Usually I paint from some sort of photographic reference or even real life occasionally. I was advised to step out of my comfort zone when I was heard grumbling about not being able to think of something to paint. This is probably the closest that artists get to writer’s block.

So I started with a reference of a single horse which I duplicated, changing the colour of the second one. I put them in in a rough form.

I started on the background which I began with a coat of burnt sienna, diluted down. I let that go hard overnight, and then gave a glaze of lamp black, dabbing some out with paper towel to give cloud shapes. Lamp black is quite smoky looking and I like the effect it gives to winter clouds. Again I let that dry naturally overnight.

The clouds needed to go darker. I mixed Ultramarine Blue and Light Red and started from the top, adding more red as I reached the horizon line. I let that dry hard whilst I figured out what to do next. Remember I was on my own with no safety net!

I felt that the horizon could do with storm clouds rising. I used another mix of the red and the blue. The clouds didn’t work so they turned into distant hills which worked better

And that is where we are for now