Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

John Altringham

@johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy

98 followers 1 following 65 posts

Ecologist and conservation scientist (emeritus prof.) in despair over inaction on climate change and biodiversity crises. Mountain-lover. Artist. Live in […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://mastodon.online/@JohnAltringham, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

mastodon.online

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · 3d

A stormy autumn day on the Northumberland coast. Dunstanburgh Castle and Embleton Bay. Photo, watercolour and wood engraving print. From the archives - walks and wild weather currently off limits, hopefully not for too long.

Colour photo. Ruined castle on a headland behind waves breaking on a beach. Spray from waves swept back by strong gale. All under a dark, cloudy sky with sunlight almost breaking through.

Watercolour based on previous and similar photos.

Print in black ink from a wood engraving of the same scene.

6 1

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · 8d

Not the best of times. However, today I became an elected member of the Society of Wood Engravers. This has raised a smile and reminded me that I have only 10 days in which to submit my entries for the 2026 annual travelling exhibition. Pictured, engravings […]

[Original post on mastodon.online]

Wood engraving print in black ink. A steep woodland path over tree roots leads to a stile in a broken fence. Beyond, a field, a tree and open sky.

Wood engraving print in black ink. Four thick curvy pine tree trunks dance on the edge of moorland, lit by a low sun from the right.

Wood engraving print in black ink. A narrow, rocky mountain arête, lit by a low sun from the right.

Wood engraving print in black ink. A bold male stonechat watches me from an unfurling bracken frond as I cross his path on my way to a stile in a drystone wall.

6 16 3

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · 14d

Watercolour, 26x10cm. Looking towards Cape Wrath from Faraid Head, Balnakeil Beach, Scotland. A sea fog or "haar" has rolled in over the coast to our west while we bask in warm, spring sunshine.

Coastal watercolour. Gentle, wind-blown, turquoise waves break on a white sand beach. The headland on the right is bathed in sunshine, that on the left enveloped in fog which sits low on the sea right across the back of the sketch.

3 1

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · 22d

Watercolour sketch, 15x7.5 cm

Watercolour of thin washes - coastal hills and mountains backed by a thick cloud bank.

2 1

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · 22d

Machair and morning mist, again. Watercolour, 25x15cm.

A deep blue sea turns turquoise as it sweeps up a white sand beach. Low waves break on the sand. Behind the beach soft green machair-covered dunes are backed by mist and blue-distant hills under a grey-blue sky. Calm.

1 2

Reposted by John Altringham

Julian Brasington @julianbrasington.toot.wales.ap.brid.gy · 23d

Currently working on a charcoal and Pierre Noire drawing on this abandoned Ty Hir. It’s a place that I visit often and have watched steadily decline.

#drawing #ynysmon #abandonedplaces

Landscape charcoal drawing taped to a board. A longhouse sits on a low horizon and is overtopped by a copse of trees. The house has lost lots of slates from the roof and worn timbers are evident. It is overgrown with brambles

Detail of the drawing of the house showing line work on the roof and stone work on the gable wall

1 1

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Sep 7

@ruthmottram.bsky.social Thanks, Ruth! It's certainly nice to have art to help hold memories. We still go to the NW regularly, to restock and recalibrate.

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Sep 7

I've tried many times to capture the atmosphere of a Hebridean shore under a grey sky, before the morning mist has cleared. Somehow the beach and the machair still glow and the sea somehow still looks tropical. Yesterday I think I just about cracked it.

Waves break on a deep blue sea, which turns turquoise as it rolls up a white sand beach. Behind the beach soft green machair-covered dunes are backed by mist and blue-distant hills under a, grey-blue sky.

2 5 12

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Sep 3

@DanielleVossebeld I think transparent sea stacks, islands and mountains could occupy me for some time. I hope so.

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Sep 3

@DanielleVossebeld Thank you. It started as a doodle and grew. I think there may be something worth pursuing in there... if I find it I'll post.

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Sep 3

Monochrome watercolour, grey to black, granular. Overlapping, translucent/transparent islands, hills and mountains.

1 8 2

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Sep 1

Watercolour 26x15 cm. Mt Whitney, Sierra Nevada, CA.

Persuaded by yesterday's quick sketch to take a little more time and care over a larger version. More often than not I prefer the quick sketch but not this time.

A cream/orange vertical wall of faulted granite ramps up from right to left. A figure climbs up the boulder field on the top of the wall to the summit. Behind, grey mountains and thin, bright, swirling cloud.

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Aug 25

Looking autumnal on Ilkley Moor but a windless 25C today. The summer birds are silent or have left, the winter visitors yet to arrive. Lots of berries, especially on the rowan, well ahead of the return of redwing and fieldfare.

Long abandoned gritstone quarry returned to nature, low crags around a hollow festooned with purple flowering heather.

Rowan tree heavy with bright red berries.

Another view of the quarry full of heather and bilberry.

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Aug 14

Wood engraving in progress - sparrowhawk. A glass of malt whisky fuels the work.

Unfinished wood engraving of a sparrowhawk on a tree stump above a walled garden. In front, two engraving tools, behind, a glass of malt whisky sparkling invitingly in the glow of a lamp.

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Aug 11

It's warm, windless and humid, perfect for a Flying Ant Day - millions and millions of mating ants throughout a 10km walk.

1 1

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Aug 11

Mid-morning walk on Ilkley Moor, heather in full bloom.

Heather in purple/pink bloom from toe to horizon. A narrow stony path runs through the centre to a small hill and lone tree, top centre-left

Open moorland with heather in flower. Grey, lichen-covered rocks fill the foreground.

1 11 1

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Jul 24

Clouds from the garden.

Backlit white clouds, dark blue cloud above.

Pink and peach clouds, dark blue cloud above.

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Jul 21

Early walk on Ilkley Moor before the cloud had settled on a plan for the day. Late summer colours already.

Low cloud over rocky valley, heather flowering, grasses turning gold.

Moorland edge in gold and green under low cloud.

3 1

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Jul 17

First test print of a wood engraving of a singing wren on a tree stump. Above it is a sonogram of part of its song.
The scientist in me wants to put frequency and time labels on the axes but I think I should resist.
Do I give the wren a woodland background or make it a clean, solid black?

Print in black ink of a 140x70mm wood engraving of a wren in full song, perched on a decaying tree stump with fern moss and fungi. Above the head of the wren is a sonogram of part of its song. A sonogram is (oversimplifying) a plot of sound frequency against time. Ascending and descending sounds and rapid trills can be seen.

2 5 5

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Jul 15

Work in progress. Wherever I walk near home, there is always a singing wren.

Wren on leaning trunk of dead tree, singing.

Wood engraving block with unfinished engraving of a singing wren, surrounded by tools and pencil.

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Jul 13

In the garden this morning.

macro photo of courgette flower, sunlight illuminating from the interior.

macro photo of courgette flower, corrugations and bright yellow woolliness.

1 2 2

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Jul 11

Screaming swifts - from the bedroom window, now.

Two swifts flying towards the camera, sunset over dark trees behind.

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Jul 8

From this morning's walk on the moor - a jet flying down the shadow of its own contrail. The shadow, although not projected onto the ground or cloud, is visible because the effects of Rayleigh scattering (which make the sky appear blue) are diminished in this zone.

Blue sky. In centre, distant passenger jet, with contrail projecting back to top right. In front of jet, black shadow projected directly down line of contrail into bottom left.

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Jul 2

Rough bark, smooth curves.

Monochrome photo. Pine trees in mist. Rough bark on curvy trunks.

1 1 1

John Altringham @johnaltringham.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · Jul 1

Not my usual style or subject, but on a grey day threatening thunderstorms, I've painted a watercolour of later summer (it feels like that) from a walk along the northern edge of Ilkley Moor. Still green and flowering, but turning to gold and seed heads […]

[Original post on mastodon.online]

Watercolour. Grasses and shrubs on a low moorland hillside, small copse in the middle distance. Late summer golds and greens, seed heads and flowers, a cobalt blue sky.