Shetland Island residency - all at sea!

A boat trip around the island of Bressay and on the spectacular cliffs and gannet colonies on Noss was a treat we saved until this week.

Drawing on a boat brings its own challenges, the boat is never still...

even when moored inside a cave...

a view from inside the Orkneyman's cave to the open sea beyond

but the speed of drawing brings new life to sketches of dramatic rock structures.

The giants leg, Bressay

It was wonderful to get so close to the wildlife, the gannets and bonxies put on a good show and the seals (encouraged by some generous fishermen) were entertaining.

Charlie - the enormous fisherman's favourite

More sketches on the Shetland Islands sketchbook page...

Shetland - Testing the sketching

The scenery is very dramatic up here in the Shetland Islands, one minute gently undulating then suddenly dropping away in front of you. Its all been testing my sketching

and my vertigo

But I've found that if I concentrate on my drawing I'm not so aware of the height, as long as I don't look around too much!

The wonderful scenery deserves the extra effort, even when the weather isn't completely friendly.

See the sketches on the sketchbook page - tab on the blog heading.
Photos courtesy of my lovely husband.

Cornish sketching days

I've posted my favourite sketches from this year's Cornish break on the 'Sketchbook - Coast' page.
I challenged myself to capture skies this year: the threatening skies at Polkerris provided ample inspiration.

There's always one which is drawn very quickly and which sums up the weather conditions or other prevailing conditions. This year's quick sketch was done at Watergate Bay in a high wind with the tide racing in!

I hope you enjoy this year's offerings.

Cornish tea time

We've had a lovely break in Cornwall, walking, watching, drinking tea, a bit of art and a bit of sketching.

From Constantine Bay

Drawing the above sketch, 'still need a woolly hat' weather

We really enjoyed visiting two galleries. Sarah Adams shows her work at the Padstow Studio and if you're lucky enough to catch her there you'll find her fascinating to talk to. Her work is stunning, there is such depth to the surface, the rocks she paints glow and glisten as though recently wet from the sea. We also loved the selection of work at the Veryan Gallery, particularly that of Robin Leonard. He paints highly evocative studies that verge on the abstract, but conjure clear impressions of the Cornish coastline.

On our last day we stopped for a cuppa at Melinsey Mill. I love my paths, but have never seen one adorned with Tea Pots before, whacky and delightfully charming.

 

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

 

Cornish sketchbook - Rock structures

When I am on the coast I am drawn mostly to the rocks, the intricate ways in which the sea worn stone fits together and the way that the stone forms shapes against and within the cliff faces.



When I went to Cornwall this time I had just read a snippet about
deciding what you want to draw before you start.
It sounds so obvious, but deciding that the seam in the rock leading to this little 'cave'
was what I wanted to focus on let me concentrate on the key forms without adding too
much unnecessary detail and shading.

All these sketches were made on Kennack Sands, where the dog was allowed...

Sometimes its easier to settle to a drawing if you're comfortable,
a chair does mean you can get your angle right,
and there is somewhere to hang your coat in the changeable August weather!
I wonder if makers of this chair realise that their drink holder
 on the arm makes a perfect artists pencil holder...

A sketch a day...

The summer holidays are here and there will be loads of opportunities for sketching ... if I am motivated enough to take full advantage. So with Anthony Gormley's words ringing in my ears:

"A day passed without drawing is a day lost"

I have armed myself with new sketchbooks and treated myself with a trip to my local fantastic art shop, Pegasus Arts, for some new materials which are crying out to be drawn with.

An ambitious collection of sketchbooks?

Off the starting blocks...

So far so good, I haven't lost a day yet. There will inevitably be some lost days, ambition is one thing but real life tends to also happen. I'll just try and lose as few days as possible, and then post some results.

An experimental etching

The Nags Head brook

I spent a while in this meadow at a place with the wonderful name of Nags Head taking photos exploring, sitting and looking. I also did some sketches. Sketching fixes a place in my mind - I can still feel the weak sun on my back, and taste the tea that I took with me.

sketchbook - a morning at Nags Head

The plate that I made in response to this place was very experimental, as you can see there are a number of different mark making techniques employed: brushing, sponging, drawing through with a brush end, and finally dripping, with a bit of splashing!

'washed out' stage 1

I also put a hard ground on and drew in the tree shape and branches. Then using white spirit and a fine brush I drew the spirit on where I wanted the tree trunk to be and where I wanted a suggestion of trees on the horizon.

'washed out' stage 2

For the final proof I mixed sepia with the black ink. The result has warmed the image a little, just as a spring sun had warmed me when I visited this location.