#198 'Setting Sun, Sky Study' & Sketches

This was the fourth painting of the day, so I was warmed up and flowing! Although when I did it at 10pm it was dusk and could hardly see what I was painting :-) There isn't much tonal contrast just colour contrast. I enjoyed getting the paint down quickly.
I painted one more before we left the next morning but not sure about it. So this is the last of the French paintings for now. 
I also have some drawings which I'm going to work up into paintings...here are a few of the sketches to give you an idea:

Sketches of South Africa

Arrived back home yesterday from South Africa, a wonderful trip visiting my sister.
Pen & Ink, Table Mountain. We saw the sunrise over Table Mountain twice - It was so good we had to go back and see it again! Beautiful colours and I was itching to paint them.

We went on safari in Madikwe Game Reserve (up near the Botswana boarder). We stayed in an eco bush camp called Mosetlha, the stars at night were unbelievable! These group of African pots were outside in the couryard next to our cabins. Really strong shdaows because of the blazing African sun - I fried when I did the drawing! 

This was the same water soluble pen I used in the Table Mountain drawing but with out a wash on top.

Drawing lions

Really loved the game drives, saw so many animals up close (the safari trucks were able to go off road.) I took photos but I also wanted to try drawing the animal. Not reasy! As you usually had only seconds to complete it buy getting the general form down before they moved again. It was fun to do and I'm sure helped my observational skills.

I did the same thing at Boulders Beach in Cape Town where the wild African Penguins hang out. You can't help smile at them especially when they waddle about. It was blowing a gale when we were there and being sand blasted while I drew added an extra challenge!

Drawing The French Alps

We recently returned form our ski trip in La Plagne France. It snowed and snowed! The drawing above was after a big dump of snow overnight. I used 3 tones - dark, mid and light - the white of the paper.
The one below is when it started to melt, and there was no snow left on the trees! This one was more about scale. The huge mountains, tiny chalets and big foreground pines. Both views from our balcony, wished I drew more but 6 hours plus of skiing there were limits! Hope to make these into paintings...

#156 'Tower House, Portsmouth Harbour' 8x20"

Painted this a couple of days ago in the city I used to live in. It was a good spot on top of the Round Tower (a fort built from the 1490's) being eye level with the big boats going in and out. I also heard a honking it was swan flapping by right near my head!

I chose to do this as a panoramic because the sky and light was wonderful and the sweep of the harbour a good combo. But it was quite hard to make the composition work with the the Tower House building in the foreground. 
By the time I had finished the outside session, I was unsure as to whether it was going to work out. 

When I returned back to the studio I couldn't bare the sea I had painted so wiped it all off and nearly wiped off the rest too but was pleased I didn't! 
Sometimes paintings work from the start and others don't! For example a painting I did last week but didn't post I worked when I got home but it didn't come together and was ditched.  Thankfully this one came together, yay! 

I drew this same scene back in 2003, I made the drawing outside but never did a painting from it until now. Might do another one in this more square format but on a different day and different weather.....

For Christmas this year my husband Nick, designed and made me a Open Box M pochade converter for panoramic boards like this one. Previously I have been taping the boards onto my pochade with brown tape! Because the Open Box M grips the painting on the sides, this one grips top and bottom.  I used it for the first time to do this painting and it worked beautifully, thank you Nick!

Life Drawing no.1

Decided to go back to life drawing. I haven't done any for over 5 years and before that it was sporadic. I thought it would help my observation skills and drawing for painting. 

I had forgotten how tough it is! So intense and focused, really enjoyed it though. A friendly group local to me in Hindhead.

Here are 3 drawings of about 7 I did today.

This first one I used the grey of the paper for my mid tone and the white and black chalk pastel for the light and darks. It feels likes painting when you use these broad strokes.

The second is the same pose a quick paint brush and ink study trying not to use to many lines to describe the figure. Not easy! 

This final one I actually did near the beginning of the day, finding my feet and feeling quite rusty and slow, but tried to do a careful and fairly accurate charcoal pencil drawing.

'Gladioli' 20x30"

I fancied getting my teeth stuck into a large (nearly life size, A1) charcoal drawing. We had these flowers which were on their way out but still great shapes. 

I used a fat charcoal stick for most of it which was like a paint brush I wanted it to be bold but delicate. To really observe every area and as I was doing it reminding myself 'dont assume what it looks like but to really look!' I used the negative shapes between the flowers to help. I also used a rubber drawing with the charcoal first and then sculpting the shapes with the rubber and then redrawing over the ghost shape again. The tone was interesting too with very deep pink flowers darker than the greenery and a fine balance in getting the flowers dark but not too heavy looking.

It took all day to do it, quite satifying watching it emerge, and doing something large scale.

Drawing is so helpful for painting skills. 

Summer Workshop no.2 at Frensham Little Pond

We had a lovely day yesteday at Frensham Little Pond. A good spot to draw although we were lucky it wasn't raining, the wind was wipping up from the water and quite chilly. 
My students worked really hard on drawing what they saw, ready to use the information in September for oil paintings. Some had never drawn outside so a new experience, which can be quite dawnting. 
We broke it down firstly small, quick thumbnails to work out the composition and subject matter.

And then a larger more careful line drawing with tones noted down on it, using a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lightest tone you'll see and 10 the darkest. This is helpful when painting it later.

Finally a tonal drawing not using any outlines, just blocking in the basic shapes.

It was great to be outside with my students and them getting stuck into it! They said it gave them confidence to be drawing outside as they were in a group and not so likely to be singled out! 

Summer Workshop on Tilford Green

I did this drawing at the weekend in preperation for the workshop I was running today for my students. Set on an English green with old buildings, a pub and barns and a great sunny day, so lucky with the weather. The workshop aim was to produce drawings that will be used as an aid for oil paintings in September.

We did small thumb nail drawings to explore our subjects and work out composition. Then a larger well observed line drawing and then tone, not much then :-) 

A picnic together in the sunshine at lunch was so lovely, a successful day! 

This photo shows them working hard!

It's a great area for paintings I will go back there and do some plein air painting of the drawings, like the one below of an old bridge.

'Waggoners Wells' Sketch 7x9"

It was such a sunny day I had to get out and enjoy it. I didn't have the energy to do a painting after teaching this mornings class so I thought I do a sketch in preparation for a painting later.
Waggoners Wells are down the road from us, some lovely reflections in the 3 ponds there. 
I liked the wooden old bridge and shapes of the silhouetted trees. I drew it in a charcoal pencil which is great for dense darks and not to fine details. I will definitely go back and paint this scene.