This is part of the sheer side of a track leading from Huckers Lane (in Selborne, Hampshire) to a field gate. Immediately above Huckers Cottage is an outcrop of the Greensand, a small scarp, the southern end of the quarry dug out of Church Meadow.…
Continue reading Quarry (Huckers Lane)
The thing about sunken lanes is that they can be quite dark, on account of being, well, sunken. Sometimes, though, you get bright sunlight at just the right angle to send a shaft through the canopy overhead and illuminate something, drawing attention to it, bringing…
Continue reading Into the Light
Cernunnos, the horned one, is the Celtic god of the forest. Resplendent in autumn’s riches, this lordly beech seems a worthy successsor, high on the slope with its heavy, curled antler-branches. Beech frequently grows fabulous shapes and it is to emphasise these that I use…
Continue reading Cernnunos -SOLD
Natural erosion of the chalky soil frequently reveals the roots of trees on the Hampshire hangers, but this beech is an extreme case. Immense, intriguingly intertwined, the muscular, naked root structure forms an intricate lattice roof over an intimate hollowed-out cavern. Somebody has fetched branches…
Continue reading Palisade – SOLD
The beech tree is traditionally known as the “queen” of the Forest (oak being the “king”). It seems a fitting epithet: beech grows tall and elegant, with smooth, supple bark and a fabulously coloured wardrobe of leaf colour – from fresh spring greens, though strong…
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This third beech tree in Selborne Hanger has a remarkable little cavern beneath its exposed roots, probably due to erosion. The roots form an open lattice – a “filigree” – over the space on the uphill side. The tree is at the foot of the hanger,…
Continue reading Filigree – SOLD
This very distinctive and characterful beech tree sits on the lip of a hollow in the hillside at Selborne, its triangular mass of exposed roots gracefully supporting it. I started to draw it on A3 paper but it didn’t feel right, so I switched to…
Continue reading Enigma – SOLD
The village of Selborne in Hampshire is known as the former home (now a museum) of the eighteenth century naturalist Gilbert White. It also has a rather splendid beech hanger (a hanger is a wood on a steep slope). I recently spent some lovely time in…
Continue reading Selborne Beech – SOLD