hard shapes

This is something I don't do much of - painting geometric shapes and painting in layers! But it did teach me that patience has its rewards, and also that sometimes, you do need a square brush!

More about autism in adult females

Another fantastic young woman who talks about autism with honesty. Making me think about who I am. And in case you were wondering. Yes, I am definitely on the spectrum. And I'm good with that. Actually it is very much part of who I am. I'm special! And so is every autistic child, boy or girl, and man or woman!

Pumpkin variations

More pumpkins. I can't get enough of them!

Done in watercolour, orange ink, and green pencil. Colours are more like the closeups.

Drawing with paint

I often forget that watercolour is also a great drawing tool! And this was a good excuse to draw my collection of pinecones, stones, poppy heads and other bits and pieces

Watercolour and water

Just playing! Sometimes it's good to take a break! Dropping paint into water and observing what happens.

Playing with watercolours

During transition periods, I always need to find a way to ground myself, to play, with no pressure. Laura McKendry's Creative Watercolor Sketching course on Domestika is exactly what I needed!

I dug up some brushes I don't use much, found this box of watercolour pans that for some reason I don't use, probably because I have no record of which colour is which. And I set to work, relax and play!

Trees in Japan

Another one done from photo. This was a photo Shinobu sent me from her walk by the river. I just loved all the greens! I want to be there, and walk and sketch while we chat!

Silhouettes

Some days, you just need to be gentle to yourself, not push too hard. So instead of attempting even a quarter sheet during my session with Shelley, I just doodled people silhouettes.

I'm presenting them here in reverse order.  Some of these below were done from photos taken by Yvonne who went onto the main street in her town and photographed people in motion. It was in the summer and most people were wearing shorts, which was incredibly useful in seeing their legs and which leg was bent and which was straight! Now I just need to try and remember what I learned from that! A few others were from pictures I took.

All the sketches below are just watercolour doodles, some with brushpen or fountain pen ink added on top, some just left alone. Very relaxing!

Near Baggot Street

I'm definitely feeling the cold more than I used to. And it's not that I've lost weight - I wish! My theory is that we've been cocooning for so long that we're finding it hard to stay warm when sketching outside. We'll get there. We just need more practise! I have managed to retrain my bladder out of lockdown mode, so I'm sure I'll retrain my internal thermostat too!

I did manage to do this sketch, done with blue ink and then watercolour for the wonderful trees in their autumn colours. I sat on a bench near the canal not far from Baggot Street, just at the back of the Peppercanister church. A lovely spot with a bridge and locks, beautiful Georgian houses, but today, it was about the trees for me, and the cars parked behind the low wall on the other side of the canal.

Then I declared it was too cold and went to the cute little Starbucks at the back of the Peppercanister church. Louise and I chatted and sketched, and we were soon joined by the others. Mary probably won't like this sketch of her, but I do think I did catch a likeness. As for Louise? I'll have to try again!

Before the rain - Kyoto

I wish this sketch was done from direct observation, but travel to Japan is still restricted. And when it finally opens up,  everybody will be rushing there and flights and accommodation will be too expensive, so I can't imagine we'll be able to go next year even. It's the one place in the world where I really want to go, so in the meantime, I'm going through old photos. This was Kyoto before a really heavy shower. The sky looked like the apocalypse was about to happen. We did find shelter in time! And Brendan reminded me that this was more or less the spot where he saw a snake the day he went walking on his own while I was sketching with Samantha! So you will never get me to go sketching along there - I might stand and sketch, but never relax and sit and sketch, that's for sure!

Dollymount Strand

It was a little bit of a drive, but it was worth it, as the weather turned out glorious for Dublin Sketchers' outing to Dollymount Strand near Clontarf. I found the promenade/pier too busy, so I moved to the beach, where it was quite sheltered from the wind. It was the last warmish day before our autumn truly set in, so it was a real treat!

The last time I was there, we had brought Timber with us, and he loved running back and forth on the wide expanse of beach. So it was lovely to see all the people with dogs, bringing back good memories. 

I had preglued a beautiful piece of origami paper on the page, designed by Delphine, one of our sketchers - the paper was wrapping a small gift, but you know me, I'm like a dog at Christmas, I often prefer the wrapping paper to what's inside the box!

And after sketching the people and dogs and seagulls, I turned my back to the sea and sketched the grasses in the dunes. And then it was time to go and chat with everyone! 

Paintful, I said

Feeling pretty chilled this weekend. I can't access my easel for another week, so random ink sketches will do!

And yes, I did write "paintful"!

Sketching my foot while waiting for alarm to tell me it's time to rinse the colour out of my hair! My feet are prettier than that. I haven't drawn my feet in a while, so this is a good reminder to draw more!

Dark moments, brightening

And some of my ink abstract work is looking darker than I am comfortable with. But it sure reflects the day that was in it! 

And maybe even the fact that I could see light at the end of the tunnel!

Stones - St Audoen's Church

Art is good for the soul, even when the resulting sketch doesn't look like much to anyone but me!

We were at St Audoen's church, the only remaining medieval parish church in Dublin! I've sketched the columns inside its graveyard before, a challenging exercise in perspective! But this time, I sat under a big tree, as I knew it was going to rain. And rain it did - 3 heavy showers in the time I was sketching. And even with the shelter of the tree, I had to open my umbrella to protect my sketch. 

So all the squiggles in this sketch are trees, the overhanging branches blocking my view, and all the smaller trees between me and the church.

And in case you're wondering what the stamped squares are about, well it was Féile na gCloch, the festival of stone on Inis Oírr, and I thought these irregular squares would allude to the stones. It doesn't really work, but they were on my blank page, and I worked with what I had!

Pumpkin season!

It's pumpkin season!! Otherwise known as Halloween! I don't like much about Halloween, and in particular, I hate the fireworks and bangers that terrorise cats and dogs. I don't see the point of trick-or-treating - these kids have been brought up to not talk to strangers, so why should their parents trust strangers to give them sweets! Anyways, we turn off the lights and we don't answer the door!

But I love pumpkins! Last year, we were in lockdown and you couldn't get pumpkins for love nor money! This year, Brendan managed to get me this beautiful collection in Lidl, our local supermarket! I will be putting other art projects on hold and I will be sketching and painting these cuties for weeks to come! 

Urban Sketchers - Sketch Together Zone 3

If you're wondering what's been keeping me busy in my free time over the last few weeks. I've been working behind the scenes to help with this wonderful project - Urban Sketchers Sketch Together 2021. I was a small cog in a very big wheel, but it was so much fun! You will find the other zones on Urban Sketchers's YouTube channel! And I want to say it's been such a pleasure working with the wonderful Federica, our host for Zone 3!

Swapping colours again!!

Creative block or busy mind? The latter, definitely! But no time to do much more than colour swatches these days. I'm assembling tree colours from my White Nights selection. I would never have thought of consciously using orange and purple, but, you know, I probably would have instinctively dabbed my brush into some similar combination. I'm liking these mixes. 

As for the pen scribbles? That's what happens when you empty a cartridge of its remaining ink, rinse it with water and refill it with another ink. It takes a bit of scribbling to bring the ink down to the nib!

Thinking about a composition

Something Delphine wrote the other day resonated with me - you have to think about design. Up to now, I have just been copying the photo in front of my eyes, and let's face it, all I have is a big square barn with the road running away from the other corner. (options 1, 2 and 3 below, where I was trying to reduce shapes and figure out values and cool/warm temperature.)

So, finally, the penny dropped and in the last thumbnail at the bottom, I decided to change the road so I can lead the eye to the barn door! These things don't come naturally to me, believe me!! I'm reading a book on creativity at the moment, but today I feel I'm still very much at the start of the journey, where I still have so many technical elements to master before I can even think about creating something new!! A humbling experience!

Autism in girls and women

I came across this wonderful video. Olivia has a lovely channel with lots of useful information. I have never been diagnosed, but I am very self-aware and there is no doubt in my mind where I stand on the spectrum. I feel good in my own skin these days, but it wasn't always so! I share this here so if any girl or woman thinks they might be on the autistic spectrum, they can find out more, and, most importantly, know that they are not alone!

It is Inktober after all

My art room is currently inaccessible, as I'm rehearsing with fellow urban sketchers for an Instagram Live event on the 17th of October.  I can't really get to my easel, there are boxes of pens and pencils on the floor, my shelves are covered with a grey Ikea blanket, ... So when it came to my weekly paint and chat session with Shelley, I had to improvise. I had lots of ink samplers, a bottle of diluted grey ink, a dip pen,  a round stamp I carved out of an eraser. And a strange dry fruit that Brendan found somewhere on the street in France and that survived the trip home! It was such fun!

 

Barn with green doors - thumbnails

With 4 watercolour thumbnails under my belt, and notes, and mindmaps, am I ready to move big? I'm going to have to think about my composition before I do that. It's a lovely barn, but it's a bit plonked there in these thumbnails, isn't it? And I need to think about what I want to draw attention to - in my mind it's the gorgeous green colour of these barn doors, but what about all the reflected light? What's your favourite of the 4?

And by the way, I have painted these from a photo I took in Saint André de Roquelongue, a lovely village in the Corbières region. It's a big wine-producing area, and you will find these big barns in every town, and will be amazed when you see the farmers reversing into these with their tractor and trailer - the streets are not wide!

And also, don't expect to see any people in these paintings - the villages are so quiet you could film a zombie movie without any problem! I don't know if that's because they're all working in the fields or in the city? Or that there is nothing to do in the evenings? But when you meet someone, you have to acknowledge them with a bonjour or bonsoir. I bet everybody in Montséret (population 600) knew who we were - well, my name was displayed for all to see behind the counter in the local grocery store, as I had reserved a baguette for every morning of our two-week holiday!

And if you're interested in what goes on inside my head, there you go!

Saint André de Roquelongue

After a few days of procrastination, I just opened a random photo from our holidays. Lots to explore before I can get to the painting stage! Roofs, reflected light, gate, door, vegetation. And I really need to think about my composition. Maybe the small house on the left doesn't need all that vegetation? I actually like my first drawing under the thumbnails the best. Just the barn and the trees.

Exploring

Some days are happy.

And some days are just ugly. I just need to let them be and move on.