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

Bar garden

One of the bar/restaurants in Canyamel has a beautiful bar garden.

Sketched from the side of the street.

 

My final sketch of this trip and my final page in this seawhite sketchbook. It holds many treasured memories from many trips.

You can view the whole thing HERE

Sea View

Sketched from the balcony of our apartment

From The Pool

 

View from the pool at the Canyamel Park Hotel

Beach Time

The weather was glorious while we were away...lots of bikinis and swimsuits!

 

 

 

My Buoyant Butt!

 

Did you miss me?

 

Had such a fabulous time, caught a great tan, relaxed, ate great food and SWAM!

When I was a kid I jumped into the deep end of the pool while swimming with the school....I almost drowned! I don't know what scared me more; the embarrassment or the HUGE female lifeguard that practically saved me by jumping in herself causing the water to jump out!

 

Since then, I have always said 'I can't swim' which ensured nobody pushed me in or included me in silly pool side games.

 

But...I remember a time....a time on the Clacton coastline with my Dad when I was young...I remember him telling my Mum I 'swam like a fish'....that I 'barely moved the water' that I was 'a natural'.

So....pride aside....I went for it and OH MY GOD ...I SWAM! Not only did I swim but boy, I can float, in fact, I have the most buoyant back side in the WORLD! It just won't stay down! LOL!

 

Equipped with my new found courage and feeling rather 'cocky' I purchased a pair of goggles and snorkelled in the sea. Swimming in the sea was even easier, at one point I was standing, not moving a muscle (except my mouth...my mouth is always moving! LOL!) and I realised I wasn't touching the ground....just floating...vertically....ME!

On my first snorkelling adventure I was rewarded for my bravery.....I saw an octopus!!! 

 

Anyway....I did manage to finally finish my sketchbook, as planned. YAY!

Here is a superfast one I whipped up on the beach.

 

 

Beautiful Burghley

 

I recently revisited Burghley House with a friend for the day.

Such a beautiful building and grounds.

My sketch is a walk from the house itself, through the secret water garden (which was spectacular) to a bench looking across to the lake house.

Ely Riverside UK

 

Yesterday was soooo hot!

A quick sketch from under a tree along Ely River before heading to Peacocks Tearooms for refreshments.

View From Ackerman Street, Eaton Socon UK

 

View of The Great North Road from Ackerman Street in Eaton Socon

Parade Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire UK

On Sunday I took Kinx (my little dog) to Ely for a walk along the river and a cream tea at Peacocks Tearooms

 

On the way I pulled over to sketch the view down Parade lane. Every time I go I hope to get into the layby which has just the view I want and every time there are cars parked in it.

Sunday I got lucky!

 

I also made my very first sketch video.

It's really short because I didn't realise I was pointing at the handbrake and not my sketchbook for the first half, so I had to edit a lot out. LOL!

It's odd watching yourself sketch, at least for me anyway. When I sketch I'm kind of tranced out so I found it really interesting to see how my pen moves.

Was really tricky holding my phone AND sketching though....will have to come up with a crafty solution to that one I think.

 

Eaton Socon Lock-Up

 

Built in 1827 to hold local miscreants before being taken before the magistrate in Bedford.

 

This sketch is in a Daler Rowney A4 Ebony sketchbook.

You may remember that I experienced problems with on of the A5 books not reacting to paint the way I've been used to for years. You may also remember that I wasn't happy that the lab never got back to me with my query about a change in paper, as promised.

Well I contacted DR customer service again to let them know the lab let me down and they couldn't apologise enough. They sent me out 2xA4 sketchbooks and a box of designer gouache (I was given a choice of paint)

A few hours later the lab contacted me to apologise also and offered to send me out some books. I informed them that CS had already offered compensation but they insisted they wanted to send an apologetic gesture also. I got a delivery the next day containing 10 sketchbooks; 2xA4, 4XA5 portrait, 4xA5 landscape.

WOW!

Took a while and a bit of reminding but it appears DR really do care about their customers after all!

Impressed!

 

The paper still feels different to the touch, it has DEFINITELY changed in my opinion. I've worked with these books for a few years now and I could feel the difference in touch immediately. I am really surprised that the people dealing with the paper at the lab haven't noticed a change, it was so obvious to me.

However, so far this one has held up, it hasn't bled through and it hasn't mottled like tissue paper sucking up the paint ...Yet!

Still...I don't think I'd trust it not to bleed if I worked the reverse side of the paper as I'm used to, so I am going to have to tred carefully with it while I sketch my way through the 12 freebies I now have.

 

Benwick, Cambridgeshire UK

 

Popped the Sunday roast in the oven and drove into the next village for a quick sketch while it cooked

Chatteris, Cambridgeshire UK

 

A quick sketch from the supermarket car park before my weekly grocery shop.

Eastalls Close, Doddington, Cambs UK

 

Drove into the village to give Kinx a walk around the church yard and stopped off behind the church for a quick sketch while he slept on the front seat....exhausted.

Quick and Loose

I, of course, refer to the style in the title not the subject! LOL!