West Woodhay Down by Amanda Bates

Two years since I last posted anything here! This is my most recent painting, done on the 3rd (hillside) and 4th (studio) of October. Probably the last of the summer weather. The ladybirds (non-native harlequins) seemed to think so. They were swarming, something I've not experienced before unless you count 1978, when I was very small and well before the harlequins invaded. (I don't recall being hit by flying ladybirds then. I didn't paint in oils then, either - just poster paint - so I didn't have to contend with ladybirds hitting the painting, get covered in paint and flailing around on the canvas.) This hill is a curving down, facing north on the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. It's an SSSI and an access area.