I'm Back!

I had the most wonderful break with my friend Joannie, we chatted, lunched on the deck over the lake, ate dinner on the patio with the sea just infront of us, walked a little, talked alot, drank wine by candlelight, paddled in the sea, dipped our toes in the lake and even managed to find time to sketch! I will upload my efforts as soon as they are scanned.

For now, I give you my last sketch session from Tesco supermarket cafe, created, rather quickly, over a latte before beginning my weekly shop.

Tesco Cafe

Two recent shopping trips with a stop in the supermarket cafe for a quick latte and a sketch.

Tesco Cafe

Two recent trips to my local Tesco supermarket for the weekly grocery shop. Having a latte with my sketchbook in their cafe before I start my shop makes the whole process so much more enjoyable.



You can view all of the images in my 'Tesco' Moley (small watercolour Moleskine sketchbook) so far in my Flickr set HERE.

Tesco Cafe

This weeks visit to the supermarket cafe before shopping.
There was a slight improvement with the coffee, I ordered cappuccino instead of latte and it tasted a little better, not sure if this is improvement was because they have their machine sorted or due to the change in my order?

Tesco Cafe

My first visit to the new Tesco cafe was rather disappointing on the coffee front and I'm afraid to say my return visit this week was not much better, the coffee was awful.

This is going to be a huge obstacle for the regular pre-shopping cafe sketches I had planned but one I am hoping to overcome as the little snippets of practice it offers during an otherwise tedious task are priceless.
I lunched in the cafe with my youngest, Harry, this week and managed to grab a quick contour sketch before tackling the madness in store.

*Happy Anniversary Mum & Dad x

Grand Opening

CLICK TO ENLARGE

You may remember my disappointment back in May when our local supermarket cafe was shut down for renovation. Well today the new improved version of Tesco opened complete with cafe and I went down with a brand new watercolour moleskine to mark the occasion.

The newly vamped store was a little disappointing and the cafe is smaller now than it was before but it is on an upper level which offers an unusual perspective for my pre-shopping sketch sessions.

My main concern is that the latte was awful...I hope that's improved upon before my next visit.

Finally Finished

25 August 2007 - Ducks along the river in Ely

I started my very first pocket watercolour moleskine back in August 2007 with a quick sketch of ducks along the riverside in Ely. I remember being anxious to try the paper out, so it's quite ironic that I never actually got around to adding watercolour to the first sketch!

I did add watercolour to the pages that followed and we even went on a trip to Cambridge together.

Over the next few months I tried out many sketchbooks, searching, sketching and building up quite a stock pile. During this time my little moleskine got forgotten. I found it again back in June this year and decided it was high time I completed it. I enjoyed it's format so much that I started another small moleskine for my food project 'Nibbles & Notes' through July and added to it in between.

On 7 August I finally finished it, completing a quick page of lead-free sketching dedicated to Van Gogh.


3 August 2008 - Ellie's foot

You can view the finished moleskine in it's entirety on my Flickr Set HERE.



7 August 2008 - Dedication to Van Gogh

Pet Prep

I have been commissioned to paint a portrait of the Pet of the Year from the competition ran in the Cambs Times newspaper. Last Friday I collected the photos and I've been so busy that all I'd managed until last night was a quick 'getting to know you' sketch in my small watercolour moleskine journal.

Last night I managed to start my drawing and prime a canvas, this morning I added a cool glaze to the canvas to provide me with a good background colour before my student arrived.
I'm hoping to complete my drawing and transfer onto my canvas later tonight but for the rest of today I'm all Harry's!

Snapshot Sketching

Early hours of this morning found me flicking through the photo files on my computer, stirring memories. This particular photo had me thinking about my good friend Joannie and it wasn't long before my fingers were twitching and my sketchbook was in my hand.
I tried to sketch from the image on my computer just as I would when I sketch on location, loosely, carefree and lead-free, concentrating on emotion and atmosphere.

A most enjoyable exercise that left me longing to do more and perhaps even dabble into the old paper photographs in my sideboard taken before I had the luxury of a digital camera.

My Harry

A couple of quick 'lead-free' studies of my youngest Harry and the toy boxes that have taken over a corner of my lounge since we've been re-vamping his bedroom.


Click image to enlarge

Neighbours Times Two

My Parents house, 'The Farmhouse' painted from my front steps

My parents live across the yard from me to my left and the house to my right was owned by my Uncle but has been vacant for years. He recently sold and I'm happy to say that Ellie will be moving next door with her parents (of course!)

The house is in such poor condition that they will be ripping it down to re-build but I managed to grab a sketch before that happens while we helped them clear some rubbish. It will be wonderful having Ellie so close, watching her grow and spending time with her and her parents. I am looking after Ellie tomorrow while they work on their property some more, just one of the perks of having them close by!

While I am delighted to be blessed with family both sides it's also nice to have the land we have between us, offering us privacy and room to breath. There are not many people that can boast a 360 degree view filled with deep skies anymore. The view to 'Four Winds' from my home is through our field of Christmas Trees, so the house isn't even visible until we step out onto the drove. In fact, my Parents house is the only property in the drove visible from my home, which made it very easy for the children to go back and forth safely when they were little.

I'm so lucky and so looking forward to having a little girl living 'next door'.


View from studio



'Four Winds'

Nibbles and Notes - Day 31

Did you know that cucumbers are 96.4% water?

The last day of my July Food journal 'Nibbles and Notes'. I didn't have time to paint it tonight, too busy painting the walls in my youngest Son's bedroom, but I may colour it in the morning and re-post.

It's been fun to make this journal as well as a learning experience, I've learned alot about my capabilities and the boundaries we set upon ourselves, I've learned to let those boundaries go, I'm free flying and loving it!

THE Bag

Click image to enlarge

A quick sketch, after filling in my food journal page one night before bed, of my favourite hand bag. This little baby holds a large moleskine with ease, has pockets and places for everything I need and is casual enough to go with anything, making it suitable for everyday life and every sketching opportunity!

Nibbles and Notes - Day 30

Did you know that green potatoes contain alkaloids which can be severly poisonous?

Nibbles and Notes - Day 29

Did you know that in 1475 Turkish law made it legal for a woman to divorce her Husband if he failed to provide her with a daily quota of coffee?

Spectating

A few lead-free figure studies of spectators I made while watching my eldest play cricket.

Nibbles and Notes - Day 28

Did you know that ice-cream can be graded by it's fat content with levels ranging from 5-15 percent?
Anything less than 5% can not be called ice-cream.



Very busy and fun day so no time for colour but I may add some and re-post tomorrow.

This page was created as most of my food diary pages have been created, late at night from memory rather than throughout the day as I eat.

I started this month by sketching my food as or just after I ate, with the image still fresh in my mind, but soon found myself leaving longer gaps after eating until I was creating the whole page at the end of the day as a whole.
It has proven to be an interesting, additional challenge to the month and brought with it it some surprises. I've noticed that because the subject was quite a relaxed one I sketched more freely without expectation and enjoyed the results. I like this sketchy, loose way of drawing...it is great fun.
I have also noticed an improvement with my gesture sketches, especially figures. It seems that by allowing myself such freedom I opened up another doorway of confidence, trusting my mind would be able to 'fill in' the gaps if my subjects moved...trusting my memory, something I never thought I could rely on to any huge degree before.
Sketching directly in pen (lead-free as I call it) is something I concentrated on for some time last year and have gradually let go of again, expectations rose and the personal need for accuracy butted in now and then demanding guide lines and an eraser. I had forgotten the benefits that lead-free sketching gifts and quickly promised myself that I would no longer use a pencil and eraser to sketch before picking up my pens.

These are my sketchbooks and journals, they are for practice, emotion, learning, notes, growth, expression...if I am to make mistakes this is where they ought to be 'allowed'.
I am a perfectionist, it took a long time to battle the FOF (fear of failure) and I was so chuffed with myself when I did, so I will not be allowing it back into my life. I'm nipping it in the bud now before it is well and truly planted and it's roots infest my mind again.

I hereby give myself the permission and freedom to fail.

Nibbles and Notes - Day 27

Did you know that pineapple contains bromelain?
There are indications that bromelain may help to break up blood clots.

Handpicked From The Garden

I always seem to be attracted to the wild looking flowers.
Just a couple of quick doodles in my small watercolour moleskine.

Nibbles and Notes - Day 26

Did you know that the Kiwifruit originated in China and used to be named the Chinese Gooseberry?
It was made popular by New Zealand growers in the early part of this century and renamed after their country emblem, the flightless Kiwi bird.