A canal, a tunnel and a bit of history

Wednesday, 25th July - A grand day out with a local sketch group at a hidden-away gem in the Gloucestershire countryside.

Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, at the end of a long, narrow gravel track is The Tunnel House Inn, surrounded by fields and shady, woodland areas.  Steps down a steep slope lead to a long disused canal and a grand Georgian style tunnel entrance, known as the Coates Portal.

The Sapperton Tunnel was constructed in 1784-9 and, at over 2 miles, was the longest ever built at the time.  The tunnel was too narrow to accommodate a tow path for the horses which pulled the barges, therefore a couple of men would lay on their backs on the front of the barge and "walk" their way along the walls, hence earning the name "leggers".  Meanwhile, the horses had to be led overground to meet up at the other end of the tunnel at Daneway.

The Tunnel House originally served as a hostel for the construction workers, but once the canal was in use it became a place for refreshment.  Traffic through the tunnel ceased in 1911 and subsequent roof falls made it impassable.  The portals at both ends were restored in the 1970s, but efforts to restore the weak areas of the interior seem to have been abandoned.

My sketches were done with sepia fine liner, watercolour, gouache, wax crayon and white gel pen.

Clothed model sketches

We were lucky enough to have some family members volunteer for this Monday evening's art group sketching session.  These were quick, timed poses (10 or 15 minutes) and it proved to be a very enjoyable and productive evening.

I opted to work small in an A5 sketchpad, with just graphite pencil.

Negative painting experiment

Looking for inspiration in my pile of painted paper oddments, I found a Bockingford watercolour paper sample which I had at some time randomly coloured with fluid acrylics and then glazed with white pearlescent acrylic ink.  I used a simple poppy image from a previous project; this was on tracing paper so I was able to position the flower heads as close as possible over magenta areas of the background.

I started by negatively painting with white acrylic, but this wasn't the effect I was after.

6" x 8"

Next step was to outline the image
with a black Posca pen

I then tried out a black gesso background -
(the tracing image is shown on the right)

Finished image 4" x 6"
Washes of fluid acrylic have been used to add some detail

It needs another coat of black gesso to smooth out the background; without the Posca pen I doubt I would have been able to achieve a very clean outline to the image.  It is difficult to show the effect of the pearlescent glaze, but it certainly stands out against the black.  I will have to try this out on a slightly larger, more complicated image.

USk Swindon - 7 July

This is the group's second visit to this old cemetery in the town.  Last time was in November - a bit of a change in the weather since then as we have been experiencing several days of very high temperatures.  Luckily the area is well shaded with mature trees.

Radnor Street Chapel -
Pen, watercolour, gouache, wax pastel, white gel pen

Ashdown House 2007

Following on from yesterday's post,  I have since searched my old sketchbooks and found this view of the house from March 11 years ago!  On that occasion we only saw the building as we walked over Weathercock Hill across the valley.  I guess I must have scribbled the pen sketch and added watercolour washes later at home.

Ashdown House, March 2007  (view from the drive)
- pen and watercolour

Ashdown House, Oxfordshire

A visit to Ashdown House (a National Trust property) on Wednesday.  The house is tenanted so visiting is only on two afternoons each week during part of the year and access is limited to the central 100 step staircase, which takes you to the viewing platform on the roof of the house.  The 1st Earl of Craven was romatically linked to Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, and intended this Dutch-style, chalk stone building as a hunting lodge for when she visited.  Work commenced in 1661, but sadly the Queen died in 1662 before it was completed.

I only took a 4" x 6" sketchbook and pen with me and managed to complete about two-thirds of this drawing before seeking shade in the surrounding woodland.  It was finalised and painted when I got home.

View from the Knot Garden - Pen, watercolour and gouache

The small buildings either side originally housed
 the stables and the kitchens 

Viewed from the side

A view from the roof