A Minor Sketch

A quick sketch of Harry's new toy Morris Minor, purchased on holiday in Wells.

Just A Minute

Bank holiday was very busy so on Monday I filled a spread in my journal by making one minute sketches...I managed three.

He's Home

Jake has been back from Memphis for almost a week now and I can't tell you how happy that makes me.
Sadly, he felt poorly the last two days of his holiday and when he broke out in spots back at home we discovered part of the reason why...Chicken Pox! He has also been suffering with a very sore throat and so, he has been well and truly 'off his feet'.
Now, while I hate to see my children suffer, it has been so good to have him to myself for a bit. (Well at least I'm honest!)
He is such a wonderful young man.

He brought everyone gifts back from his trip and himself a new wardrobe....or two! I created the journal page below with the twin nib Sharpie he gifted me.

Dever Springs

I created three double spreads in my large watercolour moleskine sketchbook during our day at Dever Springs trout fishery yesterday and Harry caught a 6lb rainbow trout!

click on images to enlarge

An Afternoon At The Flicks

Zipped off to the cinema in Huntingdon after a my student left last Thursday to discover the film we wanted to watch was full, so we watched Kung Fu Panda instead. As soon as I got my sketchbook out the lights dipped, so not much chance of a decent sketch. However, a light refreshment and a bite to eat in Frankie & Benny's afterwards, on their outside tables, gave me the opportunity to sketch a little of my surrounding view before our order arrived.

Column Week 13

These are the images and text that made up my illustrated column entry in the Cambs Times and Wisbech Standard, in print today:



These days my shopping trips to Tesco are usually accompanied with a visit to their café, where I indulge in a frothy Latte and sketch some of the customers as they go about their day; a great exercise in studying the human figure.
So, you can imagine my disappointment when I found the café boarded up during my visit on Tuesday morning. The huge renovation project that has been going on there had finally reached the café and stolen part of my shopping ritual.
Keen to return home with a page of sketches in my journal, I found my way back to the car park and made good use of an inconvenient situation by sketching a few of the numerous changes that surrounded me.
Not such a disappointment after all, although I really did miss my routine Latte!

If you would like to see more, my daily journal entries can be found on my blog : http://artbyanita.blogspot.com/.
Wednesday Night Art Workshops. Benwick Road Recreation Centre, Doddington. Contact Anita: 07790554201

Column Week 12

Click to enlarge


These are the images and text that made up my illustrated column entry in the Cambs Times and Wisbech Standard, in print today.

Celebration Hunt

Managed a couple of pages for the 79th Scavenger Hunt over at Wet Canvas over the weekend.
I decided to stick the list into my journal before drawing the items over it on the first page because I always tend to loose it and have to print several throughout each hunt. So far, it's working a treat, even though my sketching has made it a little difficult to read in places.


Monday was my Son's 10th Birthday. We had a great day and the champers and the toys Harry purchased allowed me to tick another couple of items of the scavenger hunt list!

No Cafe

Popped into Chatteris to grab a few things from the Co-Op supermarket on Thursday. The Co-Op doesn't have a cafe so I threw my shopping into he truck and made a quick sketch from the car park instead. I didn't have time to colour the vehicle or detail it in any way so I splashed a little watercolour around it to liven the page a little instead.

Can also be viewed on flickr HERE

School Trip

Harry's class went on a school trip on Tuesday to the local fire station to learn about various safety aspects. I took him into school and as I left the school bus turned up so I parked up and captured it in my sketchbook quickly before the children filled it and fled.
I used watercolour pencils to colour it and wetted it up in comfort back at home.

Heavy Duty Trespassing

Arrived early for my yoga class again yesterday and decided I'd sketched enough from the car park there for a while so I drove past the British Legion in Manea and turned right into a yard with access to a public footpath. I wasn't entirely sure if I should be parked where I was, it looked suspiciously like someones farm yard to me but the yellow monster in front of the old tin barns was just too tempting and worth the risk.

I was sketching for about five minutes when a tractor pulled up and a farmer jumped out and headed towards me...Gulp!
I informed him I was sketching and asked if I was okay to continue, surprisingly his response was very positive. He then drove the JCB, carrying it's large fertilizer bags, up to his tractor and slit the bags open to load. For a moment I thought I'd lost my subject but I was mistaken. The farmer re-loaded the JCB with two new bags and parked it back EXACTLY where I had found it.
What a considerate and charming man.
I gave a grateful wave and continued to sketch for 20 minutes or so, adding a little colour from my Schmincke box, before heading off for my yoga class.

Thank you to the kind gentleman that made me feel so comfortable while trespassing on his farm Wednesday morning.

3 Minute Tractor

Not enough time for any attempt at a masterpiece but a few lines to record a memory!

More Boys Toys

A few more quick studies of my Son's toy vehicles in my Seawhite sketchbook.

Boys Toys

A quick study of one of Harry's many toy vehicles sketched while lazing on the sofa this evening.
I don't believe I've ever sketched his toy vehicles before, the truck proved both interesting and most challenging. I don't think this will be my last sketch on this subject category.