Sutton St James, Lincolnshire UK

 

Spent a lovely weekend visiting family and watching the Mayweather fight

Kinx Turns 3

 

My little Prince turned three!!!

 

Celebrated with a nice walk over the Rec in Doddington

March Cambridgeshire UK

 

Quickie while waiting for my new tyre to be fitted

Thursday

 

Daily journal

Family Tree

 

The big tree you see on the left in my painting was planted from an acorn by my Father; this is his back yard, it faces my door a half acre or so away. It has grown strong and outlived him as I imagine it will my entire family if left alone.

 

When we had to sell my parents house I collected some acorns and planted one of my own. I stuck in a potted plant in my porch and had little expectations.

 

It is now around nine inches tall, gaining height and sprouting leaves daily.

There is a long way to go before I dare transport it into my own garden but I thought, when I do, I might put it to the right of my Fathers' and block out the home my parents once lived in with new life, giving me a vision of family, strength, hope and tradition.

Ramsey Cambridgeshire

 

Ahhhh....Fish and Chips on a bench with the church to our right and the ruins of the Ramsey gatehouse to our left....took the long way home and found some great places to stop and sketch with a slightly higher view point of the Fens (hills are rare on the Fens) will be returning!

Church Lane Doddington Cambridgeshire

 

A quick sketch on my way to the supermarket

Benwick, Cambridgeshire UK

 

Had a spare hour so I went for a walk along Benwick River with my dog and then added a quick sketch to my journal

Skeifs Row, Benwick, Cambridgeshire

 

Had to pop to a friend to collect something so thought I'd take my new 10x8 S&B Alpha journal and stop for a sketch along the way.

 

I am struggling to find a replacement for the W&N Ebony sketch books, that I have used for years, since the paper changed.

I read that Liz Steel likes this one so I thought it was worth a try.

I have used S&B before but always in hardback, was a little dubious about a soft cover sketchbook. It isn't as bad as I imagined actually. I do think it would be easier to manage in a smaller size though and scan. I've had to use this one landscape way up rather than go across the spread. So for me, it's not quite perfect in 10x8

 

The S&B paper is always a delight, colours remain so vibrant and move around nicely.

The softback is lighter, I can see the advantages of this on location and they are much more economical to the purse than the hardback version.

 

I've already ordered a Zeta in a smaller size and think that may solve my problem and be what I've been looking for.

Fingers crossed!!!

 

Wells Day Trip 2 - Harbour Office

 

The harbour office from across the quay.

 

I'd forgotten how beautiful the paper is in a Venezia Sketchbook...I'd also forgotten how damn annoying it is to scan one of these books!

Wales 2017-Last Day

 

This is the fantastic Old Mill that we stayed in.

I couldn't believe my luck when we pulled off the road and drove down the private drive towards this beauty.

 

It had a large conservatory at the back with mountain views, a log fire, a piano room that my Son Harry made use of in the evening, and 4.5 acres of woodland with the river Ogwen running through the bottom of as our garden.

Just amazing!

 

Joy and Henry, the owners, supplied us with milk, tea bags etc on our arrival and a traditional Welsh fruit cake called Brith which is served spread with butter...it was sooo good!

They were perfect hosts and even supplied extra logs for the fire during our stay.

 

 

I rewarded their kindness the artists way...with an unusual entry in their guest book (below)

By the time I reached home Joy had sent an email thanking me for my 'fine drawing and kind words'

Such lovely people...such a beautiful property!

 

 

 

This is the sketchbook I took on my 4 night trip to Bethesda, Wales.

 

My Birthday

 

Had a wonderful day with family and friends and even tried Sake for the first time.

Summerhouse

My Garden

Bosworth Hall, Market Bosworth, UK

 

A weekend in Market Bosworth.

 

Do not EVER stay at a Britannia hotel...It was atrocious!

 

The hall is beautiful though and completely wasted on this company!

 

 

Doddington High St, Cambridgeshire UK

 

Another from my quick sketch trip into the village, this time using watercolour and ink.

Doddington, Cambridgeshire UK with Gouache

 

Took my new gouache into the village for a quick sketch and promptly realised my water bootle was almost empty!

A little muddy but I got by.

Ramsey, Cambridgeshire UK

Just love Ramsey for it's architecture.

Had 10 minutes to spare before heading round to a friends to collect some homemade scones....Yum!

Chatteris, Cambridgeshire UK

 

A quick sketch from the supermarket car park before heading in to do my weekly grocery shop. I am so pleased I did this BEFORE I went in and not after because when I came out the beautiful shadows had dispersed with the sun and it was tipping down!

 

Tuesday Night Values

The nights are drawing in here in the UK. I drop my Son at a boxing club at 7pm on Tuesdays and usually drive somewhere to sit and sketch until it gets dusk at around 8pm then walk my dog until I collect him again at 8:30pm.

This week, however, it was barely 7:30pm when I finished my pen sketch and realized the light had fled. So I painted what I could see...Values! 

Ramsey Picnic

 

On Wednesday I decided to pack a sandwich, a blanket and a couple of doggy treats and seek shelter from the sun under some trees on the green near the duck pond in Ramsey with my little pooch Kinx.

 

There are so many beautiful buildings in Ramsey but this particular house was smack bang in front of us, so that's what I sketched!

 

 

This is in one of my many A4 Daler Rowney Ebony sketchbooks gifted to me by the company themselves. Although the paper is not as I am used to, because the A4 allows me the same spread space on one page as the A5 does on two, I can flip through it filling just one side...which seems to be working.

It's not perfect because I'm carrying a much larger book around but for trips such as these (that involve me driving to a location and simply carrying my bag to a desired spot) it's amicable and will allow me to use up the freebies I've been given