Weather Windows

Art inspiration on the doorstep

Sunday 9th March was a beautiful bright day following a much welcomed dry spell after a very wet, Cornish winter. On this day, as I looked out of our landing window, I noticed that the plough had made its first tentative lengths of the field behind our house. It was a perfect ‘weather window’ to get things done. It kind of marked a feeling that a season of change was just beginning and reminded me of how much of our married life was spent working around these ‘weather windows’ when we were farming this land.

I didn’t come from a farming background (I didn’t even own a pair of wellies) and I was perhaps a little naive to what I had in store, but it’s true that farming is definitely a way of life rather than a job. Looking back I would like to think that I transitioned readily and enthusiastically from town mouse to country mouse. I would have a go at anything and over the years my ‘CV’ built up to include roles ranging from accountant/secretary through to herdswoman and everything in between. Mind reading was also a skill required being married to a Farmer and one I had to develop quickly! We’re still happily married nearly 29 years later so I guess we must have made a good team! We still work together on managing the farm and we’re still very much in tune with the farming calendar…and still check the forecast at least twice a day out of habit!

The weather forecast was like an extra member of our family - constantly checking in with it before making family plans that didn’t clash with the perfect ‘weather window’ to plough, drill corn, start the harvest or turn out cattle. We didn’t do anything without first consulting with the weather forecast and it often caused stress and woe. We could be waiting weeks sometimes for the weather to dry up to get started in the fields, or there could be a crop of perfectly ripe barley standing ready to be harvested, only to be subjected to a bashing from an untimely spell of heavy rain and strong winds, knocking the grains off onto the ground - much to the delight of an ever present pack of pigeons poised in the trees ready to swoop in and peck away at our profit margin!

Of course, the farming ideal would be for some rain in one field, but not the other! Alas, the weather was always in charge of our working life.

However, when the ‘weather window’ came right it was full steam ahead, the mood would lighten and the forecast became our friend once again. From first to last light, my husband would grab every viable farming minute of a day - I would pack up food and walk out to the field with the children so we could all spend a short spell together to have a quick bite of lunch before he drove on. If ever our children needed to see what a work ethic was, they would only need to look at their dad, even if it was a little extreme at some points of the year. I think they were lucky to grow up here on the farm though it was probably lost on them at the time - they had a certain freedom and a simple outdoor life - I don’t think they missed out too much not going away on holidays as in my mind they had things money couldn’t buy. Of course, they may view it very differently!

Anyway, I have digressed slightly - I could probably write a book about the ups and downs of our farming life!

Back to that recent March day when I spotted the plough in our field reminding me of the importance of ‘weather windows’ within the farming calendar.

Now, looking through the eyes of an artist rather than just a farmer’s wife, I notice the wonderful contrasts in the field between the freshly ploughed earth and the fallow ground. The bright white of the huge flock of seagulls following in the wake of the tractor, quite literally having a ‘field day’ on the snacks being brought up to the surface of the land.

Agriculture shapes much of the land around us, and the tractor creates interesting shapes and patterns as they work - whether it be the plough, or the rows of cut silage or straw - and that design element of the landscape really appeals to me.

My usual muse for artwork is up on the moor and though it would be so lovely to be wafting around amongst the wild heather and gorse with my camera and sketchbook every day, that is mostly neither feasible or practical alongside the day job.

So I’m looking closer to home - I am so lucky to be surrounded by countryside and I’m hoping to come up with some felted landscape ideas based around the changes in the fields around me during the seasons. The colours, patterns, textures will be a great starting point for interesting compositions. I’ve been searching through my photos that I’ve taken over recent years around the farm, some of which I’ve shared in this post.

I have previously used some farm views as inspiration and I’ve always been pleased with the outcomes. It also fits in quite well with how my work has been changing more towards a ‘design’ style where the landscape has been slightly abstracted and simplified.

So, I’m taking more photos and the sketchbook is out on the table to get some basic ideas down, playing with composition and contrast. Maybe it will be an interesting record of the farming calendar and all of those ‘weather windows’ of activity. It’s just good to have a focus for the moment after a period of feeling a little lost with my art…maybe that’s a seasonal thing too. Everything I’ve been making lately seems to have ‘failed’ somewhat - but of course it’s not failure, it’s a lesson and with every lesson hopefully improvements will be made. It’s just telling yourself that isn’t it? However, the process is so enjoyable even if the outcome isn’t something you particularly want to share or sell. The act of making the art is so therapeutic, it’s a really wonderful way to switch off and disappear for a while. I won’t be giving that up any time soon!

So the ‘weather window’ theme will rumble on throughout the year… with an occasional smattering of moorland joy which I doubt I will be able to resist!

The plough is out again today…in a few weeks I wonder if the first cut of silage will happen creating all those dynamic green stripes in the field?

I will have to keep an eye on the forecast…

Thanks for reading - I will be leaning on farm gates on a regular basis this year to really take notice and hopefully some art will come out of it!

Over the last few weeks, I have noticed the first skylark song, the more persistent drumming of the greater spotted woodpeckers as well as the unmistakable laughing ‘yaffle’ of the green woodpecker as they feed on ants on the grassy banks. It really does feel like a season of change for more than just the farmer and my art practice!

What are you being inspired by at the moment? Are you coming out of an ‘art hibernation’? Do you get inspired by what’s on your doorstep?

Until next time…

Tanya