Winter moorhen

£155

Print details:

Paper size: 450 x 610mm
Image size: 310 x 490mm
Edition size: 100

A long, cold snap had completely frozen this Scottish loch and the bullrushes that fringed it were permenantly rimed with frost. This is a hard time for all birds, but particularly for waterbirds as their larder is totally inaccessible under the ice.

I liked the soft ochres and greys of the bullrush leaves and the linear, abstract patterns that they made. The stems and leaves were edged in white by the frost, softening the hard edges and giving a pale glow to the background leaves.

Acrylics seemed the right medium for this piece. They can have a flatness and a hard edge to them that was well-suited to convey the muted colours of winter.