Tag: sketching

  • A much-loved barn?

    A much-loved barn?

    Here’s a quick pen and ink sketch of a lovely old barn I spotted from the train window on the way to Kendal the other day. I loved the way the old tree seemed to have an arm out protecting the barn!

  • Definitely drawing geese

    Definitely drawing geese

    I thought I’d better practice drawing some of the geese I photographed the other day before I set to work on the actual project – since I’d never tried anything bigger than a swallow before. This is my first attempt, in pen and ink. Not bad if I do say so myself!

  • Lots of bird art

    Lots of bird art

    We visited the wonderful bird art exhibition at Rheged (near Penrith) the other day and were blown away. I’d expected to see some great art and that was there in spades with original paintings, prints, sculpture, needlecraft etc. But there was also so much more – legends about birds, poetry about birds, facts about birds,…

  • Watery Waterhead

    Watery Waterhead

    No more welly boot stands! Yesterday I was back to my comfort zone of Lake District scenery, thanks to a lovely sketching session with a couple of friends at Waterhead (the head of Windermere). The weather was a bit chilly – and showery – so we had a cuppa at the Pier cafe and they…

  • Sinister wooden objects…

    Sinister wooden objects…

    We had the first session of the new year at Windermere Art Society last night, tussling with tricky still life compositions. I found it surprisingly difficult, and think the end result, in pen and ink, shows how to take a series of ordinary household items and make them look thoroughly sinister!! Apparently, drawing still life…

  • An old stone circle

    An old stone circle

    Here’s a teeny tiny sketch of the Bronze Age stone circle at Birkrigg, near Ulverston, from our walk at the weekend. It was hard to draw the foreground as in between the stones is just short, sheep-cropped grass, but maybe I could use some watercolours if I do another version. You’ll see from my journal…

  • And the colour version…!

    And the colour version…!

    I tried using watercolours on the farm buildings sketch I posted the other day. I really wanted to highlight the vivid pink of the hydrangeas on the wall – it’s not there yet but I can always fiddle with it some more once it’s fully dry…

  • Old farm buildings in the sun

    Old farm buildings in the sun

    We had a super walk over Birkrigg Common near Ulverston this morning – it’s a mixture of moorland and limestone pavement with a stone circle and amazing views of Morecambe Bay and the Lakeland fells. Coming back, we got slightly lost in a maze of narrow lanes and I fell in love with these gorgeous…

  • Distant hills…

    Distant hills…

    Does anyone else remember that old piece of music? It was the B side for Eye Level, way back in the days when music still came on little round bits of vinyl. I’m showing my age. Anyway, moving on… I had coffee with a friend at the Mission cafe in Windermere this morning, and couldn’t…

  • A lake shore view

    A lake shore view

    Kirkstone Pass in the Lake District, which was closed for ages while they fixed a huge landslip, is open again. This means we can get to Ullswater without tricky diversions or a massive detour, so yesterday afternoon we jumped in the car and headed to Glenridding. The skies were overcast for the first time in…