Contour drawing

A quick post for today, we have a busy day ahead of us here, but I thought I would just add this.

Sketchbook Challenge have an article by Susan R. Sorrell on

Blind Contour Drawing

It is a really good exercise to try out and obviously I had to have a go.

  You get SO tempted to look down at the paper, but I did stop myself and kept going.   Quite surprised at how it turned out as I was going over the pencil with the pen and it stayed 'more or less' together.  I then just added a bit of Burnt Sienna/Yellow Ochre mix, but I did allow myself to look at that!

I'll definitely be trying this technique out again with other subjects

- how about you?

Patterns

WE OBVIOUSLY see patterns in our every day lives, some are clearly man made and others are thanks to mother nature.    One of the mother nature patterns that, I for one, have taken for granted is this one:

 

- the pineapple -  

We bought this one the other day and it has sat in our kitchen waiting to be sliced up.  Fortunately it sat there long enough for me to really look at it......and I have to say I was quite surprised at just how lovely the patterns are.  I have sketched pineapples before, but never really LOOKED before. Apparently it got its name because it looked like pine cones  (now there's your useless bit of information for the day!).

Anyway I have taken another stab at sketching one:

For the initial wash - I used clear water to make the outline and before it got too dry I added a wash of Yellow Ochre, quickly followed by Sap Green & Olive Green  individually added and then a mix of the two - just random and spontaneous (in other words, no set rule just do it!).  Towards the bottom I added neat Ultramarine Blue and just let it bleed in.   I then used the Greens for the leaves again adding blue to darken some of them and let this dry completely.

Adding darker tones of the same colours which starts to bring out the detail.  Again I left this to dry completely -  (went off and had a coffee whilst I waited).

finally, adding a bit of shading and that's about it for my loose sketch -
I wouldn't attempt to try and copy the detail of mother nature she has it too perfect ..... 

So after all that studying and painting, 

we shall eat it.....yum!

Pete's bbq

We've had a very relaxing long weekend - with the prospect of another long weekend on the way ! .....
we went to our son's house for a bbq, making the most of the good weather whilst it lasts

but William said:  "come on humans I'm waiting to walk down to Pete's, get a move on..." 

Pete preparing sausages and chicken

and these olives were tasty!

and it was all worth waiting for. Brilliant bbq, thanks Pete.

Iris

I love painting flowers.  Not the botanical sort, and wow do I applaud the artists who put that amount of work into their art.  For me though I really like filling my brush with paint, in this case my Kolinsky Round No. 10.   I found a great reference photograph on Ann Buckner's  blog  dated Friday April 22nd - do check out her blog it's full of wonderful paintings. 

This is the first wash which I left to dry completely

Then a slightly darker wash
You'll notice that the paint has 'bloomed', no pun intended!
(some call it a cauliflower - personally I quite like the effect)

Of course I can never leave well alone and decided to put a pen outline around the whole flower.  

Anyway,  I quite like this too.

and a close up for good measure.

Quite by chance it looks as though a leaf has grown through a petal -

a complete accident that seems to work 

which shows we should allow the paint to do its thing sometimes.

Thank you Ann for being happy for me to use your photo.

Camilia - demo

Thought I would add this little demo, luckily I did think ahead and photograph each stage of this painting.  I added it to the Sketchbook Challenge theme this month : Branching Out - Out on a Limb, because I threw paint at it as a final florish.......you know, that scary moment when you think  "should I do this?"  or "don't go there!"

Anyway, this is how it all began

 Clear water on the paper - then Ultramarine Blue

Rose Madder for the petals of the flower, again clear water and let it spread-

I then dropped in a little Olive Green (one of my favourite green's at the moment) 

and tilted the paper to let it run down

I added some stronger pigment to the petals to emphasize them

Having a small amount of rose madder on my brush I added another petal, 

again allowing the paint to run with plenty of water

- why not get gravity to do some of the work -

I then did the same with the ultramarine blue and just let the colours run -

you can see that the blue is making its way into the petal

I really like encouraging paint to go in a particular direction 

but then leaving it to do its own thing

here I softened the blue above the petal 

but felt it still needed something in the way of a hard edge -

I like lost and found edges

and FINALLY

the finished piece where I added more pigment into clear water

and a 'hold my breath' florish where I threw paint at it!!

- Hope you like it -

Old Sketchbooks

I have been known to sketch on old scraps of paper or on the back of watercolour paintings designated for the bin, I'm sure we all have those.  But I do love my sketchbooks which tend to go with me everywhere.  Infact if I have forgotten to take one with me I will head for the nearest shop to get a replacement, even a notebook will do.  Having said that I have recently come across some old sketchbooks.

In a previous post I mentioned that William used to have a thing about chasing bees.  I guess it was the buzzing that got his attention.  Well, in my collection of sketchbooks I found this picture I had done of him looking at one such bee.

I had hurriedly got my pencil outlining in and then went over with my pen.  

Cruise -
This in turn led me to looking through some of my other old sketchbooks and I found one from 1998 (is it really 13 years ago).  We had been on a cruise - at the time a much needed and restorative break for our family - and as usual I had taken my sketchbooks.  The opportunity to just sit and rest on a cruise gave me the excuse, as if I needed one, of sketching.  I thought I would post some of them.

This chap was on a set of stairs and I can remember sketching him as if it were yesterday. I find photographs don't have that effect in the same way, it seems to be the actual putting pen to paper that cements the scene in the brain, or at least it does mine.  He was wearing a blue and white striped shirt, very nautical considering we were on a cruise, perhaps he had bought it especially. 

 It would seem I didn't waste ink with these sketches

One of the ports of call was Portimao in the Algarve.  We stopped for a coffee break and I sketched two people at a nearby table.

........and this chap was absorbed in filming something.  I couldn't resist sketching him, I think it was his shape - yes he really was portly in stature - but how come men always have such slim legs?

I am really glad I had kept these sketchbooks, they have brought back some good memories.

HEDGEROWS

IT IS REALLY lovely to see all the wild flowers popping up along the hedgerows.
Here in Woolacombe is no exception with what feel like old friends showing their faces again.

The delicate little Devon Violets make me smile.
They don't stand out particularly, not something your eye would go to immediately, but as you amble along their splash of blue/purple colour catches your attention.
On closer inspection they are really quite perfect.



I have taken the opportunity to sketch and paint some of them 'en plein air'.
People walking past often try to see what you're doing and I have become quite good at closing my sketchbook and walking on before they get to me! I must try to stop doing this,after all what does it matter if somebody wants to talk to me about my painting,I do enough of it in this blog.

ANOTHER plant out in flower at the moment is completely opposite to the delicate Violet and definately a prickly character - the Gorse. The colour is just amazing so bright.

It obviously does a very good job of attracting the bees with its bright colour shouting 'here I am'. This is a plant that you find cattle and horses love nibbling at and not surprising either. If you pick the flowers (I would suggest carefully) and crush them in your hand they smell of coconut. I know that some people make Gorse Flower Wine out of them, there are several recipes on the Internet and according to my sources it is very good too....not that I have tried to make any....as if I would drink wine anyway, the very idea!

I took this photo the other day of one such gorse enjoying it's sea view.

Mother of Pearl

THIS WONDERFUL seashell was found today by my equally wonderful husband.  Having gone for a walk along the beach he came across this treasure from mother nature.  It's unbelievable how perfect the colours are so I thought I would share it with you   (please excuse my thumb).

                As you turn the shell in the light the iridescent colours sparkle, gorgeous!

Soppy lurcher!

A QUICK sketch the other day whilst we were out shopping.  William the lurcher is a source of entertainment to people as he loves to sit up on my husband's lap and have a cuddle - not sure who the soppy one is though.

I hurry off round the shops and leave the husband in charge only to come back to find a queue of people waiting to talk to William - it's hilarious.

I'm sure William thinks his name is Hello - as that always gets his attention and he greets people like long lost friends.