Thursday 31 July 2014

Sketching the Lurcher

Guess most of you know 
William the lurcher!      
I have just done a short video 
of how I go about sketching him.      

Thought I would share it with you here. 

Most times I pencil in the sketch first, but sometimes (as now) I just go straight in with Ink.  Using my Sailor Calligraphy pen (I bought it here) took a bit of getting used to, but was worth the effort...I love using it - plus the ink is just the right colour for William.  Some inks are too blue or yellow - i.e. with Quink, as it is made up of those colours. The Sailor cartridge ink is great though.



When it dried I added his collar, but did nothing else to it.
As you see, where the ink had got away from me in the video, 
it actually worked for me in the end and it looks as
if William has a stroppy expression ....as if!




Saturday 26 July 2014

The shoe box project

I bet we have all bought that new pair of shoes and ended up leaving the shop with the shoe box too!...okay, some of us may love the box as much as the new shoes,  I do.     It means that I can hold on to it as a storage item OR a Gift box (when I have re-invented it, as I did with one recently).

This was your standard shoe box, which I covered liberally with acrylic paint....I had fun with this just sploshing it on...



all around...


It was only when I had taken the photos that I noticed the tablecloth beneath has a similar pattern on it!....

I added extra white swirls to the lid...



in the end it turned a plain old shoe box into a decorative
gift box


Monday 21 July 2014

A La Ronde

Another National Trust property visit, this time the smallest property so far.  The 16 sided A la Ronde







With views across the estuary towards Exmouth





This separate building houses a small room which was the laundry....


I think I prefer my washing machine!




And a sketch of the house during our visit....which I coloured later





Saturday 19 July 2014

More Jellyfish on the beach........

......I've done a Collage of them, including the previous pictures I showed you.  What an assortment we have seen recently.




PLUS

we have seen the Barrel Jellyfish

they can be the size of a dustbin lid, but this one was slightly smaller.
They are, apparently, the basking shark of the jellyfish world, the
gentle giant...(although a slight sting can be given it wouldn't cause serious harm).


here with the tennis ball to give you some idea of the size...



....and flipped over this is the other side





Tuesday 15 July 2014

Jellyfish

Lots of jellyfish on the beach today

varying in sizes from about 3" to 8"
(in foreign that's about 0.076m to 0.20m -thanks to metric conversions.org-
which means absolutely nothing to me..
i'm an old fashioned inches sort of girl, lol)



(about 3") ↑








(the one on the left was about 5") ↑

and the next one nearly 8"



Sunday 13 July 2014

Sketchbook Skool

So pleased I joined Sketchbook Skool
even though I am being taken out of my comfort zone!

We are now drawing faces - ourselves - me - Yikes! Shocker

I am not a portrait person
no way

but the challenge is worth it
(and oh is it a challenge!!)



(the exercise in class is to
look at myself in a mirror or take a snapshot,
then do a sketch -
and where did the turkey neck come from!!!)  lol.





Wednesday 9 July 2014

I've taken the plunge

No, I'm not swimming!   I've decided to sign up and join in the new Semester of Sketchbook Skool

first assignment
looking at Toast 
 

very closely




The next assignment is to draw quickly and then in slow detail
- really makes you think this one -

first the quick splash of paint




 then the Slow part - the detail

(this took me out of my comfort zone, but that's
what these lessons are all about)

 


I'm looking forward to more lessons

If you haven't joined Sketchbook Skool, then give 
it a go....well worth it.










Thursday 3 July 2014

Sketches from our recent trip.

Sketching is a big part of trips away 
for me.


Yes, photographs are great too, but the drawings always 'put me back there' far more
than any photograph can.

With that said, here are a few from our recent trip to Wales...











Wednesday 2 July 2014

A totally random observation.

Whilst sitting in our summerhouse, I happened to look up at the ceiling.  You know how there are knots in the wood.   Well, I think I can see a puppy face in one of them.   Can you see it?






Tuesday 1 July 2014

A visit to a country estate


Tredegar House

On our final day in Wales we took the opportunity, as we often do, to use our National Trust memberships to go visit one of their properties.  This time it was Tredegar House near Newport.  We also like to have a look around the grounds and gardens.  Fortunately, William our hound can visit too, although he isn't allowed in the buildings, but he doesn't mind about that....outside he gets to meet more people.



First, I'll show you the photos I took of the grounds and gardens....quite a few pictures, so sit back with a cuppa and enjoy....(I don't usually put so many photos in a blog post, but I thought on this occasion it would be nice to see all the photos from this place in one go).










and now to the walled garden.  Actually to get to the house itself the pathway takes you around the gardens, which is a good idea as a lot of people might miss seeing how much work goes into keeping a place like this going...


their plants were wonderful








I thought it was nice how they had planted outside the pathway line, made the planting look so natural.








and so through to the more formal lawned areas.  Even so, they had allowed for families and provided an area for the kids to enjoy...





where families could sit and have a picnic...








this pathway taking us to the Orangery with its neat lawns
set out in very precise patterns



the pattern of the flower below is made with shells...

as were the edges of these lawns...



they still had some work to do on the central areas...


I thought edging with seashells a good idea....






then on through to the stables (although they didn't have any horses here)



then on up to the main house itself...



What an entrance...






We really enjoyed our visit to Tredegar House 
I hope you did too.