3 day countdown

3 day countdown. I can’t believe it, only three days to go until the book is launched and you will all be able to judge for yourselves if all the hype lives up to expectations. Even though I did all the work, the research, the walking, the paintings, writing all the text, designing all the layout and then seeing the publishing and binding of the books through the various stages I can honestly say that I still pick up the pre-publication copy of The Wainwrights in Colour Book every day and read several pages. Mostly I do this to see if there are any aspects that I could have done better but more than that it is almost like an “out of body” experience, did I really do all this? Whether I could have actually produced a better book will be up for debate after Friday but as far as I am concerned it is immaterial, what’s done is done. 

Back to today’s sketch, the fifth in this series and it comes from Book Five, The Northern Fells. It would be too obvious to choose a sketch from the more obvious fells such as Blencathra or Skiddaw but I have opted to go to the other extreme, a sketch from Mungrisedale Common.

The Cloven Stone

 There is regular debate on social media and in pubs as to why Wainwright even included this nondescript fell but it was purely his choice. However, in the book I do put forward my theory as to why Mungrisdale Common was included in his final list. I also explain how and why he came up with his initial lists and what was the criteria for including or excluding fells. The Wainwrights in Colour is more than simply a book full of 1500 sketches, I really hope that you enjoy it.

Back to home page

Andy Beck-

Having been a professional artist since leaving the Royal Air Force Regiment in 1988 Andy Beck has now become well known for his recent major project- The Wainwrights in Colour which has seen him exploring the Lakeland Fells to capture all the scenes in Wainwright’s Pictorial guides. Up until early 2013 Andy ran The Teesdale Gallery in the heart of Barnard Castle, County Durham which he did for 20 years. Reluctantly he had to close the gallery so that he could concentrate his efforts on completing the project. This has given him the freedom to paint at home in his studio or go out gathering references for his work. Andy lives in Teesdale in the north Pennines of England.