Ilkley artist Lucia Smith is walking each named dale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park to inspire her latest collection of paintings.
“A helpful Park ranger told me there were more than 40 Dales,” she said as an exhibition of her work opened at Park Authority offices in Bainbridge. “And I was rather embarrassed that I could name only 12.”
So began her quest to walk and experience each named dale in the Park, to find its essence, and capture it in a painting.
A new interest in geology led her to think about the startlingly different shapes and vegetation colours caused by the sandstones or limestone lying underneath.
“It is really about the journey,” she said. “I have no desire to rush it. I am about half way through. Our beautiful dales deserve to be carefully discovered and revelled in. There are tributaries of tributaries, hidden dales and even dales which connect underground.
“There are wild dales that used to be inhabited; dales with no roads; steep dales; broad dales; winding dales and no-through-road dales.”
Lucia Smith is sharing her journey via a blog so that everyone can enjoy the rich vistas and stories that she is finding.
‘HOW MANY DALES? a journey with Lucia Smith’ is a free public exhibition, open until the end of January during office hours at Yoredale in Bainbridge (DL8 3EL).
As well as Lucia’s latest dales paintings, there are limited edition prints, mini-prints and cards, offering a range that everyone can enjoy.
