Dunster – Entrance

A stone archway can often be relied upon to make a good frame for a picture, as long as there is something interesting visible through the arch. In the case of the entrance into Dunster Castle (or more precisely the exit as this is the vista as one leaves the castle!) the view through the arch is of trees and a pretty village, which seems a good bet for a painting.

I used several painting techniques to create this picture, with varying results. I think the arch itself has come out well, with the varying tones of the individual stones, and the “dotty” vegetation (which looks a bit like pointillism but isn’t really as I am using the points to get a visual texture rather than to blend different colours as Seurat was doing) is pleasingly realistic. The village buildings on the other hand are very disappointing. Still, I suppose you can’t always have it all, and as Meat Loaf used to sing – “two out of three ain’t bad”!