ABOUT
HELLO, I'M LUCIA, AND I PAINT THE YORKSHIRE DALES IN THE GORGEOUS MEDIUM OF SOFT PASTELS...
Wow: the Dales. I’ve been so lucky 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.
UPDATE FOR 2025:
Although all of my original paintings have now sold (and at present I’m not creating any more), there are a wide range of my images still available! There are large fine art prints, some available in bespoke sizes - these are increasingly rare, so grab them quick. Also affordable fine art mini prints and greeting cards. All are available to view on this website: I hope you enjoy browsing!
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. All of them are available as fine art prints, some large, some as mini-prints, and some also as greeting cards. The list below the images explains more.
The question is: how many of the Dales 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: all of the QUEST Original paintings have sold
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
GREETING CARDS: Washburndale, Nidderdale, Colsterdale, Waldendale, Bishopdale, Swaledale, East Stonesdale, West Stonesdale, Malhamdale
fine art prints
My fine art print series are special – many can be created in BESPOKE SIZES to suit your home - most are in ‘very limiited’ series of just 16, They are all printed on fine art paper with museum quality pigments that will not fade..
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.
GREETING CARDS
I am delighted that my fine art greeting cards are printed in Bingley - very near the Yorkshire Dales!
All of the cards are square, blank inside and supplied with a matching white envelope.
£10 for 4, Simply select any variety of the images above to create your own pack of 4! Additional single cards are £3 each.
Website orders will be posted to UK addresses for an additional £3 p&p (if you are overseas please ask for a quote)
To order your selection, please contact me.
TECHNIQUES
I have drawn 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 have been my key medium; I savour their vibrancy and immediacy. I start by carefully planning my composition, pinning down my vision, rythmn and colour palette 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 have therefore not been prolific... but the process has allowed more time to go walking... a superb balance of inspiration and creation.
places to see mE and my work in 2025…
All my fine art prints and cards are available from me direct - simply browse the pages here and contact me with your order.
My work is also available to view in person!
If you would like to arrange a viewing with me at my home in Ilkley, please contact me to arrange a convenient time.
Or visit the fabulous WEAVERBIRD WORKSHOP . They always have a wide 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 is at 6 Wells Rd, Ilkley LS29 9JD
My greeting cards are also available in various shops:
At the Yorkshire Dales National Park shops in Grassington, Asygarth, Hawes and Malham. Find out lots more about the National Park here: YDNP
At the Dalesway Gallery, South Hawksworth St, Ilkley (on the central carpark) - a beautiful shop to visit whatever card you’re searching for.
Do follow me digitally! Catch up with me on Facebook 'LUCIA SMITH ARTIST' or instagram ‘lucia_smith_artist’
