Wednesday 24 August 2011

Fields of gold and green

Despite the threat of rain from the weatherman it was absolutely glorious this evening so I  managed to get another sketch in on the way home from work. I took a slight diversion and headed off down a country lane to find a suitable spot to sit and paint. I managed to find somewhere tucked well away from curious neighbours or gun-toting farmers this time lol. This was done using my Schmincke watercolours in my pocket watercolour Moleskine.


Huntingdon farm landscape, Watercolour Moleskine

23 comments:

  1. I like it! Wonderful view, this two page sketch! Love the fresh colours!

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  2. oh Michael, how I love little watercolor sketches like this... I have a moleskine , and I never get to do things like this,, so you do them for me... LOL ! BJ

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  3. Looks gorgeous, Michael !

    so glad you avoided the gun toting farmers - don't want an artist mown down ;)

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  4. Goedemorgen/Buongiorno/Good morning everyone!

    Thank you Judy. That's quite a compliment from the fresh watercolour expert :)

    Oh BJ thank you. It's a deal but only if you paint the flowers for me lol!

    Mari, wow thank you very much! Ciao!

    Pat - thank you. I'll be fine since I'm usually armed with a sharp pencil and/or pointed sable!

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  5. There's a lovely airy loosness to this. I like the way you have used the join in the page to create separate compositions. It's like a three in one sketch.....more please :o)

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  6. Thank you Lisa. I didn't strictly design it as two compositions but it is isn't it?! I was careful though to not have broken verticals like trees across the stitching. More to come - weather willing!

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  7. Hi Michael.
    Lovely Watercolour. Can you explain to me what these Moleskin Sketch books are? I`ve never heard of them. Again my friend, lovely watercolour. All the best.
    Vic.

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  8. Hi Vic. Thank you very much! Moleskine (note the e on the end) make a variety of high quality (and high cost!) notebooks and diaries. They make one filled with a good weight of cotton rag watercolour paper. They come in various sizes but my latest sketches are all done in the smallest one which is slightly less than A6 (about 5.5" x 4") and fits in a shirt or trouser pocket or in a small bag. Waterstones sell most of the Moleskine range if you want to look at one properly. Best wishes, Michael.

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  9. Hi Michael - Gorgeous!!
    Though I like the watercolour Moleskine I don't get on with the other ones in the range at all. But it is handy to have something pocket sized! I am looking forward to Christmas because my Mum has brought me a W&N Cotman travel bag complete with water bottle, brush, paints, paper - Then I will have NO excuse not to produce some spontanious sketches such as yours, lol :0)

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  10. Hi Sandra and thank you! I don't like the other waxy Moleskines either although Katherine Tyrrell (Making A Mark) does some superb coloured pencil drawings in hers! A great idea for Christmas pressie and I look forward to seeing lots of SB sketches. You'll be able to sketch whenever and wherever, even on boring lunch breaks at work ;)

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  11. Another cracker Michael. You know me I always like to give a balanced view. It's called "doing a Roger" To me, the composition would be better without the tree on the right. Why? Because you have a strong diagonal leading from the right foreground(blue grey shadow) to the russet trees and bushes in the far left distance. The gold leafed tree on the left sits comfortably with this line which takes the eye to the horizon. The tree on the left supports this transit across the composition. The tree on the right leads the eye away and adds nothing.

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  12. Hi Roger and thank you very much for your balanced view! I did ponder and doubt the right hand side of the composition a little and actually left out another tree to the extreme right. Tricky stuff this art! I have a great book on drawing which devotes a lot of pages to composition using just lines and simple shapes. I will have to sit down for an hour or so and read it properly!

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  13. Sometimes less is more. It's not always necessary to paint everything that falls within the composition area you have selected, as seen by the artist. Leave anything out that weakens the composition or adds nothing. Include additional features only when necessary to strengthen the work or reinforce direction lines.Generally the devil is in the detail and it's always good to leave something for the viewer to explore and discover.

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  14. Thank you, Roger. It's a big subject and can be a minefield to the beginner. I have only touched on the basics but it's really useful to have a summary like this! Thank you again.

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  15. Your post comes at a perfect time - I've just decided to give up carting my watercolour pad and paints down to London with me every week. They're just too big and heavy. But your moleskine posts have made me think it's worth getting one and popping that in my bag.

    Thanks, Michael.

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  16. Hi Vandy, glad to help! You can get them online obviously but Tindalls stock them in Cambridge up to A3 size (!) and Waterstones in Peterborough have the full range of diaries, planners, notebooks and sketchbooks so the one in Cambridge should have them too. I also have an A5 and an A4 version :)

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  17. Michael, your Moleskine watercolor sketches are truly magnificent. You inspire us all. I love everyone of your sketches.

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  18. Noted the E Michael. Thank you for the information re` MoleskinE. I will have a go at your size pad. All the best my friend, and Have a nice weekend.
    Vic.

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  19. This is really beautiful Michael. It's like a panoramic picture.

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  20. Wow, thank you very much, Renske! It is a wide format but I like the effect and there's more room for me to splash paint around :).

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  21. nice impressionistic vieuw i like this

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No silly verification words here - all comments are appreciated! Thank you :)