Sketching Frenzy in the Frost

Frosty morning. Pollarded willow branches piled high.
Sketchbook page.

From Artist in an Acre journal entry (this morning):

Bimbling around the bedroom - shower, drying hair, daydreaming. Throw back the curtains - sparkling frost! Already the weak pale light/warmth of the morning sun threatens to melt it quickly away. Thick jacket on and out I go.

In the studio I swish on a darkish background in black gesso with burnt umber, bronze yellow and a touch of white added. Opaque line work should work over the top to describe all the branches piled high on the bonfire.

Quick application of paint for dark background on pages.

Let out Somme, who snatches up his squashed basketball and heads off up the paddock at a rate of knots. I follow with sketchbook, collapsible stool and tin of Inktense sticks. Start straight into drawing with coloured linework mimicking the growth of branches and twigs. Can only use approximate colours and modify or try for 'frost' by utilizing the white. Dash in a few dark marks to hint at the depths of the pile. Side of green stick to suggest distant hedge, trees, then work heavily with white into this and over blue for sky - attempting to silhouette some branches against the sky. Using lighter colour try and cut in around base and edges of pile.

Close up detail of drawing.

Quickly assess - few more darks, think I can't say any more with this one.

Somme moves before I can note what's happening with hind legs...

Opposite page - already dark base painted on. Frost rapidly melting. Somme is stretched in the grass nearby - in white Inktense stick I attempt to describe his shape - block in negative space around. He moves. Settles again, new position. Flip over page. Dark stick on white of paper. Few lines - fairly high viewpoint as look across and down to him. He moves.

Bit better...

Suddenly acutely aware of cold. Silly, forgot to put gloves on! Pack away quickly. Somme energised by my movements - he snuffles at the sketchbook and tin on the seat of the stool. Thin tin flips off - lid flys off and - of course - tin lands open, upside down! Most sticks remain snuggled in the foam 'holder' of tin, a few fall out. Scrabble in frosted grass, now thawing, getting damp. Find all but one quarter of pale ochre. Fingers painful with cold by now. Calling the dog I pop to studio, leave equipment just inside the door. Somme put away in his run, snaffles the treats offered greedily. Up to the house to the warmth of the kitchen and ready for a cup of tea.

11 a.m. - all the frost has gone.

Somme, stool, sketchbook, Inktense sticks.
Frost almost melted... time to go in and warm up!

Holiday Sketchbook in France

Creating a watercolour sketch in Le Crotoy 

Bonjour!  I have returned from an amazing, relaxing holiday in France.  Just an hour from Calais, on the outskirts of a town named Rue, in an incredible Chateau for a whole week.  Bliss.  When will I realise how much easier it would be to post more frequently?  With hindsight I could have explored the possibility of using my mobile phone to upload images and text to this blog.  I have quite a few images to share with you of work done in 2 different sketchbooks.  One was a gift from friend in the West Norfolk Artists Association - by Derwent (17 x 12cms) it has useful pockets inside the soft suede-like hardback cover to store receipts or collected ephemera.  I discovered that pencil and pen glide beautifully over the paper surface but light washes of paint soaked in immediately.  This sketchbook became ideal for quick line drawings when time was short.  The other sketchbook is from Stillman & Birn in the Delta Series (14.5 x 22cms).  I had read a lot of favourable comments about this brand and wanted to try it myself.  It's a little larger than A5, black hardback, and I found it takes watercolour, water soluble pencil and Inktense pencils really well.  This sketchbook then is perfect when time is more flexible and I can settle down with some watermedia. Here's the art kit I took with me:



Art equipment fits into small (stylish) shopper bag

  

Large pocket on front of handbag perfect for sketchbook & small pencil case

 



I shall not bore you with lots of words and waffle this time but hope you enjoy the following photos of some of the sketches I made during my week in France.  Oh, starting with a few from Dover as we stopped there the night before taking the ferry...

Two views from sitting on a bench in Dover

A few captured lines from studying the ever moving seagulls and pigeons on beach

The harbour gets busy with people and the local sailing school

 

Evening stroll, stopped to watch cattle by Chateau entrance

Inktense pencils - attempt to cope with all those greens!

 

Guess where I am...

Monet's House and Garden, Giverny

Not brilliant but looking at it brings the experience back fully - the receipt
 was from early lunch and yes, I had small Prittstick in my pencil case! 

 

The famous bridge - painted on a wet afternoon in the Chateau from my photo
 (the only one not from life)

Water soluble graphite pencil to describe misty start to the day



 

A second sketch with soft diffused watercolour washes

Looking out across bay at Le Crotoy

Pencil sketch - view across site Battle of Crecy, 1346

Visit to museum at Azincourt.  Overheard young girl whisper to parent "I saw a lady drawing in her book"...

Observing cattle just up the lane from the Chateau

 



The cattle quickly lost interest in me, and I was left in no doubt

Nell the Chateau cat is very old - like most of the fixtures & fittings in the Chateau!

Lovely way to spend an hour on our last afternoon in France

I have a confession.  I did try one plein air painting with water mixable oils in the week.  I stood in the delightful Chateau grounds and attempted to paint the building itself, framed by trees.  I thoroughly enjoyed the process despite struggling to depict the façade of the building and all the windows without getting fiddly.  However, I confess to it being a total disaster.  The painting looked very flat and unconvincing.  Take heart - it happens to all of us!!!  Nothing for it but to keep on trying.  And I have a cunning plan to keep me motivated and to continue working from life - a self set project in the pipeline.  I shall reveal all in another post soon.

Rear view of Le Chateau du Broutel



Plein air painting at Old Hunstanton / sketching in Bristol botanic garden

The beach at Old Hunstanton, evening light

Tuesday evening was fine, sunny and perfect for the West Norfolk Artists Association sketching session.  As I haven't had the chance to paint 'en plein air' for a while I decided this was a great opportunity.  It is amazing what can be achieved in a short space of time - the tide was on its way in so speed was essential!



Painting at speed - the tide was on its way in...

It was a shame that more members didn't venture out to join us... there were two photographers, a printmaker who went sketching along by the cliffs, Helena who painted with water soluble crayons and myself.  Art can be such a solitary activity and I love the chance to work alongside others.

Old Hunstanton Beach, water mixable oils, 10"x8" (1 hour study)  

Last weekend I visited my daughter who lives in Bristol.  She has become increasingly interested in photography and we decided to seek out the botanic garden.  It is up near Clifton Downs and very compact, it didn't even have a café!  We spent a happy few hours however with many lovely flowers in full bloom and some exotic species in the glasshouses to marvel over.  I worked in an A5 sketchbook with just a Pentel mechanical pencil that has a 0.9mm lead in it.  The pages however did already have a gesso and hint of colour already washed across, a surface I find very satisfying for simple line work.

Variety of simple studies in pencil



Simple line drawings of sculptural plants

I think I might visit the Cambridge Botanical Gardens again soon - and they do have a café - there is something very humbling about studying the wealth of plant life and definitely an uplifting 'feel good' factor...

The regular classes I teach have finished and there is a lovely long break now until they resume in September.  Although there are essential tasks to be done, planning the next term and submitting my tax return for example, I plan to get creative and experiment like mad.  I love mixed media so now is a great time to play with all my favourites and see what happens.  I want to continue working from life as much as possible as well.  Exciting days ahead... drop in again soon and hopefully there will be more work to show you.

Painting Plein Air in the Paddock

Yesterday it snowed nearly all day but only really started to settle in the evening.  On waking this morning there was a light covering but as the sun came out it began to rapidly thaw.  As I glanced out the window and up our little paddock the sky looked quite dark and mauve and I loved the tracery of bare branches and snow lying amongst the clumps of grass.  I resolved to get out and paint!!!  This was the perfect opportunity to road test my equipment - if I realised I had forgotten anything I could easily nip in for it.

Pochade box, tripod and backpack

This is my equipment which I have organised to have ready in the studio to take out whenever the urge strikes.  As the box is fairly heavy I wouldn't want to carry it too far so I have bought a 2 wheel shopper trolley to use for occasions where I may be having to walk a bit further, or for around urban locations.  I'm sure you'll get to see it some time soon.

 

All ready to go...

It is great having everything to hand.  The 10 x 8" canvas board gets secured upright, the wooden palette surface I have decided not to use, I prefer to lay my paints out on a tear-off paper palette for the time being.  The brushes I select can slot into the drilled holes on the left.  The paints, palette knife, brushes are stored securely in the drawer.  The thermos cup dangling off the side is my water container.  I am working with water mixable oils and just used this to dilute paint in the early stages and to clean my brushes between colours.  If you look really close you can just see that the board actually had the beginnings of a previous old painting, I gessoed over this with a pale blue tint so I had an overall mid tone to work on.

Diluted underpainting to establish composition



 

I diluted the paint with water and used a small round to get the gist of the composition before changing to a filbert to start blocking in some of the main shapes.

Developing the painting

Still working with a bigger filbert brush start developing colours of the field, paint still diluted.

Finished painting

As I worked the snow 'pockets' were thawing fast.  The sky was also changing fast and becoming lighter, less interesting.  As the dark sky was what inspired me in the first place I decided to stick with my original concept.

The whole 'trip' was about two hours.  I had been standing close to a hedge which afforded some shelter from the chilly wind, but as I packed up I realised suddenly how cold my fingertips had become (I was painting with fingerless gloves on).  Once back indoors I cleaned my brushes before settling down with a bowl of hot tomato soup.  Whilst not a brilliant painting I am pleased with it as a record of my first official plein air outing.  Here's to many more...

Painting Plein Air (Almost)

Oh dear!  Over a month since my last post.  However I have not been idle.  Alongside the weekly preparation I do for the pastel and the mixed media classes I teach I have also been organising a water mixable oils workshop for April.  I have painted a demo canvas of 'Agapanthus', photographed the stages and hope enough people will be inspired and sign up for the session.



'Agapanthus', water-mixable oils, 16" x 16" box canvas
 

I have so enjoyed working with these Artisan paints that I plan to do a lot more with them this year.  In fact my plan involves painting 'en plein air'.  Yes, on location rather than in the studio from photos.  I have a Mabef pochade box and wood tripod I have not really used - so now is the time (well, as the weather improves maybe).  I have already organised all my painting equipment together so that I can just grab it and go.

I have been very eager to have my first experience.  I am used to working in a sketchbook on location but this is small scale, tended to be dry media, and definitely unobtrusive.  I am sure I will have a lot to learn - all those greens for a start!!!  Despite the awful weather last weekend I had my heart set on doing something.  Rain, sleet, and a windchill factor of minus seven convinced me it would be foolhardy to try my first time in situ so I opted to set up in my freezing cold conservatory instead.  It has no heating and I resisted the temptation to use a fan heater.

 

Create mid-tone as base...

 

Establish composition, get some loose colour across whole canvas...

 

Starting to add definition, broader colour and tonal range...
 

Final painting - in about 2 hours!
 

It certainly isn't perfect but for just two hours work in cold conditions (my fingers were going numb) I was reasonably happy.  With hindsight I would definitely want to soften the thin branches against the sky to the left as they should be further back in space.  Possibly the snowdrops around the foreground apple tree could extend to the right and leave the canvas.  But for what it is, I'm happy.

Painting a view from life is a very different experience.  Until the weather improves have a go at a scene through your window whether it's the garden or a view up the street - it is certainly an enjoyable way to pass a few hours!