The theme from Dublin Sketchers was Wood, in any shape or form we wanted. So, I took the car and drove 5 minutes to this housing estate with the biggest tree you can find in a residential area! I often take a detour when walking our dog, so I can see the tree and feel its power and majesty. But I wouldn't like to be living next door to it all the same.
I sat in the car, but it felt good to be out and about! I do miss sketching with the group. Hopefully soon.
Oh I miss the Ocean. And I was getting fed up with all these attempts at the same view. So I found a photo from our holiday in Kerry this year, the view from the house we were renting in Dunquin, and I just got lost in the happy memories. And playing with unfamiliar colours, like Burnt Umber, Hansa Yellow Deep, and Payne's Grey.
Now that I look at it again, does it look like an elephant lying down? If I didn't know this is Great Blasket island, would I think that it's that poor elephant from the zoo in Islamabad, which is currently being moved to Cambodia, thanks to Cher's intervention? Now that I see it, I can't unsee it. And I must start reading more serious news! Well, I do, but I need light news too, or life this year would be too sad.
Sometimes, I just need to give up, so that I can come back to the idea with a fresh eye.
But my mind keeps returning to the same view. This time, I played in a sketchbook, which I find quite freeing after getting stuck at the easel with "good" paper!! In the first one, I played with the Shifting views idea from the Sketching PlayLab, and in the second one, I drew with a continuous line before adding watercolour
And I used colours I'm not too familiar with, with interesting results. Hansa Yellow Deep is not a yellow I would normally use, but it's bringing a lot of warmth to the painting that Hansa Yellow Medium is lacking. Although, it's starting to look like Provence rather than the West of Ireland! And I'm loving the new mixes with Paynes Grey and Burnt Umber by the way!
Thinking I need to zoom in on one element at a time, so I dropped the mountain and the house. But still struggling with that big hill! Here I mixed too many darks (Carbazole Violet, Van Dyck Brown, Neutral Tint, Lavender?) and it looks like a big cow pat that landed in the middle of the field!! And nothing is flowing! Need to start practising juicy watercolours again!!
And for this one, I managed to keep a light touch, but then I lifted paint and I have this big smudge in the middle, and this weird cross pattern is emerging, instead of the lovely curves that I was trying to achieve but clearly forgot once I had the paintbrush in hand! Back to the drawing board!
Trying out a few colours for an upcoming workshop. You know when the instructor gives you a list of what to bring. Being quite literal, I'm one of these people that brings exactly what was on the list. Well, this year, I'm going to be a rebel, and drop Yellow Ochre - maybe it's the brand I have, but I definitely don't like it, so I'm going to replace it with Monte Amiata Natural Sienna.
And I have been avoiding Paynes Gray and Burnt Umber, for, like, forever. So, Paynes' Gray - the jury's still out - I have 3 different versions in my "bag of paint tubes I don't use". I like this one from Daniel Smith, so I'll stick with it, for now.
And the big revelation is Burnt Umber! Why did I avoid this colour all my life? I clearly never tried to mix it! Look at the last 2 pictures down below, and you'll understand why I am going to have to make room for Burnt Umber in my palette now!! That rainbow caterpillar where I sandwich colours between Burnt Umber and Paynes' Gray was the happiest moment!!
Decided to zoom in on the part of the view with the big rock sticking out on the left, to try and better understand how to tackle it. Or maybe I should get rid of it? Or make it more abstract at least. As I write this, I'm starting to think that might be the best option. Right now, I feel it just sits there! You'll understand why as I post all my attempts!
I told you you would be visiting my house. Well, here is the kitchen! Looking towards the dining room. And no, I didn't paint that amazing painting on our wall. That is a Jordi Forniés.
I love exploring a new subject. There's a lot to puzzle out before I reach a stage where I'm happy with it. But often the early attempts have a lot going for them.
This is a heavily zoomed-in view of a beautiful house literally on the side of a mountain. The view is from the top of the Healy Pass, looking down towards Glanmore Lake. The first time I was there, the light hitting the side of the mountain was pure magic. And that house (it looks tiny in the distance, but is actually quite substantial when I zoom in) is nestled at the bottom of the sheer vertical side of the mountain, with beautiful fields and mature trees down below. I love the contrast between the barren mountain and the rich fields. And I also worry about a landslide. I would not be comfortable living there.
I love persimmons. Their happy orange colour at the time of the year when all is dark and grey. Their glossy skin. Perfect subject for a quick sketch. And delicious to eat. And they always remind me of Japan.
The theme for sketching was Covid fashion. I'm more of an indoor sketcher these days. Well, the advice from the Chief Medical Officer is for all of us to stay at home and avoid contact with people from other households. So I decided to stay indoors, open my wardrobe and get absorbed in painting what was in front of me. Tidying it all up will be for another day! Sorry to disappoint those of you who think I'm a very organised and tidy person!!
Just like the rest of the world, I'm finding it hard to stay focussed and positive. Thankfully, colour mixing always makes me happy.
Interesting facts: to my eye, Hansa Yellow Deep and New Gamboge look identical on the paper. They are both based on Arylide Yellow. And yet, they are completely different pigments numbers (both Daniel Smith). Go figure.
And then, Indigo, which I've been avoiding for years, because I find it so dull. Well, try a different brand (Holbein) and it's like a different colour altogether. To me, it looks more like a Prussian Blue, but hey, it's glorious, so I don't care! And the tiny mix I did with Hansa Yellow Deep makes me so happy that I want to sing!
I always like to figure out my main colours before I start a painting. This one has been weeks in the procrastinating. This is one step closer. Carbazole Violet and Perylene Green for darks. We'll see how it works!
Next step in Marion Rivolier's book - mixing coloured darks. I love colour, and I have no problem mixing pigments to represent local colour. But I still struggle with darks. So here is what I did, using the reduced palette I showed you in the previous post:
My conclusions:
I love trying out colours and pigments, but when I'm actually painting or sketching, I prefer to keep a limited palette. I'm trying out some colours I don't normally use much, like Quinacridone Gold, Indigo, and Cerulean Blue. I've had to make some sacrifices, letting go of Turquoise Blue, Monte Amiata Natural Sienna, Moonglow and Lavender. We'll have to see how I get on with these. The reason for the Indigo is to create more colourful darks in my sketches. I'm currently reading Marion Rivolier's book and trying to take her guidance on board. Trying being the operative word here, as there is a battle in my head between wanting to learn/improve and trying to not lose myself in the process. And that requires a much more deliberate approach!
It's been a while since I have entertained you with what I'm wearing! So here are a few outfits I've put together lately! Most of those things are not new, but since I have no opportunity for wearing lovely clothes in public, I'm just wearing them at home now (mmm...apart from the coat).
Cosy Uniqlo coat for when it gets colder. And for when I can go out sketching again! Although that could be summer!!
Most of you know me as an organised person. But if you look carefully at my sketches inside my own house, you will see that there are only so many hours in the day to tidy up! I am definitely a "dust if you must" person. Last year (or was it just last January?), I did a good KonMari tidy-up, motivated by Mari Kondo's series on Netflix. But I have lapsed. It must be the aging process, but there's never enough hours in the day. And a messy shelf makes for a more interesting composition than a tidy one!
The beauty of not going very far is that you start noticing what's in front of you every day. So this time, there wasn't as much light in the sky, and I could see the cherry tree better. It still had a lot of its leaves on. I bet that when I get up tomorrow, they'll all be in our backyard. Windy and wet weather in mid-November means the last big leaf fall. I love our neighbour's cherry tree, but every Spring and every Autumn, I end up having to clear the petals and the leaves. Our garden is South-facing, and the neighbour with the tree is West of us. And in Ireland, westerlies are the prevailing wind, which is why we get all the Atlantic storms, and I get all the leaves in our yard!
Magic pencils by Koh-i-Noor are wonderful. The perfect tool when you're somewhere waiting, and you don't know how long you'll have. I was on a mezzanine floor looking down at a big concourse. There were a few people coming and going. The two guys in the foreground look like they're wearing an Irish tweed cap - they were not - but men's hair looks funny when you're sketching it from above. And the pencil did its magic!
Well, I wasn't very happy with my morning sketch, so I decided to tackle a different view in the afternoon. If you follow this blog, you've probably seen different interpretations of the same vista - Looking out from our bedroom window at the back of the house, facing south, looking at our neighbours' houses and the trees in between. That tree is actually the cherry blossom I sketched in the spring!
The light in the sky was wonderful, dark clouds, bright passages. It's really the main thing I wanted to convey, so I didn't do too badly there. As usual with me, too many colours - I get so distracted by colours that I forget everything else!
The theme for Dublin Sketchers that Sunday was Water, in whatever form we wanted. If you go to the website, you'll see how everyone interpreted it differently! The joy of Urban sketching, even if we're not leaving our own house!
When we came back from our dog walk, I noticed the drops of rain hanging on to the branches of our bare tree. They were so pretty. I grabbed my gear and set to work straight away. Well, I got distracted by everything else, and didn't do the droplets justice. But I think I did manage to convey the feeling of a November morning in Ireland.
So many cranes in Dublin again. I recently had the opportunity to sketch from a high vantage point. And all I could see on the horizon were cranes cranes cranes. I could have been in heaven! I love cranes and building sites!
I have a lot of ups and downs these days. Just like the rest of the world. But even on dark and down days, I find something to sketch and techniques or colours to explore.
I really need to play more, and let go. This was almost too controlled. But I always enjoy seeing what happens when I have leftover paint in my palette. All the squares were done on a quarter sheet, as were the funny shapes.
This is my favourite: Holbein Turquoise Blue, Grey of Grey, Daniel Smith Bloodstone Genuine, Carbazole Violet and Sap Green. I do like bright colours! After that one, I just wasn't really feeling it anymore. I really don't know what I was trying to achieve.
