New paintings and regular art updates.
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was Canyon. I don’t live in an area with canyons so I decided to colour in a black and white drawing I had done at the Dorothy Clive Garden a few days ago. It’s of the fountain at the quarry garden which is full of rhododendrons. ( is a quarry a type of man made canyon ?) Based on photos I took on the day, felt pens in my sketchbook.
Draw triangles and colour them in. I started with a star shape then worked my way out. Who needs adult colouring books when you can make your own pattern. I also tried to vary the colours so that there is more light and shade in it. The paler blue section seems to recede. I just used a set of ordinary felt pens and a fine line pen to draw the triangles. Doing something like this is like a meditation. You can sit and let the world go by as you draw and sketch. You can use any shapes you want and make the pattern as complex as you like. X
Added missing legs! That’s all!
After drawing several studies of our model I decided to do a more abstract image. I split the paper into squares and tried to do different colours and felt pens and pencil crayons to make an interesting image. We were running out of time and I realise now I have left out the legs and chair legs of the artist in the background behind the model! I will have to add them!
Seated figure – this was a thirty minute sketch. The model put her hair up this time. Using Ingres paper was good because I didn’t have to shade all of the figure. I did add some pencil colour to the background.
Another twenty minute sketch, pencil and ink and felt pens, orme art group. I’m so glad I went. An enjoyable day out.
Twenty minute sketch, pencil crayons and felt pens on Ingres paper. I used a grey and brown pallette with a touch of blur from a yoga mat on the floor. Sitting on a small stool and a faux sheepskin rug.
Ten and fifteen minute sketches drawn at the Orme Art Group today. We book a life model occasionally and it’s good to practice drawing perspective and proportions. Pencil crayons and felt pens on Ingres paper.
The Dorothy Clive Garden is at Willowbridge in Staffordshire on the border with Shropshire and Cheshire. It costs £10 for adults to visit.
At this time of year the garden is coming into bloom. It is planted on a sloping site and the main garden is full of blues, whites and purples at the moment. White and purple Alliums, Aqueigia, Irises, and other plants made a lovely display from the pond at the bottom up to the tearooms at the top. Then into the quarry garden. This is full of rhododendron and azalea flowers, the mature trees are in leaf and the waterfall drops from the rim of the quarry into its base.
We also walked along the Laburnum arch which is in full flower and is under planted with purple Alliums. Then there are ferns and lots of other interesting plants. We’ll worth a visit for the day.
What a day. I was going to relax then do some gardening. I hadn’t had breakfast so made coffee. Then suddenly the fridge freezer started beeping! We knew it was that because we had the same problem a few months ago. The freezer did need defrosting so I turned it off and propped the freezer door open while putting the frozen food into the fridge. But it kept beeping even when it was off, must have a battery in it!
Too noisy, several decibels. We decided to go out. More of that later…
I’d turned the fridge off but it was still beeping when we got in… Argh! So loud! So hubby decided to kick the fridge! Like that’s going to help! He kept pushing it and moving it backwards, trying to get it level. I switched it back on and dried the fridge and freezer. I was shouting ‘just shut up!’ I dragged it forward, something was clunking underneath, the tone of the sound changed. I dragged it further forward, a lower, slightly different tone. One more drag, clunk! It stopped! What!
Happy now. But although I don’t want to I think we will be forced to buy a new one.
Mallaband-Brown