Apple Trees

At the beginning of May I visited Orleton Court Farm in Worcestershire and camped in an old apple orchard. The trees were starting to leaf while the main blossom time looked a couple of weeks away. I was struck by all the different shapes formed by the trunks and branches and so took a collection of photos to record their appearance. I had initially planned some illustration work but decided to create a photo collage instead. Clicking on the image should enlarge it.

 

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!

 

Orange Tip Butterfly

Orange tip butterfly, wild garlic and yellow archangel growing on the steep banks of a dingle near Hanley Child in Worcestershire. I always remember visiting this place below our farm as a child and I returned there a couple of weeks ago to take a few photos. The above illustration worked well, though my iPad struggled to cope with its complexity and so I called it a day when I could perhaps of refined it more. On the day I visited the location there was bright warm sunshine, the ground was very wet and the understory full of luscious vegetation beneath the trees. The aroma of the garlic filled the air along with the sound of the stream tumbling over several small waterfalls.

Hop Picking Machine

 

The tracked time on my iPad says I had this file open for 6 hours and 38 minutes. This might well have included snack breaks and lunch. Even so, I reckon around 5 hours in a farm shed sheltering from the rain and drawing part of one of my favourite subjects was time well spent. I was enjoying myself so much I hadn’t realised I had spent most a day doing this. Why? I wasn’t keen on going out for a walk and getting wet as I was camping in the car on this farm for a few nights. This huge machine gave me an ideal opportunity to just sit and draw and focus on detail. There are so many interesting geometric shapes and different perspectives and I was able to work in complete safety as it is only in operation for a few weeks in late summer. I limited myself to working solely in black linework, no grey tinting or colour allowed.

I am fairly happy with the result, in this case it was the process I enjoyed rather than the final outcome.

Dandelions

A very, very quick sketch of a wonderful patch of dandelions at Hanley Childe in Worcestershire.
 

Green-veined White

I am not sure how I have missed this butterfly over the years. I have probably ignored the whites and so hadn’t spotted this right under my nose. This was seen in abundance in north Hertfordshire a couple of days ago. I had originally planned to do a drawing of the greater stitchwort and then progressed to include the celandines and bluebells. Also saw the following butterflies in the spring hedgerows: orange tip, a blue, brimstone and a peacock. This iPad illustration is so full of spring colours and I was very pleased with the way it turned out - capturing all the colour and vibrancy of a roadside verge on a clear sunny day.

 

Brimstone Butterfly

Brimstone amongst a hedgerow full of wild clematis. iPad illustration. It was the first I had seen this year, spotted whilst out for a walk in the sunshine near Offley/Hitchin last weekend.