Urban Sketchers Swindon

 The first meeting of our urban sketching group for almost two years.  A very cold, but mostly bright morning. Just over a dozen turned up and sketched in the grounds of the Richard Jefferies Museum (the cottage was the birthplace of this well-known Victorian nature writer).

Pilot G-tec pen and watercolour

Mini watercolour sketch

Watercolour, black fine liner, white gel pen,
silver acrylic ink (3" x 3") in
Moleskine watercolour sketchbook

Getting quite hooked on these small watercolours, started with no plan, just responding to the blended wet in wet colours.

More Cotswold sketching

Pen, watercolour and gouache 

We managed to pick another good day for sketching this week.   A trip out to Miserden (a charming estate village hidden in the Cotswolds between Cirencester and Birdlip).  An early pub lunch outside the Carpenters Arms, a wander round the village, a bit of sketching and then a short but strenuous walk into the valley and around the lake.  Unfortunately, the manor house gardens are only open Friday to Sunday at the moment, but a good excuse to make another visit sometime.

The pub car park has been converted into a larger, socially distanced outdoor eating area, but there is still a hitching post for the horses!

Cerney House Gardens

With wet and windy weather forecast for several days, we managed to arrange our sketch outing

on the sunniest day of the week.  After exploring this delightful Cotswold garden I settled down to attempt this distant view of the pagoda.  I was rather daunted by all the greens and nearly gave up, but the subsequent pen work helped to bring some order to the chaos.

Watercolour, gouache and pen 8" x 6"

Postcard collage

 Another small collage using one of my Hahnemuehle postcards.

 

Printed and painted tissue, book page, scanned sketch,
gold gel pen, machine stitch (6" x 4")

Another sketch outing

Another sketching trip with a couple of friends to a farm cafe in the Cotswolds, complete with adjacent alpaca herd.  We had booked a table for lunch in the delightful courtyard garden and spent a pleasant few hours chatting and sketching.  

The original drawing and initial watercolour washes were done in situ, but I planned to add a bit more detail when I got home. I made a complete hash when I tried to add a background sky, then added more gouache which made it even worse!  The solution - use a strip of the same colour paper from a blank page, cut round the shapes of the umbrella and background foliage and stick it over the offending area.  Total disaster averted.

Pen, watercolour, gouache, wax pastel in
Hahnemuehle cappuccino sketchbook

The Collage Journal continued

 

Book pages, printed tissue and old sketches

Another five pages to fill in this handmade sketchbook.

Collage Journal

I mentioned earlier that I was following an online course by Lydia Rink.  The first task was to construct a simple handmade journal for our collage work.  Lydia uses text, letter shapes and found images - you can see some of her work here.

The first couple of exercises related mainly to shapes and composition and I must admit my initial attempts are not worth showing.  However, I will persevere and hope to improve by the time my journal is complete.

Collage Journal cover (approx 6" x 8")

Book pages and hand-printed tissue

More printed tissue paper, scan of watercolour sketch
and hand-cut lettering

Amaryllis

 It seems an age since I've actually done any sketching from life, but felt I ought to capture this year's amaryllis blooms before they fade away.

Fine liner pen and dry watercolour pencil
in the Hahnemuehle cappucino sketchbook

This bulb was from Christmas 2019; I just left it in its original pot and wasn't sure if it would come to anything this year.  However, it is a bit like Jack's beanstalk - it is now a metre tall and I don't know how it is managing to stay upright.

Sketchbook - old and new

Going through some loose sketches seeking inspiration for my continuing sketchbook challenge, I came across this very ancient pen and coloured pencil drawing which I felt deserved to be filed in a more substantial way.  My reference was a small plein air pen sketch done on the evening of the concert.  The blue collaged panel hints at the firework display which fizzled out due to the rain and wind.

Inktober fold book

I am not quite sure where the last couple of weeks have disappeared to - I've certainly not been very productive with my art.

A mention online about Inktober has prompted me to make a one page fold book in which to make some small sketches.  I used an A3 sheet of drawing paper which I have painted with acrylic inks on both sides just to provide a loose background.  The sheet was folded and cut to provide 32 sides measuring 4" x 6" - let's hope I can keep the momentum going and fill the book by the end of the month.

World Book Night postcard project

Earlier this year I sent off my postcard entry for the World Book Night postcard project organised by the Book Arts Centre at the University of the West of England.

 

All the entries can be viewed here.

My entry was a copy of a drawing done on a sketch outing

Last week I received this package of goodies together with one of the postcards sent in by another participant.

Sketches on black paper continued

Three more sketches in the Hahnemuehle black book.  I had intended to complete the clematis in just the Caran d'Ache Neopastel, but my sketch was a bit small for their broad textured marks.  I attempted to blend the colours in the top two petals with a Colour Shaper, but preferred the rougher application on the rest of the image.  However, it needed something to add more definition so I resorted to overlays of watercolour tinted gouache - I like the resist effect over the waxy pastels.

I like to keep a white gel pen in my sketching kit, but cannot find a make that doesn't let me down after a few uses.  A while ago I picked up a set of three "marbled", multi-colour gel pens - the colours are very muted and they look more like silver on the black paper, but they've certainly been more reliable than the white.  Unfortunately, they are no substitute for an opaque white when adding highlights to a pen and wash sketch on white or light-toned paper.

Needing new glasses!

After finishing this imaginary portrait I realised I had placed the eyes too high.  Solution - a collaged pair of spectacles and new eyes!  And why not add a snazzy collar while I'm about it?

Mixed media and collage in tan sketchbook

Amaryllis

I am always amazed how a scruffy looking bulb in a small pot can shoot up within just a month to such a beautiful, graceful flower.

Neopastel, Neocolour II, gouache, acrylic ink and Inktense pencil

Starting afresh

My artistic output for the last six months has been minimal so I am feeling a bit out of touch.  This week I decided to jump in and start scribbling away with my art materials; anything - just to break the block.  So I have made a start, trying to be bold rather than tentative ...

Neopastel, gouache, acrylic ink and walnut ink
in brown paper sketchbook

Collage experiments

I have a couple of A5 watercolour Moleskine sketch books which I have used in the main for trying out new ideas, materials or techniques, at the same time noting the methods used.

The following two sketches, done quite a while ago, started with backgrounds collaged with lettering cut from magazines, gesso then used to partially obscure, acrylic paint, hand printed patterns and tissue collage.  My reference for the faces was taken from news articles, executed with pen, acrylic and collage.

Urban Sketchers 5th October

An excellent turnout today for our meeting at the Hall & Woodhouse public house in Wichelstowe, a satellite development to the south of Swindon.  Building started in 2008 and it is estimated that 4,500 new homes will have been completed over a period of 20 years.  Parts of the Berks and Wilts Canal running through the area have been restored, with plans to provide a vibrant canal side area.

The recently built pub was certainly interesting, with a narrow boat built into one wall, the interior lavishly decorated with canal and river paraphernalia and waterside views.

A section of the pub interior -
definitely a "boat house" ambiance

A few of the 20 plus sketchers

My view of the narrow boat which offers trips along the canal

September's Urban Sketch

I managed to grab a couple of hours on Saturday to join our local Urban Sketchers group at St. Augustine's Church, Even Swindon.

The church was built in the early 1900's and is closely surrounded by housing, so a good view of the outside of the building was difficult to find.

Inside, my photo does not do justice to the magnificent, semi-circular apse.  The images of Christ, Mary Magdalene and St. Augustine were painted in the late 1980s, with a stunning background of gold leaf.  I was very rusty after a couple of months without keeping up my drawing practice and my attempt to get this aspect down on paper failed miserably, so I found a viewpoint in the narrow strip of garden bounding one side of the building.

Pen, watercolour with touches of oil pastel
5" x 8"

Sketches from the past ..

Continuing with my delve into work from the past .....

This was a postcard size watercolour painting of a
scene on the Norfolk Broads

An imaginary book cover illustration for one of
our art group's competitions

A scene from the Italianate style village of Portmeirion, North Wales, where we
were lucky enough to rent a cottage for a few days many years ago.  This village
was the backdrop for the television series "The Prisoner".