Sketching weather

Are we seeing the first signs of good sketching weather, comfortable walking and not always wearing gloves? Lets hope so, its been a soggy winter.

sketchbook

I found this quote from Tim Ingold which sums up nicely an artist’s desire to both work in, and seek inspiration from, the landscape:

“Practitioners, I contend, are wanderers, wayfarers whose skill lies in their ability to find the grain of the world’s becoming and to follow its course while binding it to their evolving purpose”

Lets get out there!

Sketchbook - a drier place

a note to myself... always remember your hat!

The dog and I have been wandering to back on a regular basis to a familiar place - the lane where I photographed some soggy and puddly views earlier this year.

We're glad to see it's all a lot drier and its made walking so much easier. The dog is also happier when he doesn't need drying off when he gets home.

I've enjoyed drawing here over the last couple of months; the texture of the mud and the shapes of the puddles have captured my imagination. The trees frame and darken the lane very differently depending on where I stand to sketch and the strength of the sun. The surface of the lane has become noticeably more rutted since all the bad weather over the start of the year. There's some great shapes to get the pencil into at the moment.

Here are some more sketchbook excerpts showing how varied the scene appeared to me depending on the weather conditions.

clean sunshine

after steady downpours

mild enough not to need gloves; still enough not to need a hat!

warm sun... a promise of better drawing days

 

A grand time

I've had some busy times in the print studio and new work is on its way.
Here's a print I made for the New Brewery Arts show (which closes this Saturday afternoon)
This image was taken from sketchbook studies made last summer.
Drawing in this place brings the trees on the left into prominence, they stand waiting to greet walkers as they pass by.

'Grand summer path'
completed etching

The path at this time of year opens up and loses character but in the summer the undergrowth and lush leafy branches frame the path and the feeling of walking along here is more like that of being in a grand hallway in a large building. The thickness of the leaf canopy make the view in the distance quite dark, but sunlight pours onto the path creating strong tonal contrasts.

An earlier proof was more like my sketchbook drawing, but was too insipid as a print, I wanted more drama - hence the stronger contrast.

'Grand summer path' mid point proof

The process is always an adventure - what will work the best? And what works well in one medium does not always translate to another