Early Spring, Staveley

Staveley nature reserve sits in an old gravel quarry on the outskirts of Harrogate in North Yorkshire. It is a wonderfully peaceful place and features in several of my paintings. I usually work from photographs and sketches, and I then manipulate the scenery to create a pleasing and functional composition. Occasionally, the scene before you is perfect and requires no alterations at all – this was one of those scenes.

It was early enough in the year for a touch of frost to linger into the bright, cold morning.