Embracing the best free art in January? A winter afternoon walk like no other.

 Ahead of me I can see the most magical of skies, a gradient of blue and purple with a hint of pastel tones - for that is what was in my mind as I started to walk down the path yesterday afternoon, of course being January, afternoons are quite interesting to say the least and whilst we are past the “winter solstice” extra daylight is quite thankful to have, but regardless of the short burst and energy of a slice of added extra daylight; the nights for they do still begin to draw in.

Still though that did not bother me, for I knew what would happen on my walk would be nothing short of magical, mystical, ethereal and pretty spectacular, ahead of me the pathway behind the cricket club, and whilst I am no big fan of sports, or cricket to that matter, I placed my camera just above the concrete wall and got the following photo.

Under purple is Cricket.

Was it minimalism? The silhouette or the shapes that I liked? I do not know but the glow of purple in the sky just left me wanting more, more art, the kind of artwork that oh so often we ignore.

“The sky is perhaps the best place for artwork, best of all it is free yet society looks forward or down, instead of looking up at what nature can do.”

A little bit further on, I stopped again and looked through a natural frame within a tree, a small tree and I looked across the fields towards the horizon - the light slowly leaving and the skies becoming even more purple in colour, a transition like no other, I was rather speechless and completely taken away at this point, camera came out and I got the following shot.

In a perfect frame.

Amazed I was in this natural theatrical show I continued walking, the loss of light slowly happening and everything felt so still, peaceful and rather eerie in a strange but beautiful way. On the horizon in a field some trees, and the hue of blue and purple, a pastel picture in the skies ahead of me, on what appeared to be nature's greatest easel. For it is rather amazing that in our lives we never appreciate the beauty of the skies as much as we should. I paused and took another photo, needless to say I was impressed with the result that I had captured.

Purple trees dance so calm.

I continued to walk, then I found another perspective, those trees aligned and a glow, crisp and cold it was, yet magical; here I was in a January wonderland, a month that should ideally be renamed or deleted as it is usually dull and vain. But was it? No if anything this January day was giving something back.

In the line.

A bit further on, and I stopped yet again, the purple in the east, yet I had not bothered to look towards the West, and when I did; I was astounded by the view, another natural frame and on the horizon a silent giant, with an orange glow, Brinsley Hill, formed by man out of coal, now a place to walk and explore, yet on the horizon under the orange glow of the sunset it looked surreal, ethereal and so still.

A Brinsley Glow.

I continued to walk along an old pathway and the leading lines heading towards “Engine Lane” had captivated me, the trees and the pathway looking so uniform was something else and it made for a simple composition.

Uniform are the trees.

Turning left at the end of the path, I was now facing north, and here on the right was a clash, the stillness of the purple hue in the east, on the right of me, yet on the left side of me facing west was something of an explosion of colour, now the show just got better, and the light was fading quickly, but a silhouette against the colour and magic of the sky is what I managed to get.

Brinsley Silhouette.

Now I had to face the calm, serene view of the east, I turned around after taking the photo above and looked over towards the industrial estate,, under the faint yet calm glow it looked ever so slightly “science fictionesque” I was amazed, amazed at how landscapes and industry can blend together to create something else. Minimalism screamed out at me after I had taken the photo of the contrast between the fading pastel skies and the industrial estate.

Amongst the Science Fiction.

Then all of a sudden, in the west, I looked and the sky was dancing, yet this was just on the opposite side of the path I was on, I looked at the horizon towards Eastwood, on the hill - faintly like someone had painted or drawn a picture of a silhouette scene for a piece of artwork and I got the following two photos.

A Moon Rise.

January Glow.

Sheer magic all around is what I was experiencing, a strange kind of magic and a sense of calm had been naturally poured all over me, for I had experienced nature on another level, and best of all it had combined itself into the best form of “free artwork” with purple hues in the east, and a stunning golden and blue sunset in the west, a colour explosion? Quite possibly, yet I was now finishing my walk and I had truly embraced the best free art, which just goes to prove that you do not need to visit an art gallery, to see works of art - instead taking a walk can provide you with stunning scenes and a more visual art form that is represented via nature, for that in my opinion is the best artwork. And whilst, January is a month of dullness; you just have to work with the month to get the best out of it.