A beautiful day for our weekly sketch outing, this time to a local country park. Unfortunately, the on-site cafe wasn't open midweek, but after a stroll through the woods and round the lake we were able to access the gardens of this rather grand Cotswold stone hotel. After mid-morning hot drinks on the terrace, we met up with another couple and returned to the lakeside to capture a distant view of the hotel.
Last month I took advantage of a free Collage Kickstart course given by Cat Rains (Instagram @catrains.artist). I made 8 tiny collages (under 3" square), using a sheet of previously painted wallpaper lining to fashion a display folder for them.
 |
| Just 6 of the 8 mini collages |
Despite the predicted high temperatures, our weekly sketching trio found a shady spot by All Saints Church, in the tiny Cotswold village of Shorncote.
The original church was built in the reign of Henry II (1154-1187) and there have been some later modifications and repairs, but it has only ever served a very small population (about a couple of dozen). It is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
 |
| Hahnemuehle A6 cream watercolour book - water-soluble pen and w/c pencils |
 |
| The traces of wall painting are believed to be from the 15th century |
After a very slow start to the year following on from Covid restrictions, we had a good meeting on Saturday with 13 sketchers turning up, some of them joining for the first time. The weather was good, sunny and warm, but with a pleasant breeze. Our venue was a small, man-made lake to the west of Swindon with a couple of interesting buildings nearby, including a rather ornate Chinese restaurant.
 |
| Pen, ink, gel pen, Inktense and watercolour pencils on kraft paper |
 |
| Water soluble G-tec pen |
 |
| Some early photos of the lagoon and restaurant |
