Wolvercote Pond by Port Meadow

In Wolvercote Pond by Port Meadow, floating lily pads spread across a field of deep blue water beneath soft reflections of trees and sky. Laura Middleton gives this familiar waterside subject a contemporary character through open brushwork, layered colour and a close viewpoint that brings the pond’s surface into focus.

Olive and yellow-green reflections gather across the upper left, balanced by a broad passage of pale blue and lilac to the right. The water deepens towards the foreground, where scattered green lily pads create a loose diagonal rhythm. Their broken outlines hold attention at the surface even as the surrounding blue suggests depth.

The pond is experienced at close quarters, with little sky or surrounding landscape shown directly. Trees and light enter the composition as reflections, allowing the image to suggest the wider setting through the water itself. The composition balances the clustered lily pads on the left with more open water on the right. Horizontal strokes suggest gentle movement, while longer vertical reflections connect the darker upper edge with the blue foreground. Small touches of warmer colour interrupt the cool palette and bring variety to the surface.

Painted in oil on canvas, the work combines broad, softly blended reflections with more distinct strokes describing the lily pads. The visible canvas texture and layered marks retain the physical character of paint within the fluid image.

The work measures 63 × 63 cm and is presented framed.