

It was quite a tricky painting to do as oil pastel was used throughout to lay the colours in on thick coloured paper. The side blade of a painting knife was then used to etch the detail of the various grasses, hedgerows and wildflowers. The common wildflowers included Bluebells, Campions and Daisies.

The process of layering the colours involved many applications of pastel blended together on the painting’s paper support.

Any surplus oil pastel pigment was then gently scrapped away with the side of the same painting knife. The paper chosen was intentionally absorbent as this allowed thin glazes to be applied on top of each other and without muddying previously blended colours.

Some of the long grasses were old and dead but seemed to beautify the scene with their predominately sun bleached yellow and orange colours. Other grasses were long and straggly and existed horizontally along the ground. Some were interwoven with the more vertical and perpendicular grasses.

This verge is partially enclosed by old fencing and managed hedging, from the field side. The occasional bush can be seen too.

It is also on a tight corner that sits to one side of a steep twisting incline and found along the Maestir road; about a third of the way along starting from the small village of Cribyn and ending on the Western peripheries of Lampeter. The Maestir road stretches for about four miles over undulating ground between the B4337 at Cribyn and the A475 at Lampeter.

My oil pastel painting of the Maestir road verge is at the steepest part of the whole route. To add to the interest, the road twists and turns as it elevates towards the hilltop. The verge acts as an useful resting place for both man and dog before walking up and over its steep summit.

The painting was sold to a private buyer soon after I marketed it for sale on another of my websites. It was one of my earlier Internet sales. I retained the copyright though to make and sell reproduction prints.

Uploaded

June 7th, 2012

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