A ring of the doorbell yesterday revealed our neighbour clutching a bowl of plums from his tree. I have been keeping an eye on these partly from a culinary point of view, but also with an idea of painting them.
I mostly used New Gamboge (yellow), Permanent Rose and French Ultramarine.
The plums were sweet and delicious.
How much should I put in a sketch?
What is the difference between a sketch and a painting?
These are two questions I have been asked recently. The answer is not so easy as it will be different for each individual.
The first question you need to ask yourself is “What kind of sketch do I want?” There are times when you might be going out with the clear intention of spending a given amount of time in which to sketch and to do nothing else, in which case you may decide to devote most of your energy on one piece of work, or you may prefer to do a number of smaller sketches, maybe even combining them on the same page or piece of paper.
Other times, as in the case of ‘Lower Brockhampton Manor House’ , it may be that the chance to sketch has to fit into a number of other things you want to do, or you may be on holiday, visiting a number of locations during the course of the day, in which case the type of sketch which is best suited will be one which tries to capture the flavour of the place and how you see it, rather than trying to paint an exact copy of what is in front of you, with every stick and stone included. This sketch will become part of your armoury if you decide to paint a more detailed version at a later date.
A sketch can be something which stands alone and needs nothing more, or it may be used as part of your reference for a later project. It doesn’t matter which – it will depend entirely on you.
You’re the boss!
Happy sketching.
It is understandable that they moved these bales from the field pretty quickly rather than letting them become soaked by the rain. Disappointing from a painting point of view of course, not to be able to play with them for longer. At least there is the memory of them to sustain a few more small paintings like this.
6 x 8 ins watercolour on Bockingford paper
This morning was one of those glorious golden summer days which we think of as only existing in our imagination – probably because they seem so few and far between… I have been hoping for some bales of straw but disappointed when visiting fields where I have found them before only to find them full of sheep!
Imagine my delight when walking home from a neighbouring village I cut down by the church and came out behind it into a field FULL of bales as far as the eye could see. What Bliss!
This is 6 x 8 inches and the bales were painted with yellow ochre, new gamboge, indian red, winsor violet and a little blue. Saunders Waterford 140lb CP/NOT paper
It has been a hazardous week for sketching outdoors, as what appeared to be settled sunny weather has been anything but with the sudden arrival of dark clouds and heavy showers.
‘Allotment Sunflower’ is a case in point as I had intended to add more watercolour, but the torrential downpour sent me scurrying for cover before I, and more importantly my sketchbook, became sodden. Later, I decided I quite liked leaving some of the page unpainted. If I change my mind I can always go back another day.
Derwent Graphik line maker, Winsor & Newton watercolour in softbound Stillman & Birn Alpha 5.5 x 8.5 in. sketchbook
It’s been bucketing down all day with no sign of it about to stop. We have more water than we know what to do with and I am sure there will be flooding in a lot of places. So I am pleased that I took the opportunity to paint this Fuchsia in the garden yesterday.
8.5 x 5.5 sketchbook page.
We may have heatwaves in this country, but the thing is they tend not to last more than a few days at a time. This is usually followed by showers which can be quite heavy then suddenly we are back in heatwave mode again. It’s designed to keep us on our toes and give us something to talk about !
This is a 8 x 11 inch watercolour from another sketch I did at the tail end of last week before the rain came and went and the sun came back again…
I went to the local lavender farm earlier this week when it was dry and sunny and very crowded. Everyone and their friends love lavender and want to take photos of themselves and each other standing in it – must have something to do with the heady aroma!
The Lavender is at it’s peak right now and I believe they are ready to harvest it any day now, so I hope today’s rain hasn’t harmed it.
While there are so many poppies around, it seems a shame not to use them, even if it means moving them from the next field over for the sake of the picture…
To see them in such abundance is still unusual enough in these parts to tempt motorists to interrupt their hurry to reach wherever they are going, to pull over and take some photos. Often some will stay awhile drinking in the colour, alone with their thoughts and memories.
Poppies evoke powerful emotions.
The poppies are thriving in our mixed-up weather. Although there are whole fields of them around here, they may not actually be exactly where I have placed them in this view, but I don’t think it matters.
Graham Findlay Watercolours 