Angie Rogers Artist

GET INSPIRED

Connecting you to Landscape, Nature and The Wild.

Stepping In and Outside The Lines.
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Do you tend to prefer sticking to the path on walks? It is the best strategy for getting where you want to go of course and I’ve trod so many of the hundreds of ancient little paths that criss cross the land around my home.

I know my way around. And yet sometimes a strong yearning comes to walk the unpath. Does that ever happen to you? And if so, do you ever act on that urge?
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It feels liberating to make your way across the trackless moor occasionally or to wander freely through a maze of tree trunks in the woods. You are untethered.
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The sense of adventure always carries an edge of fear though, you might get lost or fall and not be found, some evil might be lurking. You must keep the balance in your mind
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The whole of life can seem like that, the need for security and the desire to be free in implacable conflict. This struck me one day when I saw an escaped bunch of colourful party balloons all snagged up on a barbed wire fence between snow-filled grazing fields and the open moor.
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The scene made such an impression on me I made a tiny (3 inch square) picture book about it.

The Living Mountain

Earlier this year I bought a copy of The Living Mountain, Nan Shepherd’s celebrated poetic prose exploration of the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland.
Considered by many to be the finest book ever written on nature and landscape in Britain I was shocked to find that I didn’t like it!
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Maybe the weight of expectation was too high or perhaps my mind was unreceptive at that time. I was disappointed with the tone of the writing and just stopped reading. The Living Mountain became a rather chunky coaster on my bedside table.

Do you know that feeling when you’re grateful to yourself for giving something a second chance? I’ve got that now because last week I started reading afresh and am totally engrossed and find the writing beautiful.

I am telling you this because I now realise the book is all about noticing and paying close attention to the natural world. The very things I’ve been suggesting in these emails you can do to enhance your connections to nature. Here she is writing about heather:

“To one who loves the hills at every season, the blossoming is not the best of the heather. The best of it is simply its being there - is the feel of it under the feet. To feel heather under the the feet after long abstinence is one of the dearest joys I know,”

Nan Shepherd (1893 - 1981) knew all about walking the unpath so I strongly recommend The Living Mountain and would love to hear from anyone who has already read it.

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Bringing The Outside In

Isn’t this dried heather beautiful? I brought the clump down from the moor to my studio to draw in charcoal but ended up taking photographs instead, aiming to capture the beautiful subtle sheen in the brown.
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Before this I had never looked at heather so closely or appreciated the detail within each spray. For a while, a faint but distinctive heathery perfume graced my studio. Don’t overlook the pleasure you can get from the ghostly scent of natural objects brought back to your home, reminding you of time spent outside.

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Of The Heather

At the start of November I’ll be taking part in an exhibition in Hebden Bridge celebrating the moorland of upper Calderdale. If you’re local or in the area, do consider dropping by to say hello and see some of my artwork on show alongside other talented artists and photographers. I would love to meet you.

Wishing you a colourful start to autumn and good times outdoors over the next month. If there’s anything about life as a landscape artist you’d like me to write about, hit reply and I’ll respond. In the meantime, take care of yourself, pay attention to nature and get inspired!
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All the best,
Angie

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