Seaweed and stone wall variations

With my mind preoccupied, I'm not in the right frame of mind to tackle a big painting. So sketching little elements of nature picked up during our walks is a good way to keep myself engaged in art pursuits without the pressure or challenge of doing an actual painting. The pages below are inspired by a small piece of wood and a clump of seaweed that I found at Killiney Beach. Seaweed will always be associated in my mind with Timber, who used to love grabbing seaweed on our walks. He would either eat it or drop it in exchange for a treat. I think it mostly depended on what kind of treats I had in my treat bag. Our walks on the beach were always punctuated by "Drop" or "Leave it", the meaning of which he understood perfectly, but sometimes chose to ignore!

As I was doodling with various tools, I decided to try Daniel Smith's Hematite Genuine. Now I'm in love with this pigment and I had to try it out for the walls that will appear in my next painting, whenever I have the chance to get started with it!