This pastel painting is actually based on a photograph of the Church of St Michael de Rupe, on Brent Tor in Dartmoor, Devon. I wanted a more fantasy 'Lord of the Rings'-type scene, so I created the background mountains, the suggestion of a route up the hillside and the sun-kissed colour of the sky, as well as the bold contrasts in the foreground hill. The original photograph of the church came from BBC Countryfile magazine. This was one of the last fresh paintings that I did on the Fabriano Ingres paper. The ones done on that paper since then have been revisits of earlier pieces when I needed to practice again.

Medium: Pastel
Size: 38 x 30 cm
Materials: Fabriano Ingres pastel paper. Faber Castell pastel pencils