ABOUT
HELLO, I'M LUCIA, AND I PAINT THE YORKSHIRE DALES IN THE GORGEOUS MEDIUM OF SOFT PASTELS...
Wow: the Dales. How lucky I am to live and work here.
The moors and valleys have a timelessness, a hugeness, a reassuring solidity. Time spent walking here seems to rebalance and rejuvenate; it is the only place I know where I can be simultaneously soothed and uplifted.
I seek the essence of each location, choosing light and shadow to pin down the feeling of being there. Although the result is a static painting, I work hard to offer movement in a scene. Hard and soft edges of colour suggest that the wind is blowing, the clouds and shadows are about to move, and the view holds our gaze as we wait for the scene to entertain us.
In this crazy, busy, complicated, often exhausting world, the Dales and the Moors are a place to be, a place to look, a place to breathe. I hope to share a taste of this, available to view in a painting on a wall.
I can hardly believe I’ve done it! I’ve painted ALL the named Dales in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Seeds of the idea were sown in 2016, developed in 2017, really took hold in 2018….
You can read about my journey in my website Blog and see all the images on the page below!
ALL THE NAMED DALES: THE QUEST
ALL the named Dales of the Yorkshire Dales National Park!! Yes! ALL OF THEM!
A few years ago I set out to visit and explore every named Dale in our beautiful National Park, soaking in the unique character of each Dale to capture in a painting. Some of my paintings are huge, some very small, some simply focus on beautiful stone walls and the stiles I climbed over, or pools of water, or expanses of moor. Some offer the whole vista! Each one shares my joy of these wonderful places.
The YDNP Rangers supplied a list: there were 45, with 4 more added in 2016 when the Park expanded. It is true that these four are called Valleys, not Dales, but this is only due to local dialect and they are iconic in the north western area, so I added them to my QUEST list. So a grand total of 49.
It’s been challenging for both for my walking boots and my soft pastels, but it’s been eye-opening. You can follow my journey via my website Blog: I’ve had lots of adventures and found some stunning places. Cut off Dales, abandoned Dales, tributaries that are connected underground, majestic contours, wide open moorlands. I’ve found out so much along the way: Apedale has nothing to do with monkeys, Kingsdale has nothing to do with Kings. Great Sled Dale and Little Sled Dale are actually miles from Sleddale itself! I’ve also experimented artistically: mixed media, softer colours, bolder colours.
The journey is now complete! It turned out that the one I saved until last, Wensleydale, needed more than one painting to capture all her character; so I wallowed there for a while, simply enjoying the place and creating four very different paintings in a final very enjoyable series.
So in all, 52 paintings of 49 Dales. Many of the original paintings have already sold, some of the more recent ones are still available. All of them are available in some physical form; the list below the images explains how.
The question is: how many do you know?
49 Dales…. tributaries in brackets (as supplied to me by YDNP rangers)
AIREDALE (Malhamdale); WHARFEDALE (Dibb Dale, Washburndale, Mossdale, Littondale, Langstrothdale); NIDDERDALE; WENSLEYDALE (Colsterdale, Coverdale, Apedale, Waldendale, Bishopdale, Raydale, Cragdale, Bardale, Sleddale, Fossdale, Widdale, Cotterdale); SWALEDALE (Arkengarthdale, Arndale, Birkdale, Uldale, Little Sled Dale, Great Sled Dale, East Stonesdale, Moresdale, Skegdale, West Stonedale, Whitsundale; RIBBLESDALE (Silverdale); CRUMMACKDALE; UPPER LONSDALE (Kingsdale, Doedale); BARBONDALE, DENTDALE (Deepdale); GARSDALE (Grisedale); EDEN VALLEY; MALLERSTANG VALLEY; LUNE VALLEY; RAWTHEY VALLEY
Images available as follows:
MINI-PRINTS: all of my QUEST paintings are available as A4 size mini-prints!
ORIGINAL PAINTINGS: a few of the original QUEST paintings are still available: Cotterdale, Uldale, Wensleydale
FINE ART PRINTS: some (please note: not all!) of the QUEST images are available as large size FINE ART PRINTS: Airedale, Wharfedale, Raydale, Swaledale, Silverdale, Kingsdale, Mallerstang Valley, Malhamdale, Wensleydale
GREETINGS CARDS: Washburndale, Nidderdale, Colsterdale, Waldendale, Bishopdale, Swaledale, East Stonesdale, West Stonesdale, Malhamdale
ORIGINALS
Welcome to my original work.
The last 12 months have been successful - so the gallery above is rather small. Many are already labelled as SOLD: I keep them in this gallery to show you a range of my style: vistas, compositions and colour. I am also working hard at my easel and will be adding new original work here very soon. Keep visiting regularly to see the newest releases!
Paintings can be viewed at my home studio in Ilkley, or at The Old School Gallery in Muker. If you would like to view a particular piece, or would like to discuss measurements, framing and prices, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would be happy to advise on where any particular piece is, and I would be delighted to hear from you.
My originals are generally priced between £800 - £1300, mainly depending on size. Some of these images are also available as limited edition Prints.
I have completed my ‘QUEST’ to paint ALL THE NAMED DALES in the YDNP! Do contact me if you have any queries or would like map references. See my About page or follow my Blog for more information.
You can follow me on facebook (Lucia Smith Artist) and instagram (lucia_smith _artist) to see what’s on my easel right now!
BESPOKE FINE ART PRINTS
My fine art print series are special – created in BESPOKE SIZES to suit your home - most are in ‘very limiited’ series of just 16, Printed on museum-quality fine art paper (framed behind glass to your taste); or on box canvas for a more contemporary look.
Each print is hand-signed and comes with a personal message from me about the scene, my inspiration and the circumstances of the original painting.
Print prices mainly depend on size, with unframed prints typically priced between £210 - £250 and framed prints between £350 - £390. The Cow and Calf HOMELANDS series are a bit different: they are available in an unlimited mini-print size as well as larger sizes, with prices starting from just £44.
If you have any queries at all, please contact me.
COMMISSIONS
Maybe there is a particular view, or a place that is important to you that you would like to have captured in a painting? Perhaps you have personal ideas about colour, or mood, or season that need to be considered; or maybe the painting needs to be a certain size and shape for your wall?
I get it! I am happy to use whatever starting point you have, and will work hard to keep the project exciting and undaunting for you.
Clients say that the process feels easy, with lots of ongoing communication, and that it is fascinating to see the images I share as the piece progresses. I ensure that our ideas are in tune as they evolve, so that the end piece completely fulfills your expectations.
For an initial chat please contact me. I will be delighted to hear from you.
TECHNIQUES
I draw my inspiration from the lofty Yorkshire Moors and the stunning Yorkshire skies - usually on a ramble with family and friends. They have learnt to be patient when I suddenly see something that I need to capture, either with my sketch pad or the camera!
Soft pastels are my key medium; I savour their vibrancy and immediacy. I start by carefully planning my composition, pinning down my vision, rythmn and colour pallette for the painting. I choose quality mount board or heavy watercolour paper, and once the composition has been sketched to size, I cover the entire surface with an under-painting coat of acrylic or watercolour, which broadly defines the painting and gets rid of the distracting whiteness! This is then primed to improve the grip and grit of the surface.
I build up the soft pastel in layers – with some blending, some crisp edges, some textured areas, some areas heavy with pure pastel vibrancy. This gritty surface is not kind on my fingers, so the process has an oscillating rhythm and cannot be rushed! I am therefore not prolific... but this allows me more time to go walking... a superb balance of inspiration and creation.
places to see mE and my work in 2024…
I’m very excited to be opening my studio to visitors for three days in May!
As part of FIVE OPEN STUDIOS, my home working space at 35 Grange Estate, Ilkley LS29 8NW will be open to you 10am - 4pm May 17th 18th and 19th. Lots on display: ‘clearance’ items from my stock room, new orignal work, work in progress on my easel. Lots of my mini prints and fine art p[rints. Make a date and call in!
I also love having my work on show deep in the Yorkshire Dales, at the beautiful THE OLD SCHOOL GALLERY at Muker in Swaledale. They have a great collection of my newest originals: at the moment, paintings of Wensleydale and Swaledale, as well as my framed fine art prints of many other Dales. it’s a wonderful place to visit: follow the link for more details of how to get there!
Other original work is available to view privately - please contact me to arrange viewings at my home studio in Ilkley, or perhaps in your own home if you would prefer? Check my Originals page to see what is available.
A collection of my fine art prints are avaiable to view at the fabulous TINKER GALLERY on Church St in Ilkley, This Gallery has ever changing exhibitions and will always give you a warm welcome. You can often also see artist Joanne Tinker at work in her studio behind the Gallery.
Ilkley framers WEAVERBIRD WORKSHOP always have a full range of my fine art prints available, as well as my affordable mini-prints. Visit for a friendly welcome and expert framing advice as well! Weaverbird Workshop at 6 Wells Rd, Ilkley LS29 9JD
I also have a range of greetings cards! These are available at all the Yorkshire Dales National Park shops in Grassington, Hawes and Malham. Find out lots more about the National Park here: YDNP
My greetings cards are also available at BOLTON ABBEY on the Bolton Abbey Estate, and in Ilkley at the Dalesway Gallery, South Hawksworth St on the central carpark; and in Otley at THE ART WORKS Courthouse St, LS21 3AN
You can also follow me digitally:
Look out for my BLOG, or catch up with me on Facebook 'LUCIA SMITH ARTIST' and instagram ‘lucia_smith_artist’
