paintings prints and stuff

Ogwen Valley, Low cloud on the mountains, A3 mixed media After the charcoal sketch done in the morning my friends walked up to a higher lake, I painted quietly on my own.  So peaceful with the clouds drifting by, the steep hills cut with tumbling waterfalls and the single track road winding up and down throught the rocks.  I love the drama of the contours of the land and the rocks, barely covered by soil. We really didn't only have rainy days!  though the mixed weather meant beautiful skies and challenges. Big black Welsh cattle with their huge hooves lumbered by, followed by calves scrambling uncertainly down those steep hillsides.  I'd always assumed that this was the old, original road (main road is across the valley) but a lovely friendly lady told me it was built by a lord of the manor so that his guests had a scenic carriage ride when they came to stay. Just as I finished this, the friends phoned to say they were back down the mountain and we join...

Ogwen Valley in the mist, charcoal, a bit bigger than A3 Ogwen valley in the mist, charcoal plein air We revisted the valley later in the week.  The clouds were low over the tops of the mountains and the distance melted into whiteness.  The little river Ogwen wound its way across the valley floor and the single track, switchback road disappeared off over the side of the mountain. All the recent rain meant the waterfalls were beautiful.  I did a watercolour/mixed media with one in the afternoon, while the group climbed up to a higher lake.  Next post ........

A3 Khadi paper, watercolour, charcoal and ink, variations on a theme I've done a series of variations on this theme from the same original objects. Using sketches done from life I've then simplified, moved things around on the paper, played with patterns and in different media, rather like the way musicians plays with a theme, creating variations and counterpoint. I'm exploring the ways that still life can interest me as I don't find doing conventional set ups do. This one started with tinted watercolour washes, in a variety of greys that I mixed, developed with charcoal and white and paynes grey acrylic inks, with a little white oil pastel.  It's fun to work within a limited colour range like this. The Khadi paper is interesting to work on.  It's pure rag, heavy and quite absorbent so the paint doesn't sit on the surface as with some papers.  The paper is curling in the photo as it was still damp but it is actually square straight edged.   A...

Experimenting with still life - jazz in paint.  Watercolour and oil pastel I meet up with a group of friends, fellow painters, once a month and we critique each others work, talk about art, exhibitions. artists etc and put on exhibitions ourselves.  We all work very differently.   We decided to challenge ourselves to tackle a subject we rarely do - still life - and each find an angle on it that makes it interesting to us.  We've talked about doing a project on it for some time and decided to stop talking and start doing : >).  We all have to take an A3 painting to the next meeting.  This is mine so far. As usual, the photograph doesn't bring out some of the subtle colour changes : >( This is based on sketches I did a year or two ago- you can see some of them here , here , here and here . This one was done with watercolour on Khadi rag paper (A3) with some gold, copper,  orange and irridescent pale blue Sennelier oil pastel scri...

Rocks and surf near Bamburgh and Howick, ink and charcoal in an A4 S&B Delta sketchbook There were lovely long stretches of sandy beach but the rocks here were so interesting to sketch.   You can read about the geology here , so different from the rocks I'm used to sketching in Cornwall . This was done in a cold cold wind with willow charcoal and grey ink, plus some white FW acrylic ink from Daler Rowney.  I love that white ink.   I like the Herbin Gris Nuage ink to draw with twigs as I was here - but it ruins fountain pens : >(.  It was sold as suitable for them too.    Ah well, a fountain pen wouldn't have given me the expressive lines that the twigs did : >) You can see a drawing done with the grey ink using twigs here . I've now got several projects to juggle.  One for an exhibition and others for Christmas .... more to comel

Rocks at Bamburgh, watercolour and mixed media in S&B Delta sketchbook The geology on the coast of Northumbria is fascinating with parallel ridges of rocks that look almost as though they were constructed by man and sheets of flatter rock and sand between. This one is a study of the rocks to the north near Bamburgh.  It's basically watercolour but with bits of tinted charcoal and coloured pencil in there too. Again I was enjoying catching the very different colours and mood of the north east. More to follow .............

Bamburgh Castle from the dunes.   Watercolour and mixed media in Stillman and Birn Delta sketchbook Another sketch from the break in Northumbria.   The view of Bamburgh castle from the dunes is great - it is huge , looming silhouetted on its headland above the sweeping beach. The textures of the marram grass, thistles and other plants interested me equally.  Working fast was essential  as we only had limited time up there.  To get the textures, the luminosity of the sea and sky and the looming power of the castle, I ended up using watercolours, a little grey ink, a little gouache, conte pencil, white acrylic ink and some coloured pencil. The first (very quick) sketch was from lower down and further back in the dunes, done where I parked the car, and done using grey ink and charcoal.  I used twigs to draw with the ink - it gives a lovely range of marks that are freer and looser than pens.  And they are free : >) Bamburgh cas...

What are your favourite sketchbooks?  Obviously this will vary enormously depending on what you want from your sketchbooks and the media used. For me the quality of the paper is crucial.   I really dislike working on flimsy paper or paper that buckles with water media.  Sketchbooks are an important part of my work, for research, plein air work, thinking around ideas and keeping notes, jotting down interesting information and simply observing and practising.  They need to cope with anything from simple pencil to watercolours, oils, charcoal, pen, pastel, collage, eyeshadow .... anything !  Some sketchbooks are 'general' and can contain a mix of subjects.  Others are themed, like books I take on trips or that work around an idea.  On the whole I prefer larger sketchbooks. A4+, but do also find smaller ones handy for keeping in the car, taking to hospital appointments etc So these are ones that I have chosen to comment on - favourites - ...

Porth Nanven, evening, Derwent charcoal in Stillman and Birn A4 hardback sketchbook  Another from Cornwall.  Attempting to catch the silvery dazzle of light on water.  A little stream tumbles down the Cot Valley to the beach below - Porth Nanven. The new Derwent charcoal sticks are luscious to use and there is a little of their charcoal pencil in there too.  The photo makes the horizon slope - the drawing doesn't . S&B sketchbooks are now available from Jacksons in the UK.   The Beta  paper is lovely , heavy and really well primed so that it takes any medium I choose. Epsilon and Zeta are smooth and beautiful for pen and ink work.  They will take watercolour but if you want to use a lot of  media and layers, then the others are more for you. Has anyone tried the new Derwent charcoals and graphites?  or the S&B sketchbooks?

Dusk, winter, Grey ink and XL tinted charcoal in the S&B Zeta sketchbook An experiment across 2 pages of the new Zeta sketchbook with Grey ink and bamboo pen and Derwent's new XL tinted charcoal blocks.  Their new willow charcoal sticks are very nice too, really velvety unlike some that can be irritatingly scratchy. The charcoal is luscious and so are the tinted graphite blocks - well worth trying if you like to work larger and more freely. The Zeta sketchbook has very very smooth paper for those who use pen a lot and don't like texture.  It's also extremely heavy weight and can take a lot of pushing around, lifting out, washes etc The S&B sketchbooks are now available in the UK via Amazon and soon through Jackson's for anyone interested, I know a few people asked me for information. It's fun trying out new products :>) Now the weather is improving at long last I may manage to get out a little more to sketch. For those near the Cotswol...

A sketch of dusk across the fields, done with the new chunky XL tinted charcoal sticks from Derwent. I've only got a few testers i earth colours and look forward to having the full set. They are really lush to use and I know I'm going to find them a very useful medium. Charcoal has always been one of my favourites when drawing. More work in these to follow :) I had liked the tinted charcoal pencils and these combine with them beautifully but allow broader marks and big washes of colour/tone, ideal for working this size (A4) or on a much larger scale. Using the edges it's possible to get quite fine marks but the pencils can add even finer detail as required. Being able to put down large marks keeps the spontaneity in drawings. Have you tried them yet?

Winter fields. watercolour and mixed media in A4 Stillman and Birn Beta hardback sketchbook details: The snow has gone and I wanted to catch that cool winter light, with the faintest hint of the sap rising and the colour starting to appear in the twigs at the tips of the branches.  Soon they will develop that luminious, almost apricot glow they get in early spring. Done with watercolour, tinted charcoal and a little pastel pencil - Winsor and Newton paints and Derwent pencils.   Derwent have some lovely chunky tinted charcoal blocks out, that I haven't been able to talk about before their launch.   I used them here and in in some of the branches in the last sketches of the hedges, alongside the tinted charcoal pencils.  They are absolutely gorgeous!   More work in them will follow : >) I am absolutely loving the S&B hardback Beta sketchbook.   The paper is incredibly robust and takes any medium I've thrown at it ...

Hedge silhoutted against the snow, late afternoon.  Charcoal and pastel This one started with a sketch in Derwent's tinted charcoal pencils (lovely subtle colours).  See the original sketch below. On the other side of the road was this wonderful early sunset that I'd done an iPastel sketch of on the iPad.  I thought it would be interesting to see how it worked with what was actuall a pale grey sky on the opposite side of the road, where the hedge was- so on the ipad I borrowed the sky from the ipad work and combined it with the sketch - this may well turn into a larger painting where I can play with those tangled twigs and branches :>) .  It was done in an A4 Stillman and Birn, hardback Beta book with lovely lovely heavy paper, that takes anything I throw at it.  I would love to get my hands on some A2/A1 sheets of this paper. The tinted charcoal pencils are gorgeous to use, with subtle natural colours and were perfect for the hedge and undergrowth....

Across the Fields near Great Bowden A4 Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook, willow charcoal and Derwent charcoal pencil A charcoal sketch on a hazy but sunny morning with layers of spring growth.   First the long grass and cow parsley of the verge, some light against dark, some dark against light.  Then the hawthorn hedge - a complex mix of light and dark and gaps between twigs where the field could be seen through.  Then a field of growing wheat, a further hawthorn hedge, a bright yellow field of rape, a further hedge beyond which the land falls away to a valley -  and then the far hills, blue and hazy with a few distant fields outlined by more hedges and more yellow rape.  On the right a distant wood looking deeper blue.  Patern and tone. I had actually gone to sketch more sheep but they'd been moved to another field. Every year I mean to sketch the fields when these vivid areas of bright yellow are there and usually don't make it in time....

 oil The Guardian have done an article on skies in art with some great paintings mentioned - here . So I thought I'd trawl through some of my sketches of skies ................ Dawn at Sennen Cove, coloured pencil in moleskine sketchbook charcoal watercolour coloured pencil oil charcoal and coloured pencil oil photo, early morning water soluble brush pen oil oil charcoal coloured pencil watercolour We do have such lovely changeable skies and they are fascinating to try to catch - in whatever medium :>)  Done sitting on cliff tops, in the countryside, on the back of the car as it opens flat  ..... very comfortable when sketching alone if I can park with a good view.  Getting out there and looking is essential to understand the layers, the colours, the way light shines through from behind ............ And - if anyone is interested in the jewellery I've been designing and making, I'm beginning to put it on Etsy in my shop These are some yet to be...

  Wreck, sketch with Derwent Inktense block, tinted charcoal and white oil pastel This was a play to try out some new brushes (Christmas present from himself).   So, I thought I'd continue using the Derwent materials I was given, to test mixes of these as well. I used a photo of a wreck we found when cliff walking a few years ago.   From this side it looked whole - from the other side it looked as if someone had sliced it in half, almost totally hollow.   First I laid down a few areas of colour for cliffs and boat.   Once I knew where they would be, I laid down scribbles of surf with a white Sennelier oil pastel - no other brand works as well for a resist to water media as the Sennelier, they are lush.   I used Inktense blocks , partly drawing and partly for lifting colour from, to wash further colour in the sea, the cliffs and the boat..     I then drew into the dried painting with Derwents Tinted Charcoal to add furth...

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.

A quick charcoal sketch done as a demo, A4 I've been working on a secret project and postcards that can't be shown until they are received - so I thought I'd include this quick charcoal sketch, done as a demo in class, from a photograph a student had taken. It's of Bradgate Park - where Lady Jane Grey, she of the 9 days Queen fame lived, before she was beheaded. Done to show the lovely painterly looseness  of willow charcoal and the speed it's possible to work with it - lovely lovely stuff, even if messy : >) Other posts about Bradgate Park: Autumn Woods

Charcoal sketch with digital colour 1, A5 I did a charcoal sketch of this view down to the harbour at Sennen and then played with adding colour in Photoshop to make it moodier. And moodier ...... The original sketch in willow charcoal, carbon pencil, brush pen and biro It would be interesting to do a large charcoal sketch over watercolour washes to get the same moody feel but work more on the light contrasts.  I have to do some work for an upcoming pastel exhibition - could be one to do?   (charcoal and cp and some use of other media are acceptable for this - they aren't narrow minded),