Character Development

 

Over the past few months I have been trying to focus on character development work by sketching people in various outdoor locations as much as possible. The above images are from my sketchpad and iPad (if they are too small, try clicking in them to get a larger view). I have just been playing with ideas, getting a style to flow rather than doing anything detailed. I seem to have been doing this for years and never been happy. One day I might get right what I actually want to do - once I know what that is!

 

Pheasants

 

Pheasants at Wrest Park (English Heritage, Beds). They were quite happy foraging amongst dead leaves only a few metres away from me and proved an interesting challenge to sketch. Whilst I was drawing, a robin came on perched on a branch almost within hand’s reach and was quite happy flitting around me whilst I drew.

Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire

Two sketches made today at Anglesey Abbey (National Trust). A beech tree amongst the daffodils and the Winter Garden: blue glory of the snow (Chionodoxa), purple/blue/pink lungwort (Pulmonaria), magenta elephant’s ears (Bergenia) and white paper birch trees.

 

Sunlit Oaks

 

Quick sketch made whilst out for a walk today of sunlight in an oak wood near Lilley, Hertfordshire. The bright green mosses covering the trees beautifully backlit by warm sunshine. Procreate on iPad, 29 minutes.

River Teme

Two quick sketches of the River Teme at Shelsley Beauchamp in Worcestershire.  In the first one I wanted to capture the pink flowers of himalayan balsam. I would have liked to have zoomed in on the flowers but didn’t have the will power to do so. The bank of the river was very steep here and I couldn’t easily access the plants at close range. The black and white picture is the view from the bridge over to the orchards and hills. I could have done it in colour but I only had a few minutes spare and decided to work in greyscale instead.

Woodland

This is a sketch of woodland near Knebworth today. A hot day with bright sunshine. The colours of the leaves were so vivid with the sunlight behind them. Several of my recent pictures have been experiments in using lighting effects to a greater extent. I have been inspired by many images on Instagram and I now trying to nudge my illustrations up a level.

Clun

Quick sketch of ducks in the river at Clun. It was a little chilly out and I didn't t really concentrate much on this, but I had an excellent long walk in the area

Sowdley Wood, Clun.

Some sketches made around Sowdley Wood that streches along the southern side of the Clun Valley between Clun and Clunton in South Shropshire. These were sketched just above Clunton on cold hazy mornings when the colours were quite muted. The third sketch, high up in the woods on the edge of a thick conifer plantation was sketched whilst sheltering under an umbrella. The joy of using an iPad is that it can tolerate a little more dampness than a sketchbook can. At this time of year the oranges of dead leaves, bracken and that of the algae that grows on the shaded sides of tree trunks can be quite striking.

Stokesay Castle Gatehouse

Quick sketch of Stokesay castle gatehouse near Craven Arms, Shropshire.

Pines in Sowdley Wood

This was a sketch made between rain showers of some pine trees in Sowdley Wood near Clun. They had been planted amongst a mixed stand of conifer and old oak woodland and stood alongside some redwoods. Both types of tree towered high above me and looked spectacular even on a dull and wet day. I have spent quite a while trying to identify this particular tree but haven't quite found anything that exactly matches what I have seen. What struck me was the gorgeous pale turquoise colour of the trunks that stood out in the dim light. I am often struck by how intense colours can be in nature even when there is very little sunlight. The bark was very smooth and with fine horizontal markings but very little cracking except at the very base of the trees. One rather interesting feature on all the trees was a diagonal stripe on the bark that curved very slightly anticlockwise by about 5 or 10 degrees, approximately 10ft long and beginning 20ft up. I wondered if this was a mark made by some protective covering of the young saplings when they were originally planted, but I don't really know. Judging by their height they must have been planted early in the last century as they looked far grander than stands of commercial conifers that are grown nearby.

After a little scrambling about on the step hillside I did find the remains of some very large fir cones and, as they don't match those of the redwoods or other nearby Douglas firs, they must come from these trees. Even after an extensive Internet search I cannot exactly match them to anything. I could be missing something fairly straightford and I am a little annoyed at not being able to name them but I do like an occasional puzzle like this.

Hopton Titterhill Quarry

I have been to the top of this hill in Shropshire many times but haven't really walked around its lower edge. On the northern side lies an old quarry and yesterday I sat there a while to do a quick sketch. Some long-tailed tits passed by and one of them flitted around some of the seed heads of wood sage which had grown abundantly on the waste rocks. These are one of my favourite birds and they are always a pleasure to watch and listen out for as they flock together and move around the landscape chirping.

Autumn Yellows

A path through the woods near Wrest Park, Bedfordshire. Sketched on a walk - loved all the bright yellow leaves. 

Windy Hill

Drew this from memory after a bike ride this morning. Cycled out to just beyond Warden Hill, north of Luton, and sat on a hill top looking back over the landscape reaching gently away below me. It was a showery and very blustery day but not too cold and I was able to lie on the grass in my well done up coat looking over the fields and feel fairly cosy. I had thought of doing a sketch whilst there but somehow I just wanted to sit and enjoy just being out in the wind and enjoy the space around me without having to feel obliged to create something.

Silver Birches

Three silver birch trees outside the garden tea rooms at Witley Court (Worcestershire). This was a bit of a quick playful experiment and I wasn't too sure where it would end up. It was beautifully sunny and I loved the horizontal stripes and textures on the tree trunks.

Witley Court woodland garden

This small, steep wooded garden valley at this English Heritage property looked beautiful this morning with bright sunlight highlighting leaves just beginning to turn colour and accentuating the greens of the lawn. Three alder trees stand in the forground by the edge of a small stream.

Autumn leaves

Autumn colours of hornbeams (I think) in the parkland at Croft Castle.

Croft Castle Tea Rooms

A very heavy rain shower forced me to take shelter in the tea room at Croft Castle (National Trust, Herefordshire). It was fairly empty before the lunchtime rush and I liked all the different colours of the bottles and things in the drinks cabinet.

Hitchin

A quick sketch from my drawing pad made this morning in Hitchin. It is a little rough and wonky but I was quite pleased with the result. 

Wrest Park, Bedfordshire

Had an enjoyable day cycling to Wrest Park today and doing a little bit of sketching on the iPad. Here is an old gate post almost hidden amongst some blackthorn bushes and a couple of sketches made in the cafe.

Two for lunch

A wet Bank Holiday Monday found me having coffee in a certain department store cafe. This scene of two girls and a double buggy caught my eye. I thought they looked quite bedded down for a while so I scribbled away on the iPad and and at one stage got so focused on some detail that I failed to see them get up and go. When I next looked up they had gone and I had to fill in the other half of the sketch by guesswork. I am finding that sketching with my sketchpad is currently more enjoyable, but I am trying to keep setting myself challenges on the iPad. One advantage of working on the iPad is that people can't so easily see what you are doing!