Across Time
‘In the continuous cycle of the seasons, each second is new and the whole world is in some way different from what it was before, or will ever be again.
Though the rotation of the seasons is predictable each in turn still contains many surprises for the investigative eye. The same pulse that keeps the universe in motion also energises, year by year, every aspect of the landscape.
I feel privileged to live where I do at this point in time. And whenever I paint, though often I risk insect bites in summer and frostbite in winter, I feel privileged to stand where I stand from interest and see what I see, and am content to hold my palette and brush as long as possible or necessary to finish a work.
Though I may tread familiar paths a hundred times, each excursion becomes a different experience.
I feel privileged to fill my borrowed space.’
Brian Nolan
A Sense of Place
Brian painted outdoors, in all weathers, capturing the landscape around New Mills and Hayfield in all its moods and seasons. He walked the same hills over and over again, noticing and treasuring what he saw: from the wide, wild, panoramic views to the smallest details of the natural world and the human lives within it.
He felt extremely fortunate to live in the Dark Peak area:
‘Its wild expanses provide a solitude which suits my temperament. It is a rugged region of hillside farms, quilted with dark gritstone walls built by industrious past generations.’
