Daily walk millstone grit

This week looking at the work of Nicki Heenan and Ruth Schlee. Nicki Heenan has just finished a residency in Wales, including slate mines and has been very influential in my work this week. Words that come to mind when I look at her work.....strength, earth, strata, materials, textures......on my daily walks this week I took time to look at the rocks and the dry stone walls in my landscape. Miles of dry stone walls built in millstone grit, a term used to cover a few tough sandstones and named milestone grit because of the stones used for millstones. I picked up a few rocks, brought them back home and created studies from them.Loved it....and we are looking at this in the Art group next week.

Miles of dry stone walls on my Saddleworth hills ( well they are not mine really, just feel like they are )

Above. Daily misty walk. Acrylic , 33 inches square. Not sure about this yet !

14 cm studies. To get the texture I used ripped paper, gesso, salt, acrylic, earth. I blue tacked the piece to a wall. Liked that.

Above. Tried darker ( the stones are a hundred colours ) 

Above. Placed the pieces on the path made from granite clippings. Mmm liked that.

Above.Throwback to last week.Done too many drawings this week.

Tried the studies on a stone like background and also left one edge of the studies jagged, a nod to the shapes of huge stones. Liked that.

Below quick sketches of hawthorn and dandelion .

Below ...finished piece...., ' I wanted the mists, the trees and the millstone grit.' Acrylic, 33 inches square...acrylic, salt, earth, stone, pencil on board !

Tussled with this one all week.....they do say that you do have a stronger connection with the ones that you on have tussled with don't they ?