Under The Hambleton Hills

David Stead’s oil painting Under The Hambleton Hills is a compelling evocation of memory and place, rooted deeply in the artist’s own experience of having farmed this very land in his youth. The painting presents not only a visual scene, but a personal geography—an emotional map of a landscape known by heart. Through his masterful use of colour, bold compositional choices, and an atmosphere brimming with quiet tension, Stead captures the enduring spirit of rural Yorkshire.

Colour is central to the painting’s impact. Stead works with a richly textured and earthy palette dominated by golds, browns, and silvery blues. The golden-yellow grasses in the foreground create a vibrant warmth that is almost tactile, in contrast with the cool, bruised sky above, which is rendered in mottled tones of blue, grey, and slate. This interplay of warmth and coldness evokes the unpredictable northern climate—sunlight breaking through storm clouds, rain hanging in the air, a landscape caught between seasons. The horse, painted in powerful whites, blacks, and soft ochres, acts as a tonal anchor, its shaggy coat catching light and shadow in a way that gives it both physical presence and emotional weight. The flicks and flecks of paint in the sky suggest movement—wind or rain—blurring the line between weather and emotion.

In terms of composition, Stead’s choices are unusually bold. Rather than centring the landscape or creating a classical depth of field, he places a large workhorse in the immediate foreground, seen from behind. This unconventional viewpoint is striking: the horse, grazing with indifference to the viewer, commands the canvas with its sheer scale and detailed texture. Its massive legs and thick, matted tail dominate the scene, pulling the eye close before allowing it to drift into the distance. Beyond the horse, a flat expanse of land stretches out toward a low horizon where farm buildings—modest and familiar—nestle beneath the brooding sky. The positioning of these elements creates a layered depth, where the human-made structures feel small against the weight of the animal and the sky. It’s a clever compositional move, reminding us of our scale in the face of nature and time.

The mood of the painting is reflective, earthy, and deeply personal. This is not a romanticised or sentimental view of the countryside; rather, it is a grounded, unvarnished portrait of a working landscape. The horse, unidealised and muddy, becomes a symbol of resilience and toil. There is a melancholic beauty here—perhaps a longing for the past, or a respect for the physicality of farm life. Having worked this land in his youth, Stead brings an authenticity that seeps through every brushstroke. The mood is not nostalgic in the soft sense, but rooted in memory, hard labour, and enduring affection for a place that shaped him.

Under The Hambleton Hills is thus not merely a rural scene, but a portrait of lived experience—rendered in oil, memory, and weather. Through colour, composition, and mood, Stead gives voice to the land, and in doing so, reveals a part of himself.

An original oil painting by David Stead, this beautiful work is also available as a limited edition print on deep profile, archival quality canvas. The print is limited to an edition of only 150 and comes with a certificate of authentication.