5 - 20 October 2024
Beckstones Art Gallery is absolutely delighted to introduce this new collection of 26 oil paintings by legendary landscape artist Peter Symonds. As he enters his sixties, Pete’s lust for life is as vibrant as ever and his enduring passion for this beautiful part of the world remains undiminished. This exhibition marks a 25 year partnership between Beckstones and Peter and we consider it an absolute privilege that all his beautiful paintings of the Lake District have passed through our hands, on their way to homes where they remain cherished by their owners.
Self-taught and painting exclusively in oils on canvas, the starting point for any Symonds masterpiece is walking in the fells in search of that elusive composition. Not known for a gentle stroll, Peter rapidly covers endless miles whenever in the lakes, revelling in having the perfect excuse to conquer all the Wainwrights in search of material, whilst all the time observing and absorbing this beautiful landscape.
Then it’s back to his purpose-built studio in Surrey where the magic slowly starts to happen, as Peter is somehow able to capture on canvas all that he has experienced here. With immense skill, exquisite brushwork and an incredible use of light, Peter’s work moves beyond mere topographic detail and instead conveys to the viewer all that is the very essence of the Lake District, stirring the emotions and gladdening the heart.
With endless lakes, fells, rivers, valleys and becks, the majestic beauty of this area is almost impossible to capture in paint, but Peter’s gentle, atmospheric, timeless landscapes have quite rightly earned him the reputation as one of the finest landscape artists of his generation, and this collection is certainly no exception.
Peter lives in Surrey with his wife Vanessa and, when not painting, he likes to spend hours on the golf course or cycling. As a keen walker and climber, holidays tend to include as much activity as leisure and favourite places other than the Lakes include Scotland and Cornwall.
Beckstones is rightly proud of its long term partnership with Peter and it is our absolute pleasure to be able to finally share this wonderful collection with you.
It isn’t generally a good idea to go for a walk with an over excitable, mountain-obsessed artist in the Lake District. Throw in some fabulous weather, particularly at the beginning or end of the day, and the aforementioned painter is in danger of quickly being left behind - a not uncommon scenario as long-suffering family and friends can attest to! For a more relaxed and enjoyable experience it’s wise to plan such excursions for cloudy and rainy days.
The quite extraordinary beauty of this corner of our country has kept me enthralled for the 35 years or so that I have been painting it now, and constantly has the ability to quite literally stop me in my tracks as I have mentioned. But there is another intrinsic element
that has such a powerful role in contributing to the aesthetics of this stunning, mountainous landscape - the weather, and the resulting light and atmosphere it creates. These are big reasons why I could never tire of painting the Lake District. Ask anyone who knows and loves this part of the world well, and sooner or later you will hear that it is just never the same up here! Together with the extraordinary variety that our four seasons bring to the landscape, (sometimes it would seem, all on the same day), and it is easy to see why the superlative Lake District continues to be a treasure house for artistic inspiration.
As I was preparing for this current exhibition, I realised that this was to be my 10th one-man show here at Beckstones and also the 25th year that I have been showing my work in the gallery. I am enormously grateful for this relationship that has enabled me to exhibit my paintings of the Lakes for so long, and as always it has been a joy preparing for this new exhibition.
The wonderful name given to this confined stretch of the River Derwent could easily come straight out of the pages of a Tolkien novel. There was a soft, almost milky light on this particular morning, casting the crags of Nitting Hause into the distance.
I have countless happy memories of time spent with family and friends exploring the magnificent fells, becks and tarns in this stunning valley. A particular love is this viewpoint from near Lanty’s Tarn, a favourite picnic spot, with the steep profile of Pinnacle Ridge leading up to St Sunday Crag, towering over Grisedale below.
This painting of the twin peaks of Middle Dodd and High
Dodd, rising up behind beautiful Brothers Water, was great fun to do. There were a lot of subtle hues and tones which had to be kept in their place so the light catching the water could be more prominent.
4. A glimpse of
It would be very hard to tire of this magnificent walk along the eastern shore of beautiful Ullswater. Whenever friends ask me for recommendations for a great day out in the Lake District, I will always suggest taking the steamer to Howtown and walking back to Glenridding along the shores of this stunning lake. The views such as this one looking back towards Pooley Bridge are superb all the way and I can’t wait to return in October.
5. The Langdale Pikes
This lovely stretch of the River Brathay, halfway between Skelwith Bridge and Elterwater, has long been a happy hunting ground in my search for subject matter. For this painting I arrived just before sunrise in time to watch the tops of the Langdale Pikes catch the first rays of sunshine before the light quickly spread onto the frosted valley below. It was a beautiful morning for the sky too as a succession of fabulous clouds passed over the landscape.
6. The lane to Blea Tarn 26 x
Old trees that have taken a bit of a battering over the years can make great subjects to paint. This lovely specimen, painted against the light, made a superb focal point, and it was very enjoyable painting the highlighted edges where the sun just carressed the trunk and branches. Despite being a bright, cloudless day, there was a wonderful depth to the scene with Blake Rigg and Wetherlam in the distance, creating a striking contrast to the dark tones of the silhouetted tree and shaded stone wall in the foreground.
7. Buttermere fells from Gatesgarth
46 x 76 cm
There was a lovely, soft, cool light on this beautiful March morning and a sense that spring was just around the corner. With its abundance of lakes and relative proximity to the sea, the water vapour in the air often creates this veil of atmosphere in the Lake District, softening the colours in the landscape, and bringing so much depth to the scene. I particularly love painting mountains in this ‘blue light’ and it was a joy to reflect all this colour back into the beck, thus contrasting it against the complementary, yellow ochres of the grassy banks.
I have often based myself in Rosthwaite where, on a fine morning, some of my favourite haunts can be reached without the need to get into a car. Such was the case on this particular frosty morning when I set off before dawn, with the temperature still below freezing, and had the amazing experience of watching the sun gradually light up the landscape below me. There was so much to enjoy in painting this scene, particularly the frosted fields, partly shaded and partly in shadow, and the lovely, cool blue tones in the shadowed fells beyond.
I have painted this jewel of a lake from a good number of vantage points but never from here, close to Dalegarth, on the northern shore. The short, dark tunnel, well known to all that have walked around the lake, is just behind the foreground trees.
No trip to Crummock Water is complete without a visit to this spot, nestled under the towering bulk of Grasmoor, just off picture. It is a lovely place to linger with high fells all around and a perfect view out beyond the farm to Crummock Water in the distance – all the ingredients for a painting.
Causey Pike
It had been a wet October morning but by lunchtime the rain had cleared and the fells to the north of the lovely Newlands Valley had begun to clear and were now bathed in a wonderful autumnal light. I have learnt that these times and conditions can provide superb opportunities to paint, as here, with the dramatic sky still bearing testimony to the events from the morning, and providing the drama that was present to incorporate in the painting.
12. A Stonethwaite oak 26 x 31 cm
This graceful oak tree, when viewed from this angle, appears to stand in relative peace, but directly behind the viewer there is a fabulous series of waterfalls where the Langstrath Beck crashes, sometimes very violently, into its meeting with Greenup Ghyll just downstream.
This scene will be familiar to anyone who has walked past the campsite beside Stonethwaite Beck on the way up to the Langstrath Valley. From here Eagle Crag appears far more intimidating than its relatively lowly 500m would suggest, but I can testify that it felt far more than that when, with full backpacks on, my son, nephew and and I climbed straight up its side on a swelteringly hot July afternoon a few years ago.
14. Walla Crag and Blencathra from Myrtle Bay, Derwentwater 26 x 20.5 cm
This is just one of the fabulous views encountered on a walk around the ‘Queen of the Lakes’ which we also circumnavigated during our holiday in spring.
15. March sunlight, Stickle Ghyll and the Langdale Pikes
This scene epitomises everything that I so love about portraying this spectacular part of our country. I feel incredibly fortunate to continue to so enjoy my work after all these years, but some paintings, as this one here, really allow me to indulge myself. Craggy, atmospheric fells, shapely trees, old barns and my favourite subject of all - water. These are all such fun to paint in oils, particularly when undertaken on a larger canvas.
I have now completed over 400 paintings of the Lake District and, like probably every other landscape painter, there are certain scenes that hold a particular resonance for me. This is one of them and is the third time I have had a go at it on this large scale. When it was finished, I really enjoyed comparing it to my other attempts from quite a few years back and loved seeing how different they were, though each was also painted in the autumn months. What I was also particularly pleased to see however was how little this magnificent specimen of an oak tree had altered, particularly as it is in a very windy and wet part of the Lakes.
17. The old farm, Little Langdale 23 x 30 cm
The footpaths in this delightful valley are far less trodden than in nearby Great Langdale as there are no car parks here and few places to leave a car either. I hope it stays so. This is one of quite a few very paintable, old, white-washed farmhouses in the vicinity, most of which I have now had the pleasure of painting over the years.
I should think that most visitors to Derwentwater have popped into this little car park here, on the eastern shore of the lake, about 1 km from the Lodore hotel, even if it is only for a quick look at the view. It is a great location to see Catbells, but I particularly love this view, seen here on a still October afternoon, looking north up to majestic Skiddaw, one of the four peaks in the Lake District that top 3000 feet.
This little tarn nestled amongst gentle moorland, and supposedly named after the peewits or lapwings that used to frequent the area, provides a magnificent foreground to the dark, brooding Blencathra in the distance. On this clear, overcast afternoon, it almost felt like peering over an infinity-pool with the mountain appearing far closer than its distance of 4 miles away.
In more recent years, I have enjoyed exploring some lesser-known areas of the Lake District while on my journey to completing the Wainwrights. I found this delightful scene one day while descending from Wansfell, a fabulous hill with glorious views over Windermere to the south.
21. First light near Skelwith Fold
30 x 56 cm
Artists and photographers often cherish the golden hours at the beginning and end of the day. During these times the sun’s proximity to the horizon enhances the vividness of colour creating a warm glow over the landscape. This particular morning was especially memorable with the golden light illuminating the trees and creating a striking contrast against the cool complementary greens of the frosted fields around them.
22. A burst of sunlight,
This was a predominantly cloudy day but there had been a few bursts of sunlight back in Stonethwaite earlier, so I remained hopeful for more. It ended up being quite a wait but, in the meantime, I was able to observe and study the shaded colours and tones on the fells. It was wonderful though when my patience was finally rewarded as a quick burst of sunlight came rushing down the valley towards me. It was fleeting, no more than 10 seconds, but the effect on the landscape made such an impact and made the painting a real pleasure to undertake.
23. Derwentwater
26 x 38 cm
In my earlier years of painting the Lake District I could sometimes get a bit grumpy on days where the sun failed to make an appearance. Nowadays, on such occasions, I relish being beside one of the lakes or tarns, facing towards the light, and discovering the added drama the more inclement weather brings to the landscape. There were so many subtle shades of purple and blue to be found on the dark fell sides and their reflections into the lake, and it was really enjoyable contrasting these with the lighter patches of sky and water. Meanwhile, the three ducks were oblivious to all this as they noisily chased each other around the shoreline.
I have often written of my love for Crummock Water, and whenever I visit, I can’t resist walking around it and did so twice in the spring, once clockwise, and then the other way around. I paid a third visit too to this splendid viewpoint! It is just a perfect composition, with the wall and gate providing a superb focal point before drawing the eye over to the stunning profiles of the distant peaks beyond.
26. A spring afternoon, Little Langdale
Alfred Wainwright dedicated his fourth pictorial guide to the Lakeland Fells to the ‘hardiest of all fell walkers, the sheep of Lakeland, the truest lovers of the mountains.’ I feel the least I can do is to say thank you as well to the Herdwicks and Swaledales that roam so freely through virtually all my paintings of the Lake District. In this particular work, they play the crucial role of providing a focal point to the scene, but they also bring that element of life to a landscape painting too.
The works illustrated are available for sale prior to the exhibition immediately on receipt of this catalogue.
To check availability and place orders:
• telephone 01768 483601
• visit the gallery in person
• email enquiries@beckstonesartgallery.co.uk
All paintings are oil on canvas. Sizes shown are in cm and give the dimensions of the actual image excluding the frame.
The exhibition runs from 10am on 5 October to 5pm Sun 20 October.
The full catalogue can also be viewed nearer the date online at beckstonesartgallery.co.uk
We regret that paintings cannot be held on reserve for approval. Please note that paintings are available to purchase immediately
“ ” PETER SYMONDS
Together with the extraordinary variety that our four seasons bring to the landscape, (sometimes it would seem, all on the same day), and it is easy to see why the superlative Lake District continues to be a treasure house for artistic inspiration.
Beckstones Art Gallery · Greystoke Ghyll, Nr. Penrith, Cumbria CA11 0UQ · Tel: 01768 483601
beckstonesartgallery.co.uk