paintings prints and stuff

snow ...... I've neglected my blog - I'll try to post slightly more often.  The warmer weather is here - so of course I get interested in snow.  It started because of a trip to the Cotswolds to see a Kurt Jackson exhibition in April - there was incredibly late snow on the hilltops looking wonderful.  That led to one painting and made me revisit sketches I did of a very early snowfall one November and work further from those.  November Low Sun, EarlySnowfall approx 15 inches square, pastel This is from the sketches done when we had and unusual very early snowfall in November, when there were still hints of autumn colour.   As I looked at the field a flock of birds took off,  The light in the sky was glorious and the patterns of the ploughed field - everything just added up to one of those perfect moments.   Dusk, November, Early Snowfall tiny one, approximately 5 inches square, coloured pencil The birds have flown and th...

Alnmouth beach, a rainy morning, mixed media in S&B Delta A4 sketchbook Passing showers meant that I worked sitting in the car, from a car park with great views of the sweep of the beach and the gorgeous clouds. Again mixed media, with a lot of watercolour involved.  Because it was autumn, we were travelling to the north and weather was likely to be changeable, I made a decision on this trip to leave my oils at home,  They just aren't practical if it's necessary to work in the car.  I had some non-slip matting that meant my water pot, balanced on the dashboard,  didn't land on me - useful stuff though I don't know what it's called. I absolutely loved Northumberland, beaches, castles, hills .... so much drama.

 Detail of the drawing It's a long time since I did any drawing with ink and twigs.  They make such a lovely range of marks with different tones and textures, I should do it more often. The drawing below was done mainly with twigs from the garden (image at end of post)  but also a bamboo pen , a shaped wooden stirrer from a cafe, a Tombo pen , a Sharpie and a very little black coloured penci l.  The Sharpie was a little too hard edged and doesn't gel enough with the fluid inks I feel but it was a fun experiment.   Using J Herbin Gris Nuage ink, I couldn't get the darks quite dark enough, which is why I tried the Sharpie.   There is also a little Daler Rowny FW white acrylic ink in there. It was done in the Derwent Panoramic book, 16.54 x 7.08 inches, 110lb paper.   I tried using watercolour in this book without success, the paper was too thin and buckled.  It worked well with the ink though. Edge of the Wood, ink sket...

Another cardoon seedhead, gouache and tinted charcoal in a Stillman and Birn alpha sketchbook Another quick cardoon.   This one had shed all its scales, leaving just the fluffy 'fairies' that carry the seeds - one is next to it, so delicate against the large heavy seedhead - and the bristly dried flower petals. More of the NEC doodles to come .....

Cardoon seedhead in Artbar, Gouache and Tinted Charcoal Pencil One of my students, Toni, had promised me some cardoon seedheads and this week brought a big bag of lovely toothy/fluffy/prickly specimens. This one had lost virtually all its scales.  They are so much fun to draw.  It ended up with nearly half the class deciding to have a go.  Cue much concentration and muttering. This was done in my Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook (A4), with a mix of Artbars , gouache and Tinted Charcoal penci ls. Mine never did much good in my garden and sadly died this year.  It had wonderful sky blue flowers but only managed one in its first year, two in its second and none this year.   It probably needed more sun and lighter soil.  I did manage to draw it though.  I think these have the purple flowers like the one below, perhaps I'll try planting some of the seeds. Old, more detailed sketches of similar seedheads in other drawing media: ...

Autumn Woods: Derwent Inktense pencils and Studio pencils in a Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook I'd heard about S&B sketchbooks from American friends but they haven't been available in this country - and shipping costs made them out of the question.   They will soon be available here and I've got some to try out.  :>)   This is one of the Beta Series.   Heavy natural white paper with a rough surface. Curled up in the armchair, (it has been very cold here :>(   following a week of summer temperatures and sunshine) I decided to see how they behaved with my Derwent Intense pencils, with Studio pencils used over the intial washes and marks.   The answer was ...  so far, love this book!  The paper was delicious to work on, heavy and with a nice texture that didn't dominate the image but held marks. I was using a waterbrush from Derwent so the washes weren't very wet but there was a fair amount of water slosh...

Phew it's all finished - well apart from putting things away.   This was the exhibition with a little group of friends - we meet up once a month to discuss work in progress, critique, sometimes arrange to visit exhibitions or sketch plein air and a couple of times a year put on these shows.   You'll probably recognise the work here. 3 intense days, lots of visitors, lots of nice things said, lots of interesting conversations. My browser - the portrait behind is the work of one of the friends. so ...... here are a few images from the show.

The little acer in my garden, glowing in the sun this morning, with Virginia creeping turning crimson in the background. I need to get the paints out :>)

It's a lovely early autumn day and she-who-is-incredibly-spoilt is loving the sunshine in the garden. And yes, the lawn does need cutting I'm afraid. I'm up to my eyes in paperwork and hope to paint later - so I have no plans to even consider it - and anyway the cats love it long ;>) I love this kind of light. I hope the weather continues like this as it's the kind that leads to spectacular autumn colours that stay for a while.

Autumn colours A small quick sketch in watercolour - the autumn fields are looking lovely, some have been freshly ploughed and the hawthorn, blackthorn and beech hedges are gorgeous colours. Well they have been gorgeous colours - it's been windy today so as I travel to work tomorrow I may find all the leaves have blown away, they are on their last fling and just a little wind will mean goodbye to all that gorgeous colour and those lovely golden carpets of leaves will fade. I love the long shadows at this time of year as I travel to work in the early mornings through the countryside and autumn skies are wonderful and dramatic. Seeing the vivid golden leaves against a threatening purple sky is so beautiful :)