Painting the South Downs Path – Plein Air Oil Study by Matthew Cordwell

A plein air oil painting capturing the hazy summer light and rolling calm of the South Downs.

It was one of those sultry summer days that feels heavy even before you start unpacking the easel. I’d found a quiet spot along a winding path on the West end of the South Downs. The view tumbled gently downhill towards the flats beyond and, on a clear day, points your eye all the way towards the coast and if you are lucky, the Isle of Wight.

The patchwork fields and soft haze sitting over the horizon was just the view to stop me in my ambling. Setting up the easel, I could already tell it was going to be a bit of a battle. Flies of all sorts were buzzing around catching me in the eye, mouth and soon to be painting. Within minutes there were more than I could count landing on my palette.

But that’s plein air painting for you. You take the heat, the bugs, the odd curious walker, and somehow they all become part of the memory of the piece.

Painting on the South Downs — setting up on a hazy summer’s day with the view stretching towards the coast and, on a clear day, the Isle of Wight.

The light that day was soft. A thick haze was settling in and it gave the landscape a slightly ethereal feel, particularly the distant fields which seemed to drift off into the horizon without much clear delineation where the sky began. The chalky greens of the South Downs were a joy to look at and I aimed to catch the warmth on the path as it wound away from me, pulling the viewer downhill into the calm of the valley below.

As I worked, the view seemed to breathe in slow rhythm. The land shimmered faintly under the hazy light, and there was a sense of pleasant stillness.

It’s these quiet moments that remind me why I love painting the South Downs. It’s not just about capturing what I see, but what it feels like to stand there; the hum of summer, the weight of the air, and that endless, rolling stillness stretching out in front of you.

When I packed up at the end, the day had that satisfying quiet that comes only after a few solid hours of painting outdoors. The finished piece still carries that sense of warmth and weight, a memory of that hazy afternoon on the hill.

The view from the easel while painting the South Downs — capturing the winding chalk path leading down towards the flats and the hazy summer horizon.