... in that quiet earth

"I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth."

Powerful words indeed, taken from the last lines of 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte. In a previous life (metaphorically speaking), I lived a few miles from the Bronte Parsonage in Yorkshire and it was a delight to walk the same cobbled streets that those famous sisters had done so many years before and below the moors where Emily had found the inspiration to write such beautiful prose.

So I stopped for a while in town on the way home from work tonight and sat and sketched in an old cemetery, now carefully maintained as a beautiful garden complete with willows and a monkey puzzle tree. I did the initial drawing in pencil, added watercolour and then a few scribbles with a pen filled with Indian ink. I actually prefer dip pens back at base, but to avoid having to take bottles I use a Pelikan Steno fountain pen which has a nice flexible nib and is actually designed for taking shorthand! It started raining, but luckily I had just about finished and managed to get the sketchbook safely away in my sketchbag and headed off to Starbucks for a well-earned Latte and a slice of blackcurrant cheesecake. Nom, nom :)

Old cemetery, Huntingdon, ink and watercolour, 5" x 7"

Time to unwind

As you may remember from my last post, I'm busy decorating at the moment and so finding any time at all to dedicate to my art has been a tad difficult :( To make things worse, the weather here in the UK is a bit changeable for the Bank Holiday weekend. Despite all that, in between the dark bits, I managed to sneak away from my painting duties. Loiue the Beagle had been patiently waiting for his walk all day so I took him for a walk by the riverbank and, while he was bounding around making his own fun in the long grass, I managed to do a couple of pencil sketches. These were done on facing pages in a W&N heavyweight A6 sketchbook with a 2B pencil. Happy weekend everyone!

Sketching with Karisma

No, it's not a spelling mistake, but it is intended to be a pun. It's been a pretty uninspiring week at work, certainly not one in which I felt the slightest amount of charisma, so I was ready for the usual Friday afternoon ramble with Louie The Beagle along the country bridleways and footpaths and the chance of a little bit of sketching.

After sitting pretty much idle for the best part of twenty years, I decided it was about time I used my much coveted Karisma coloured pencils. I only have a few left, about thirty or so, and some of them are very little more than half their original length, in some cases just stumps, but they're still very usable and full of that gorgeous soft rich colour that made them (and still does make them) sought after. I just wish I'd bought bucket loads of them when I had the chance :( Still, I do have my Coloursofts :) Here they are in all their glory:

Well that's enough rambling: here for your enjoyment is an A5 sketch using only Karisma pencils in a Daler Rowney wirebound sketchbook. The place is a few miles from home, somewhere between the towns of Huntingdon and St Ives. I completed the entire sketch on location in about forty-five minutes: long enough for Louie to take a break and enjoy the sunshine!

Have a good weekend!

A second pause for thought

In this version I've lightened the wall behind the statue and then lightened and deepened the colours in a few other places, with emphasis on getting more light against dark contrasts, to give what I think is now a more pleasing result. Thank you Pat and Judy for your helpful suggestions :)

THE THINKING SOLDIER, HUNTINGDON, CAMBRIDGESHIRE

Pause for thought

I pass this wonderful statue on my way home from work .. well that's if I decide to go through the town centre for a bit of shopping, rather than the quick way home. I bought a new sketch book and a snazzy collapsible biro in town and so, armed with my new purchases and fancying a little break before I made my way home, I sat in the market square and sketched the war memorial in front of the old Court House and Mayor's Chambers. I must be getting more comfortable with plein air sketching now - I just ignored any passers-by and got on with it! I added coloured pencil at home., some from memory and some from reference to photographs on the web.

THE THINKING SOLDIER, HUNTINGDON, CAMBRIDGESHIRE