Drawing at Speed

Perfect for putting in a handbag

So, Christmas is over for another year.  We had a lovely time with family to stay but it was cut a little short as my eldest daughter had to be back in Bristol and at work for 9.30 a.m. on Boxing Day.  My husband and I drove her to Bristol, leaving King's Lynn at 3.30 in the morning to ensure we arrived in good time!  We stayed overnight and headed back to Norfolk at a more respectable hour the following day.  As we bowled along the motorway I thought about my resolve to use my time more wisely and decided to challenge myself to do some quick sketches whilst we were travelling at speed.  The little plain paged book seen above I had bought in Bristol when I realised I had nothing in my bag suitable - the pages are slightly creamy, and a little on the thin side, but I do like the fact that it also contains some brown pages in the middle.  Possibilities for drawing with biro or fine liners...  However, I used the two mechanical pencils for this series of little quick sketches.

 

The easiest way to cope with this challenge was to focus on an upcoming hill-line.  Using the thicker Pilot Croquis B pencil I made the scribbled marks whilst my eyes travelled along the topography, only glancing at the page briefly.

 

Notes accompany the brief sketches as reminders of where we were travelling...

 

They also clarify elements - here the pale roof of a factory complex mostly hidden by raised ground.

 

Starting to warm up to this sketching activity whilst travelling at 70 miles an hour I looked to focusing closer to the motorway.  The fir tree was dramatic in its shape silhouetted against the drab grey rain-sodden sky.  The pale silver birch tree trunks caught my eye but flashed past before I could decide a shorthand method to describe them.  Fortunately another bank of them appeared along the opposite carriageway and I could quickly get the gist of them on paper. 

 

In need of a leg stretch and some stimulating coffee we stopped off at Corley Services.  I was determined to capture a figure study of some sort, even though it was fairly busy and the table we were fortunate to grab was a bit too central for my liking. I prefer to have my back to a wall and a bit of space to each side as I surrepticiously glance up and down to the page.  (This sketch was done with the Staedtler Mars micro 0.7 mm).

 

Whilst none of the drawings are of any particular future value (by this I mean as studies for developing into paintings) I really enjoyed the snatch of time to create them.  The eye and hand have to work together as more time is spent garnering the essentials than actually assessing what is happening on the page. 

 

I shall definitely keep that sketchbook and pencils handy in my bag as I go about my daily activities in 2013.  Why not try it for yourself?