In addition to the general course of artwork, each year I do a piece on my birthday. And whenever I try to sort through various pieces of artwork, the birthday ones seem more special than many of the others; perhaps I tried harder.     The first came from a quick shot from a trusty camera while ascending Calf Crag, in the Lake District. It was a very misty day, and one moment all was blankness and the next a Swaledale appeared. Perhaps it's a bit of a cheat to work from a photo . . . but it is one of my own. This painting is 20-something by 30-something inches: acrylics with fast washes (brush and paper towel) and then a palette knife gone wild.     A couple of times I've been in Grasmere during autumn, when my birthday rolled by, and what could be easier than wandering down to the lake's edge to sketch the scene -- especially if oil pastels are handy. One doesn't have to worry about drying time with oil pastels . . . only fingernails.

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