Living relatively close to Dartmoor I thought it was high time I painted some rocks! This is a view of Bench Tor, looking down towards the Dart Valley. There's a tiny glimpse of the Dart River in the reference photo, but it would have been a meaningless splodge in the painting so I left it out!

This is the original reference photo, taken on a family walk a little over a year ago. I cropped it, and changed the rather intrusive rock in the lower right into a patch of heather. I loved the light catching the tops of the trees on the right hand side, so I've tried to emphasise that. Incidentally, my first posting to this forum was a view a bit further along on this walk, looking the other way.

I spent far too long on this painting - two days on and off - so it's a bit overworked, and the washes aren't as 'fresh' as I'd like. I can't decide if it's too detailed/fussy, or if the composition works. I'd have liked a bit more fern/heather detail in the foreground I think, but by the time I got to it I was a bit fed up with it and just wanted to finish! As usual, I think it looks better in real life - preferably standing a long way away 😂 Happy to hear thoughts on any aspect, thank you!

Painted on Arches cold-pressed 300gsm, A4 size.