Swithland Woods in June, sketch with inktense

 Swithland Woods, detail.  Inktense, coloured pencil and a little ink

 I sketched for a short while in Swithland Woods yesterday.   I'd taken my Inktense pencils - and lovely as they are I really really felt the need for oil paints to cope with dappled light and the ability to put back light over dark.  I'll have to get back there with my oils.

Swithland Woods, S&B Beta A4 sketchbook, unfinished

The sketch is unfinished because the background leaves got overworked and fussy as I tried to get the deep shade and brightly lit flashes of sunlit leaves - and the light changed dramatically, making the trees that had interesting light on them a few minutes before, simply silhouettes.  It would have spread further over onto the right hand page.   Woods are rather like seascapes though, where you have to work fast.  Oil paint would have let me do it in the time and with simple direct marks.  Pencil is so much slower even though this was a very quick sketch.

I could use a little gouache to simplify overworked areas but will leave it unfinished.   

I love the way that the dried leaves on the ground take on a peachy pink colour against all that green,

More details:





Older work in the same area:


A previous oil painting done a short distance away in the same woods, 11x12 inches


And a tiny digital image of the same woods

Further sketches and paintings in the area here

Comments

Making A Mark said…
I use my battery eraser for the highlights - when I remember to pack it!

Have you thought about having a Facebook Page and posting your blog posts to that? I find mine is great for getting a wider audience.
10:14 am
vivien said…
Yes I did use mine to regain highlights, but Inktense are what they say on the tin .... intense and staining. So only limited lifting is possible :-(. I used a mix of lifting out with water plus erasing. It leaves the paper muddy though so bright clean highlights aren't often possible to regain.

I really like them but not for this particular subject.

Loved your recent video :-)
7:36 am
vivien said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
7:36 am
annie said…
Fun to watch you work, Vivien. Like this but am interested to see how the oil will look when you try it.
12:10 pm
Cathy Gatland said…
You achieve a lot more with the Inktense than I ever have (perhaps I haven't kept at it long enough!) - lovely mark-making and textural effects as always.
12:17 pm
vivien said…
thank you Annie and Cathy :>)

I've played with a bit of gouache to simplify that background foliage - and there is a tiny bit of pastel as well. I'm just going to show that ......

off to do it .....
4:06 pm
vivien said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
4:06 pm
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hedges silhouetted agains the snow, winter light: watercolour and Derwent tinted charcoal pencils in Stillmand and Birn Beta Hardback sketchbook

Image
 Detail  I have always liked the calligraphic tangle of the hedges when they are sihouetted against the sky.   Recent snowfall meant even more opportunities with amazing light and the landscape simplified and hidden by the snow, throwing hedges into relief. Above is a detail of a double page sketch in the lovely Stillman and Birn Beta A4 hardback sketchbook.  This paper is so forgiving and the watercolour works beautifully with it.  It allowed me to work through wet washes with charcoal pencil - something that tears many papers, leaving holes.  Some of the hedge is paint, some tinted charcoal. First snow, more on the way, winter light: silhouetted hedges in watercolour and Derwent tinted charcoal in a Stillman and Birn A4 beta hardback sketchbook The earlier warm golden glow of the low sun is covered by clouds, threatening more snow to come.   The spiky calligraphic marks of the hedge and the underlying form of the bank, w...
Read more

The Eye, Urban/Rural exhibition

Image
Vivien Blackburn's work in the Urban/Rural show We've just hung a group show at the The Eye Project, Urban/Rural show.  If you want to come and see it it's on for a month - well worth seeing, 11 lovely artists and some fabulous work. Those large canvasses are 40 inches square. There are rural landscapes, flowerscapes, intriguing textile work including a large knitted building, abstracts .... something for everyone. It's in the gallery below the cafe in the Adult Education Centre at the top of Wellington street, Leicester, opposite Fenwicks.  Meet the Arttists day is Saturday 1st April 10-2.  Come and have a chat with us?
Read more

looking at non traditional composition and quiet vs busy areas in paintings

Image
Paul Klee I thought I'd look at non-traditional composition - where the rule of thirds isn't the key but the painting relies on different compositional methods. in response to an excellent series of posts on the various ways of looking at composition by Katherine (link at end). These alternative considerations or breaking of rules - but making it work - appeal to me more than too heavy a reliance on the rule of thirds. The painting above, by Paul Klee is a 'field' painting' - the composition is overall, the eye travels around enjoying the glowing colour that he creates by juxtaposing complementary colours, subtle greyed greens enhancing the oranges/reds/pinks. Most of the image is composed of the various greens, greeny browns and khakis, with accents of the warm colours. When working this way it's important that the balance is unequal and that the accent colours are placed carefully to keep the eye moving in the way the artist wants. A couple of the brighter...
Read more