Sunday 25 January 2015

Third week of sketches - almost there!

Well,  I'm still managing to keep up my sketching challenge - and thank you  all for you lovely comments and support, which are very welcome and appreciated.  In the spirit of my journal  I kept it local and meaning full to me,  and it's another mixed bag again this week.

Day 18: Dusk/sunset. This is the lovely old Edwardian lighthouse just down the road! Watercolour


Day 19: A self portrait!  Okay this was scar , no, terrifying,. But I did it! Graphite and coloured pencil.


Day 20: Something made with chocolate. Slurp! Watercolour


 Day 21: Tools! Well, I had to choose these didn't I! Noodlers flex pen/Lexington Grey ink and watercolour.


Day 22: An historic building -  Kings Weston House of course! Noodlers flex pen/Lexington Grey ink, watercolour, and water soluble graphite.


Day 23: A machine - again, I had to try and draw my lovely old Singer! Noodlers flex pen/Lexington Grey ink and watercolour.


Day 24: A barn or shed. This is the lovely C13th century Tithe Barn at Frocester in Gloucestershire, just down the road from my old home. Watercolour.


Just one more week to go. I'm determined to keep  sketching daily after the challenge is complete!

Sunday 18 January 2015

And even more sketches....

I'm managing to keep up the challenges - just. Work keeps getting in the way though :)

Dragonfly for 'Bugs' Sketch a day Challenge

 
Crumpets and marmalade: Which I sneakily used for both challenges on different days.

 

The last gift  you received:  My beautiful owl pendant made by  my favourite jewelry maker Joanne May
 

A mythological creature -  I chose The Jackalope!

  

A Station; This was a really hard one for me . Luckily I have an elder brother who made me watch lots of Alistair Maclean films when I was a child!


Draw a recipe: I did - but too quickly, and left out the flour and butter! :) Oops. It is a great recipe though, really easy!


I lumped together Black and White/Found objects on a nature walk. We have high winds and torrential storms at the moments,  so this was a very quick scribble of one of our local badgers!

  

Some of these worked better than others, but I decided to post them whatever I feel about them. The important thing is to keep drawing and try new things. Before I started I would have kept to just doing things in the same way.  It really helps having interaction with others and I find this has kept me going.  Previously, any art work I did was a very isolated affair, because of my lack of confidence,  but I've come to realise over the last year or so the importance of sharing and communicating about the process. 

 Alongside the challenges I'm doing Liz Steel's on-line Sketching Now Foundations class. Liz is a highly respected and talented Urban Sketcher. I'm enjoying taking part very much, and finding the content and  teaching excellent. I'll  tell you  more about the class soon. Today though,  the sun is shining at last - and I want to get out and do my homework :)!

Sunday 11 January 2015

More sketches...


Thank you lovely peeps for all your supportive comments.I've had an up and down week with some horrible headaches,  but I have managed to keep sketching between times.  Quite a mixed bunch this week! I'm trying out different styles, media and new things - trying to find 'My'style.

Day 5: A bridge  This is the famous Clifton Suspension bridge.



 Day 6: Seeds or pods


Day 7: Your rendition of a C19th painting.



Day 8: A Fancy Teapot ( don't have one so made this up quickly).


Day 9:  Coins or banknotes. Could not get inspired by that, so here is Smaug's cousin with this golden hoard of coins!


Day 10: A medicinal plant
 

I am also doing a second  january challenge ( as often as I can!) hosted on Facebook by the very talented  Ruthie Redden ! Ruthie  also blogs at Five Precious Things  

Here are a couple of those posts:  I combined a teacup /mug and fruit!

 

And something beginning with J - one of our garden jackdaws!



 It's great practice and fun trying these different ways of working. x

Sunday 4 January 2015

31 Sketches for January - Day 3 and 4


Day 3's  prompt was - 'Something industrial'! That was a challenge indeed, as I tend to shy away from anything man made. So all the more need to draw it! I'm trying to keep  'local and live' in my sketches as far as I can,  so these are the windmills  generating green energy, sited on the marshland behind our home ( The River Severn flood plain).  We're rather fond of them, and they do look quite amazing on the skyline - especially on  a clear day against the blue sky - and the red/copper gold tree line beneath.



 Day 4  - An Animal. Ah, this is much more in my comfort zone! I chose one of our little mischievous garden visitors! They do amuse us with their antics - and sadly for them, they've no idea how to open the bird feeders,  so much that we do sometimes put some peanuts down for them!


I just hope I can keep  up the challenge once the holiday is over!

Friday 2 January 2015

31 Sketches in January Day 2

Today's challenge  from Palma's list  is 'draw your favourite book,  including the title'.  No way I can pick a favourite - I have at least a top 5 -10 and love so many more besides.

 I chose this paperback because I love Hardy,  this is my favourite story of his, and  I  loved the cover which is a painting by the English artist Gordon Benningfield. Also  I  do not paint landscapes - so it was an ideal challenge! The book cost me the princely sum of  £1.25 in the early 1970's! It's been read many times.

Check out the original 1976 film with Julie Christie,  Peter Finch and Terrance Stamp,  which is one of my favourites, and was filmed in our beautiful English West country, especially around Devizes in Wiltshire. A new version is on the way this May, which I will give a try.

Sorry about the wonkiness. I'm finishing up a cheaper sketchbook and the page  buckled a bit!

Thursday 1 January 2015

January Sketches

Welcome to the New Year!

I am deliberately doing things differently with this new blog, and I'd like to kick off by telling you  about the 31 Sketches in January Challenge which I'm participating in,  set up by my friend - and very talented artist, Palma Rea. You can find out about it here at her blog 'A Creative Journey' - and do join us if you are a sketcher.

 Today's prompt is 'Draw something you can't bear to throw away, but should!' So I was out in the garden this morning - drawing this poor old wooden hand fork, which  gets left outside and is on its last legs, but is so handy!



I've been doing a bit of sketching over the break too, and also catching up with my homework for Liz Steel's Sketching Now Foundations  Class, which I treated myself to at the end of last year. It's excellent - lots of well thought out content,  tips and demonstrations. Liz is a very thorough and conscientious teacher and I'm really enjoying the challenge. My ambition is to loosen up and get quicker and more spontaneous - and it's really working. I'm finishing things in well under half the time I used to spend :)  It's also made me feel a lot more confident about sharing, so here are a couple of birds  I did to remind us Spring is just around the corner! x