Sketching Sunday and walking through treacle

Whilst doing my part of the 'sitting in rota' at the Gallery Ilfracombe yesterday I used some spare time sketching.

Yes, these were from magazines and not memory, but it occupied my hands.....thought you would like to see my doodles...

 

I don't know about anyone else, but I have felt a bit lost with the new look Blogger!....in fact it has felt a bit like trying to walk through treacle!!

Surprise gift

I had a wonderful gift recently from Judy over at De draad Aquarellen .  One of Judy's paintings in a card

I'm so delighted with it that I am actually going to frame the whole card.

Thank you so much Judy

I'm delighted with it

A few more lines...

Moving on from yesterday's post, I have added more lines and hopefully you can see what it is now....(laugh)

William the lurcher having a snooze!

The interesting thing is, that had I given yesterday's sketch a Title say:   Sleeping Dog.  It would have told the viewer exactly what to see,  instead of leaving the viewer to work it out.    

 I think this is where the Title of a painting or sketch directs people to seeing what the artist wants them to see  .....

it's all in a Title.

 

Just a few lines

No doubt there will be various answers as to what these few lines depict - but I know what it is.   Interesting that the brain will want to work it out and go through different ideas first, seeing something may be totally different to what I have intended, creating a scene that perhaps isn't there.

I really don't mind if people see something different because I had fun drawing it.

Happy Painting everyone.

Random patterns, or may be not so random....

I have been inspired by a pattern I saw on something yesterday

I know, you guessed it straight away

it's an

ADDER

This happens to be the first one we have seen this year

It soon slithered away from it's sunny spot partly hidden in long grass.  Extremely difficult to see initially.  Thankfully we had William the lurcher on a lead at the time, but this is why - on warm sunny days from this time of year and throughout the summer months, it is always better to be cautious.   William tends to back off if he sees them these days, but when he was a puppy he did get bitten by one.  Fortunately we got him to the vet quickly and he was on liquids and anti-venom within the hour of his encounter.  Phew...

Garden flowers, broken pot and sketches

At last it looks like the garden is springing into life!

I took a wander around our back garden earlier today and have taken a few photographs which I thought I would share with you.  Couldn't help but do some sketches too, so I have added them as well

plants just starting to grow in this pot

but alas the

next pot didn't make it through the winter

obviously not frost resistant enough

even the rosemary shrub looks pretty at this 

time of year

although no flowers to the Lambs Ears, (stachys byzantina),

as yet, I had to take a photo - this plant well earns

its name

 

I tried to get a very close-up as the soft downy leaves

had a slight dew on them

Draw for the Altered Book

Hi everyone -

I have now done the Draw for the Altered Book     

....and here's the video of the Draw itself

The Book goes to

LYNN COHEN

OVER AT

'GETTING MY FEET WET'

Congratulations Lynn - 

send me an email and I'll sort out sending you the book

Sketching whilst watching tv

Here are some sketches I've done whilst watching TV, or rather, only half watching.  If I have a magazine to hand at the same time that helps as it becomes my source, other times it may be something on a programme I'm watching, but what ever, it's a very relaxing occupation with no pressure to produce something exact, just scribble it down and enjoy....

I did all these sketches using my Staedtler mechanical pencil.

Especially useful for travelling light, of course, and although I have loads of graphite pencils, I get on really well using this Staedtler, it gives a crisp line all the time.

Sketchbook travel

On a recent trip down to Bude I took the opportunity to sketch whilst we had stopped for lunch.   I was glad that I had taken the time before we left to add some Watersoluable colours on the page.  This way I had my little portable palette with me ready to go.  After the initial sketch, I just used my waterbrush to activate the colours.....Simple, Easy to travel art.

Preparing for a new painting

I don't know about you, but I tend to do a few sketches and notes for some of my paintings, particularly when it comes to a Canvas, be it oil or acrylic.  Sometimes it is just a case of being able to follow a photograph I've taken and not have to jot anything down on paper, but on other occasions it does take several attempts to throw the ideas around.

This is especially the case today as I am going to be doing an acrylic that only measures 12" x 12" (approx 35cm x 35cm) - being that it is small plus Square makes it all the more restrictive.

I have a photograph as it happens.....

as you see, this would naturally go on a Landscape shaped canvas, so this is where my notes and sketches will help a lot.

Firstly I did a coloured sketch using my Inktense pencils

1.   I want to make the most of a dramatic sky  - You will see that the photograph has a lovely clear blue sky, but that would be rather ordinary in this piece.

2.   Making the drama in the sky, means I need to move the horizon line down to below half way.

I have also done a pencil and some ink sketches - mainly to get the angle for the river (it needs to take the viewer into the painting).

 

I may even end up making the horizon even lower, but I'll almost have to judge that as I do the painting....which I will be starting very soon....and yes, there will be a blog post about it, regardless of how it turns out.