Painting No 14 - Troutbeck

Oil on canvas board 16" x 20"

I do like to make things difficult for myself. I was looking through an old 1930's guide to the Lake District when I saw this scene in a small monchrome photograph.  The overall composition really appealed to me. 

There was obviously no colour so I took a look on Google Streetview and immediately found the house.  Unfortunately I couldn't get the view into exactly the same position and it was a winter shot.  It also looks like there's a lot of foreshortening in the original photograph. 



 So, I had a go anyway.  I left out the dog as I couldn't make it out in the original and didn't want to risk spoiling it.  I'm relatively pleased with the overall result but am a little disappointed that I still can't relax the detail.  The result is a mixed bag of styles (compare the tree trunk and the house) but then again it's all subjective hopefully some will like it.