Jan Colbeck, Shepley Old Wood in Winter

Jan Colbeck painted from Holmfirth, in the Holme Valley south of Huddersfield. Shepley is a village about five miles to the east, in the same corner of West Yorkshire. The artist’s own label records the title and medium.

A stream runs through a steep-sided wood, its water bright and broken over stones. Bare trees climb the banks on either side, and the ground is russet with fallen leaves and bracken. The palette keeps to browns, greys and a cold blue.

Watercolour on paper. Signed lower right ‘Jan Colbeck’. The label on the reverse reads ‘Original Painting by Jan Colbeck’, with the title ‘Shepley Old Wood in Winter’ and the medium ‘Watercolour’ in ink, and the artist’s brass address plate below. Double-mounted in grey-brown and cream with a gilt slip, in a moulded dark wood frame. There are a few small marks to the outer mount.