Country cottage, WIP part III

Spent another few hours on this today. Apart from the lawn in front of the house, I think this is getting close to being done. It's a while since I attempted anything like this, and I'm beginning to remember why! It takes a very long time! On the other hand, there is something very satisfying about doing a very detailed piece of work in pen and ink.

I'm using Rotring Rapidograph pens on 140lb NOT watercolour paper, by the way. My favourite is the .25, though I sometimes use the .1 and the .35. I've got a .5 as well, but when you've been using those very fine nibs, the .5 feels like a stick of charcoal! They are normally extremely reliable, though there are three big spots where ink blotted out of one of them. It was my fault, I hadn't put a new cartridge in properly. I think these blots stick out like a sore thumb (three thumbs, in fact). I also think the roof is a mess, and the front door is too wide. Apart from that, I'm quite pleased with it!

Pandora

I've been a bit too busy to do too much painting or drawing for the past day or two, but I did manage to do this quick ink sketch of our cat, Pandora. She's a British Blue, very placid...indeed, you could say fat and lazy! She also has the slightly annoying habit of walking over my computer keyboard while I'm working! This was done with a Rotring Art Pen, washed over with a Pentel water brush.

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Garden sketches

Tonight I put the dinner on and thought it was such a lovely evening that I would go out and do a bit of sketching in the garden while it was cooking. Unfortunately, I got engrossed in it and...well, let's just say that the local Chinese takeaway got some extra business tonight!

I've admired several other artists' use of Inktense pencils lately, so I thought I'd give them a go. I don't really have much success with coloured pencils, but these colours seemed so vibrant that I couldn't resist. These aren't entirely successful (the best one is the graphite!), but I think it will be worth persevering.

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Country cottage, WIP part 2

Here's an update on the country cottage picture. I didn't manage to get very much done tonight; mainly the roof and the wall on the right. The detail on the front of the house is the scary part that I'm putting off doing!

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Fishing

While in Scotland, my nephew was keen to try his hand at trout and salmon fishing, so we went along to the River Deveron for a morning. It's not as well known as some other Scottish fishing rivers, like the Tweed and the Dee, but it is in a lovely location. However, fishing isn't really for me; the guide told us that 99% of fly fishing trips end up with no fish, especially in the spring. So, I figured you have about the same chance of catching a fish if you are sketching on the bank as those that are actually fishing! Here is a quick sketch of my daughter. Oh, and no fish were harmed in the making of this sketch!

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Country cottage, WIP

I'm working on a pen and ink drawing of a country cottage. I've done one or two detailed pen and ink drawings before, but this is the largest I've attempted so far. It's taking a long time, probably five hours so far, but I'm not really keeping track because I'm enjoying doing it. I thought I would share the progress so far.

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Another Matterhorn

Here's another sketch of the Matterhorn, this time in pen and ink.

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Matterhorn

I'm back from my trips to Switzerland and Scotland. I've a few sketches to share, though not as many as I'd hoped. This is partly because my poor wife tore a knee ligament on her first day skiing, and so was unable to take to the slopes herself. As a result, I had to spend most of the week making sure nothing similar happened to my daughter and two nephews! As I don't ski myself, that was a bit of a challenge!! The other reason is that various people begged me to give them the best sketches that I did manage to do, so I only have a few left. Does this happen to other people? It's hard to say no, especially to the kids, even though a selfish part of me didn't really want to part with them. (Of course, I couldn't really expect to keep the sketch of Pads the PDSA beanie baby puppy with a bandaged paw...). Anyway, here is a sketch I managed to do on the first day in Switzerland, from a place called Riffelberg, not far up the mountain from Zermatt.

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Holiday

I'm going to be away for the next week, skiing at Zermatt in Switzerland, so there won't be any new posts for a while. But I'm packing my pencils and paints, so assuming I don't break too many limbs, I hope to have a few pieces to show when I get back!

Winter tree

Continuing my series of tree studies in graphite, here is a drawing of a tree in middle distance, and so showing less detail of texture than the previous two studies. What do you think? I'm not convinced by some of the branches.

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Slideshow

Thanks to Teri for giving me the idea for creating a slideshow. How cool is this!

EDM #112 Something fresh

Here's my entry to the EDM challenge this week. This was freshly picked from my garden this afternoon! It's watercolour (sap green, burnt sienna, ultramarine blue).

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Wytham Woods tree

Wytham Woods are about four miles outside Oxford and cover an area of 416 hectares. Much of the site is ancient woodland, though there are also areas of more recent natural woodland. It is owned by Oxford University, who use it as a site for ecological research. However, public access is also allowed, and it is a very popular spot for walking. Inspector Morse fans might remember it from The Way Through the Woods. Yesterday, I went out to draw some trees, but could only stay out for a couple of hours as it was much colder than I expected. Here's one study that I did (EDM Challenge #15).

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Dürer to Friedrich: German Drawings from the Ashmolean

Yesterday I went to visit the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. It's an interesting museum, in fact the oldest in England to open it's doors to the public. I often pop in; it has, among many other treasures, an amazing collection of prints and drawings, including many by Raphael and Michaelangelo. Usually there are a few on display, though unfortunately the museum is currently undergoing major development and so a large number of its rooms are closed. However, they do currently have an exhibition of German drawings from this collection, including some great works by Dürer, Grünewald and Holbein. Here's an extract from the museum's description of the exhibition:

Highlights of the exhibition include Albrecht Dürer’s (1471-1528) Youth Kneeling before a Potentate. Watched by two men looking through a window, a young man in a turban kneels before an elder in a vaulted chamber. The youth is thought to be a self portrait of the artist while the theme of the drawing illustrates a biblical story, possibly Jacob departing from Isaac, Joseph before Pharoah, or David and Saul. Dating from between 1492 and 1494, the drawing was likely to have been made following Dürer’s apprenticeship when he travelled widely in the North of Europe. An Elderly Woman with Clasped Hands by Matthias Grünewald (c.1480-1528) is the most striking of the few drawings to have survived by one of the greatest geniuses of German art. This powerful image of grief ranks alongside the finest drawings by Dürer. The costume study Figure of a Woman in Contemporary Dress by Hans Holbein the Younger(1497-1543) was used by Ruskin in his Lectures on Landscape to teach students the rules of drawing. Ruskin admired Holbein’s ability to create form through the use of light, combined with what he described as “A perfectly sharp linear limit”. While Dürer was the dominant figure in Nuremberg, Hans Burgkmair (1473-1531) was the most important artist in Augsburg. An active painter, etcher and a designer of woodcuts, he played a significant role in the development of the chiaroscuro woodcut. The Ashmolean's Portrait of a Man is a vivid example of his talent in capturing a likeness.

The exhibition is open until 20th May, and is well worth a visit if you happen to be in Oxford.

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EDM #111 - Bowl

This is the first time that I've participated in the Everyday Matters weekly drawing challenge, which this week is to draw a bowl. So, here are some bowls, along with a few other random things that are on the same page of the sketchbook. The brown bowl is a first attempt to draw with my latest toy, Caran D'Ache Neocolor II watersoluble crayons. They're fun, but I think will take a bit of getting used to.

More daffodils

Painting these things is addictive! And it's so good to switch between doing detailed pencil studies and very free watercolour painting. That way, doing both feels like an even bigger treat!

Tree root study

I've always loved drawing trees. What's not to love? Strong shapes, texture, endless variation. Drawing the bark is my favourite part. If only I could paint them! Here's a quick study of the base of a tree.

Jesus College

I was all set to go sketchcrawling yesterday (it was the 13th annual worldwide sketchcrawl). In the end, I only managed to get one done, as I was called home! Never mind, it was a bit chilly anyway. This is the entrance to the Principal's Lodgings in Jesus College, Oxford. I think this part of the College is 17th century; the canopy over the door is quite unusual. An interesting feature of Oxford Colleges is that the head of the College is required to live in. The accommodation is quite sumptuous, of course, but students aren't always the quietest of neighbours!

Essential mother's day supplies

In the UK it is Mother's Day (or Mothering Sunday) tomorrow, which is as good an excuse as any to get a bottle of champagne in! Here's a quick pen and ink sketch before it's been drunk. Now I've got to go out and do the shopping for the lunch I've got to cook tomorrow...

Daffodils

I've been experimenting with some watercolours of daffodils, trying to keep them very loose. These are inspired by Jean Haines, a very talented artist. I'm not particularly happy with them, but I think this is a good exercise and, hey, they can only get better!