Major Project. Initial Ideas.

In today's classes we discussed ideas related to our new project. My project will be photographic and will concern a rural landscape. ' Leicestershire countryside in photography '. This will be the topic of my project. The initial ideas came two days ago, after a walk to Scalford, a village near Melton Mowbray. There was a time when walking did not give me pleasure, everything in life is fluid, and that is now gone. I can do what I like again, walk through fields where cows and sheep graze peacefully, a sight rarely seen in my country anymore. I can jump over fences dividing fields, and pass through charming country wooden gates that are older than me. I can walk through windy fields, sometimes on a worn-out path, and sometimes I can break through the bushes, paving a new path. I have my favorite paths, one leads to Scalford, on the way I pass a huge lonely tree, next to which there is a stream, with a bank carved by cows' hooves. Walking lazily on Sunday, I thought that it would be nice to photograph my paths in golden autumn. A few years ago, I accidentally came across the landscapes of John Constable and Joseph Turner, I liked painting from early childhood, my grandfather on rainy days would give me an album to watch 'Seven Centuries of European Painting' by Maria Rzepinska, and when I liked a painting, my grandfather told me about it I made up a story related to what I saw there. Coming back to the painters who inspired me for my project, no one talked about everyday life in the countryside with a brush in such a romantic and idyllic way, as they did. Apparently, when they lived, they competed with each other, but for me they complement each other, one is bright, radiant and joyful, the other is dark.

Sailsbury Cathedral is probably John Constable's most famous painting. For me, it is a perfect combination of the traditions of the village, i.e. the most important building that gathered all the inhabitants in the 19th century, the church, which was a place of spiritual matters, and nearby, thanks to which there was also a body, cows on grazing, breeding them was a source of income for many people, and the size of the herd determined the financial status of the inhabitants of rural areas. I have the impression that the landscape would be incomplete without them, because I know how much importance farmers attach to them at the market on Tuesdays in Melton Mowbray. Delicate pastel colors add charm to the whole image.

John Constable; Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds

The next image is a view of a huge lake, pastures, cows, and on a hill behind trees in the distance I see a house. There are clouds in the sky. For me, this painting is a true model of a rural landscape.

John Constable; Wivenhoe Park, Essex, 1816

And the second painter who inspires me is Joseph Turner. The dark side of landscapes. In the first one I see a tree and a building in the distance, the whole image seems distorted. By the shades and colors of the grass, I guess it's autumn.               

                                              Joseph Turner, Landscape with a Tree on the Right, 1828

Turner's next painting, Landscape with Lake and Fallen Tree, is similar in style to the earlier painting. Everything is a bit sharp and blurry. I see the branch of a leaning tree and a tree, and in the distance there is a lake with mountains behind it. I don't see any people or animals, as if the area was deserted.

                 

                                     Joseph Turner, Landscape with Lake and Fallen Tree, 1800

Both painters and their works will certainly be helpful to me in my project, they will certainly be an inspiration for me, thanks to their paintings I get further inspirations, this time from films and books.