Summer Solstice at Avebury
‘Summer Solstice at Avebury’. Oil on gessoed card, 8″ x 6″
I used to love driving over in the very early hours of Midsummer morning to join in the festivities. In my late teens, I remember Avebury as being less of a draw than Stonehenge, and there would be little pockets of people all over the site who you could join for the evening to talk random mysticism with. Another time, I remember a fairly miserable few hours sat under a tree as it rained continually. The crowd was probably getting more mixed now, and it felt a little less sociable. On that occasion, I thought the dawn would never arrive.
We’ve pretty much given up going over now as there is literally nowhere to park for miles around. The car parks are blocked off and tow trucks run all night and morning to remove all cars that do stop. Last time we went we drove around for an hour and then just returned home. I do understand the disruption to the local residents, but think there must be a better compromise.
Anyway, happy Solstice. Bring on the summer!
This is lovely Helen, so atmospheric of English summer. I was in Norway during the solstice and amazed at how light it stayed all night, will post my paintings when I get around to it. Will we see you at Pintar Rapido?
Thank you Jen. It took a bit of will power to set up and get going with this one. Once I’d started though, I really enjoyed being in one place and watching the changing light. The whole scene put me in mind of Samuel Palmer mixed with a bit of Syd Barrett, which I quite liked.
Really looking forward to seeing your work from Norway. The light effects sound amazing, and must have been all the more powerful for experiencing them in real time.
You’ve made me think about Pintar Rapido again. I was really excited about it, then lost my confidence when I actually tried some plein air and found it so challenging. I’m understanding more about the pleasure of simply responding to the environment and not worrying about the results so much. I’ll have a re-think and see if there’s any places left.