Is painting the seasons inevitable?

Hot summer (!!) has definitely definitely entered the building so I am waiting or the deep ochres, olive greens and pale sun scorched yellows to make an appearance on a painting board soon.

The disadvantages of painting the seasons is that I am often one season behind with new work when exhibitions come around.

However, the benefits far outweigh. Responding so directly to what is around me helps me sustain my practice. It means that I have source material always on hand. My photographs might capture the essentials of a scene but the fleeting movement or the feeling I had being there fade and are lost over time. These are as important to my work as what I see directly.

If this happens, there's always my background study to fall back on. Sometimes, I study master paintings, maybe attempting a version myself and other-times I work on figures or birds finding a change of subject offers different perspectives on the techniques, materials or colours that are common across any type or style of paintings.

Currently my work is showing at the The Base , Greenham, Runway Gallery. I am pleased to say that there are several paintings from the spring into summer period showing!

Please let me know your thoughts if you get a chance to see the exhibition.

This year I have noticed more than ever just how much my landscape painting practice has followed the seasons.

Almost as soon as spring greens appeared in the landscape so too did they enter my colour palette. As did the slightly washed out feeling of the late spring rain.

(c) Helen Grimbleby 2026

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