“To see the spirit of Yorkshire and its moors through your eyes is one thing
Many people look but only a few will see and feel its very soul.”

I wrote this in my sketchbook as a young man of thirty, having studied the landscape for over fifty years I still believe this comment to be true, but what I would like to do is encourage every one to see the moors and natural landscapes as I do.

As an artist I have been fortunate to view the moors with an honest clarity, the drama of the sky with an approaching storm, the crispness of fresh fallen snow under foot or the damp chill of drizzling rain. The landscape is more than a passing view from a car window it is our heritage, culture and more personally it forms part of our thoughts and feelings. There is so much for us to appreciate, enjoy, embrace and be inspired by, if we choose to see.

I have always advised students to create a frame to allow them to ‘find the view’ which they wish to capture in to a painting. It allows them to focus on one area at a time rather than being over faced with everything that they have in front of them.

Moving on from this idea I thought how fantastic it would be if larger frames could be created that allowed us to see the landscape for what it is, an ever changing painting situated in natures open air gallery, something that is free to us all and hence the ‘exhibition’ of Framing the Landscape was created.There are now 6 frames to view at Marsden Moor, Hardcastle Crags, Brimham Rocks, Holme Moss, Newton Wood ( Near Roseberry Topping) and Ogden Reservoir.

I understand that the landscape can appear daunting and perhaps a little scary at times to the younger generation and so I hope that working in partnership with the National Trust we might inspire you to visit the safe, accessible locations and take a sketchbook if you wish but most importantly take a minute or two to look through the frames and see the diverse, dynamic stunning landscapes that we are privy to.