Basic Kit

28-11-10
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Managed a spread, despite my head feeling like it's caving in!
It's my sinuses giving me pain now a family ailment that I'm sure my drugs are now working on...I can feel improvement, slowly but surely.

Decided to sketch some of my journal kit, besides my hands (obviously, LOL!), a cheap synthetic brush and a Lamy filled with Noodlers ink, I have a palette, a rag and a water bottle. This is always in my handbag and my handbag usually joins me in the lounge and I sketch with this kit while at home too!
Pen, brush, paint, rag and water...just 5 items and, of course, my current journal.
I have 5 Lamys, each filled with a different colour Noodlers ink, but the one I've been using recently is the Pink one filled with Bulletproof Black ink.

Resting

25-27-11-10
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

I am, very slowly, making progress and starting to feel a little better with the aid of my prescribed drugs!...Thank you for your well wishes.

I have not been sketching much at all, which is very unlike me, I miss it terribly but just don't seem to be able to muster either the energy or the inspiration.

Daily Journal

22-11-10b
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

A quick sketch in Benwick, on the way back from Ramsey, before collecting Harry from the school bus and some evening doodles.

My cold is back! I can't believe it! I woke the next morning to swollen glands, a sore throat and sinus pain.
It's been over a month now....I submit!
I now have drugs from my GP.

Choices

22-11-10a
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

A quick trip into Ramsey and a visit to Choices Cafe for an Italian Blend...Yum!

The Weekend

20-21-11-10
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Noodlers bullet proof black ink and watercolour in daily journal

Class Demo Revisited

22-11-10-ClassDemo-smll
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

This is the class demo I did yesterday, using the 15 min watercolour base from last weeks class.
The task was to create atmosphere and depth.
I found it difficult to photograph (there is a hot, vibrant pink in there that the camera just will not pick up)

I spent approx. 1 hour on this piece, working on many techniques and applications. My student loved the session and we both ended up smothered in pastel, along with most of the door handles in my home!

The house was added at the end to show the versitality of using mixed media (light over dark) a valuable lesson, although I think preferred the scene without it.

30x30cm - Mixed Media

Class Demo

15-11-10-ClassDemo
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

This is a demo I did in class last week with a student, we are working with mixed media to introduce various mediums and to add a little pre-Christmas fun to the mix after all her hard work throughout the year.
This is the base layer, painted with a very large brush using watercolour to gain a ground and map out our areas and composition...no pencil sketch was used. It was a very quick process (approx 15 mins) and I painted alongside my student so she could see my applications while she worked on hers. I started a few minutes after her and noticed a considerable change in her application after watching me, her washes became wetter and her strokes looser - Great!

Today we will be adding to it using various delights such as gouache and soft pastel. I have no idea how it will turn out or how I will approach it myself until I start and I love that.
It's gonna be fun and a learning experience for us both!

Watercolour on 30x30cm Hahnemuhle Quattro watercolour block

Exercise

19-11-10b
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Noodlers bullet proof black ink and watercolour in daily journal

Cake and Comfort

19-11-10a
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Noodlers bullet proof black ink and watercolour in daily journal

St Marys Street, Ely

18-11-10b
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

A very quick sketch made on my way from Peacocoks in Ely.

Noodlers bullet proof black ink and watercolour in daily journal.

Peacocks Tearooms of Ely

18-11-10a
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

After popping in for a natter with Emma-Jane at her home in Ely yesterday, I indulged in a cream tea in my favourite tearoom...Peacocks. (With coffee...of course!)
Delicious!

Catching Up

16-17-11-10
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Noodlers bullet proof black ink and watercolour in daily journal.

Finally managing a bit of location work, all be it from the warmth and comfort of my car.
I have been dying to sketch over the past couple of days but being poorly and out of action for a couple of weeks has meant lots of catching up both in the home and, of course, with my Christmas shopping!
LOVE Christmas!!!

This house sits back off the road on my drive through Wimblington into March town, I often admire it but have never sketched it...until now!

Plein Air Watercolour Studies

15-11-10
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Waiting for Harrys school bus to arrive

Daniel Smiths Raw Umber Violet watercolour studies in daily journal

I got really sloppy and soaked the study on the right, the paper buckled but the surface stayed in tact and it did not bleed through to the back...Pretty impressive! The book was closed when dry (which was quite some time) and left on my studio desk overnight. The paper is now quite flat again...I did not put weight on top of it either.

These DR Ebony books take ALOT of abuse!

Sunday Comforts

14-11-10
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Noodlers bullet proof black ink and watercolour in daily journal

Retail Therapy

13-11-10
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

A little retail therapy to get me out of the house ....and my pyjamas!
Still coughing and feeling pretty weak but deffinately improving - Thank God!

Harry

11-11-10
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Noodlers bullet proof black ink and watercolour in daily journal (A5 DR Ebony)

First Spread

10-11-10
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

First spread in my new A5 DR Ebony sketchbook.
Lovely paper to sketch on, the nib glides effortlessly across the page, a little resistant to watercolour for the first few seconds but once wet soon absorbs the paint although drying time is extended somewhat to other sketchbooks ...This would probably make it an ideal sketchbook for location work.
Scobey has settled in wonderfully indoors and has been such great company during this awful cold I've had. I am still not quite myself but feeling a little better ...Thank you for all your well wishes.

Last Spread

06-11-2010c
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

More DVD stills from the OC series and the last spread of my little A6 Venezia that I started on 30-09-10.

I'll be moving on to an A5 sketchbook by Daler Rowney next, my first time using one of these filled with 90+ pages of 150gsm cartridge paper:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anitadavies/5169094680/

Scobey

06-11-2010b
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Another spread of our Whippet Scobey.

Two Minutes

06-11-2010a
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Noodlers bullet proof black ink and watercolour in daily journal

Orange County

05-11-2010
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Sketched from DVD stills of the OC
Noodlers bullet proof black ink and watercolour in daily journal

Self Portrait

04-11-2010b
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

A very unflattering self portrait sketched while lying on the sofa with my sketchbook balanced on my knees, pen in one hand and small bathroom mirror in the other.

Different Day...Different Sofa

04-11-2010a
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Another sketch from the sofa feeling less than healthy...but...this time I changed sofas for a different viewpoint.

From The Sofa

03-11-2010
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

More from my sick bed...
I'm running out of things to sketch that I can see from the sofa! The adjacent sofa and Harrys carved pumpkin were a blessing for itchy fingers.

The Sick Table

02-11-2010b
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Noodlers bullet proof black ink and watercolour in daily journal

Autumn Frills

02-11-2010a
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Noodlers bullet proof black ink and watercolour in daily journal

Creature Comforts

1-11-2010b
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

When Scobey covered her face with her towel to snuggle I thought it would be a brief moment I just had to capture in my journal. My sketch was brief but she held this position for over an hour!!!

Scobey

01-11-2010a
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Scobey sleeping, all snuggled up in the lounge.

Sunday Subjects

31-10-2010
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

More of Harrys' toys proved useful subjects for my daily journal on Sunday.

Poorly

30-10-2010b
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Saturday morning I woke feeling terrible. A tight chest, muscle aches, hot sweats, no energy and the Mother of all coughs!

Meet Scobey

30-10-2010a
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

This is Scobey, one of my eldest Sons' dogs.
She is adorable; regal, beautiful, elegant and full of character...she actually says 'Hello' when she greets you.
On Saturday she moved into the house, so she may be appearing in my sketchbooks quite a bit from now on.

North Brink, Wisbech

29-10-2010b
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Wisbech has some amazing architecture and I was determined to capture some of it when I passed through there recently.....A little 'in town' practice for my Italy Trip next May.

Winter Wranglers

29-10-2010a
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

I had a pair of Wrangler boots for a few years that I lived in, they were so comfy and just slipped on with such ease that I wore them with everything, everyday!
When the lining inside one went, a couple of years ago, I was devastated and it has taken this long to find a pair anywhere near similar.
I still prepfer the old ones, all those sketch dates together add to their comfy nostalgia, I still have them too...I keep them under my seat in the car.
I think these new ones have potential though and I am looking forward to putting them to the test this Winter.

Haddenham Gallery Cafe

28-10-2010
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Coffee at Haddenham Galleries, Ely, Cambridgeshire, while delivering my Christmas Show pieces.