CURRENT from Frances Hatch

A storm passes over the September mountain. The canvas is unstretched while I work so the paint gathers in the unevenness of the terrain. I establish the topography before the weather softens the definition. Before this painting was made, I walked up to the rise on the left known locally as Bell over to the little hillock on the right (that doesn't have a name I know of) collecting a few samples of earth as I moved. It has a holly tree (a few actually) emerging out of the shelter of piled rocks on its peak. A small rock from the site sits on its summit in the painting as a salute to that community of sturdy holly. This is a site of disturbance, the fragrance of bracken and a disappeared mining community. Peppered with miineshafts and spoil. The aura of copper/bracken/dirt infuses the air.