Painting the magic of the Uffington White Horse

Painting the Uffington White Horse
3rd May 2019 Jane Tomlinson

The Uffington White Horse is a 110m long figure cut into a chalky hillside in Oxfordshire, England.

It was cut into the chalk by the Bronze Age tribe who lived their about 3,500 years ago. Clearly they wanted to make their mark at the highest point in the landscape, and perhaps a white horse was their tribal totem. Millennia later, local people still come out to ‘scour’ the horse every few years, repacking it with fresh white chalk and keeping the grass and plants from growing over it.

The Ridgeway is a path that runs past Uffington White Horse. It’s an 87 mile trail from West Kennet to Ivinghoe Beacon, and is the oldest trackway in continuous use in Europe. It was already ancient when the Romans arrived in Britain!

The Uffington White Horse is a magical place!

It is a place of great significance to so many people, living and dead, an extraordinary place that combines two things I love: nature and history. It’s where we took the children to run around when they were tiny. It’s where I met my husband. It’s where we scattered some of the ashes of our friend and Best Woman. No wonder the Uffington White Horse is such a magical place to me! I have tried to paint its glorious magic so many times!

Here are some of my original paintings, all of which have now found homes. Individual prints can be ordered especially for you (see below for more information about this!)

I wish I was on White Horse Hill

I wish I was on White Horse Hill, watercolour, 2009

White Horse Hare, watercolour, 2007

White Horse Hare, watercolour, 2007

Towards Uffington, acrylic on canvas, 2012

Fields of magic at Uffington

Fields of Magic at Uffington, watercolour, 2006

brown hare painting

White Horse, Brown Hare, watercolour, 2011

Chalk hill blues, brown hare, Uffington white horse

Chalk Hill Blues, watercolour, 2011

Ridgeway Butterflies, watercolour, 2013

Byron's Ridgeway walk

Byron’s Rideway Walk, watercolour, 2010

long grass at white horse hill

​Long Grass at White Horse Hill, acrylic on canvas, 2013

A Bigger White Horse Hill, acrylic on canvas, 2012

If the Uffington White Horse is a special to you as it is to me, and you understand the magic I find there, perhaps you would you like a print of one of these paintings?

I don’t keep a stock of prints, but you can buy a digital file and have it printed yourself. Read more about this option and contact me for more information.