Under the Bridge

"Under the Bridge" - Beckhole Goathland England

9x12 acrylic on canvas

Available through DPW gallery/auction

This is a second bridge painting that I had picked out for the "Bridges" challenge on Facebook. I did not enter this one (only 1 can be entered per challenge) - the challenge said that the bridge needed to be the focal point. After working with my 2 choices, I felt the other one (Gapstow Bridge) was more about the bridge, while this one is about the view under the bridge. This is from a reference photo supplied by Sandra Cottrell in the "Photos for Artists" Facebook group.

I often paint (& photograph) that view within a view subject - be it looking through a window or door, or in this case, under the bridge. The stonework is there as a sort of frame to the image, which is the water & land. I always find working with light & shadows a bit of a challenge with these types of images and this one was no exception. I re-painted the water with various washes & glazes to achieve some sort of depth but still maintain the lighter area in the sun, while the darker part is in shadow cast by the bridge itself.

I also chose to do this scene in the 9x12 format rather than the slices format (6x12) - I couldn't make the composition work on the narrower height. But I'm happy with the way it turned out.