I went to the Botanic Gardens the other day, on a plein air painting outing. I made two mistakes. One, thinking that the Luas stop at Phisborough is very near the entrance. 20 minutes it was. And, Second, bringing my own packed lunch. Way too much to carry. It was hot, and then it rained. All very uncomfortable. It's never a problem when I'm sketching, but plein air painting is different, much more serious (it would seem to me), so I have to bring extra brushes, extra water, a small tarp to place under my bags (yes, plural). It just wasn't worth the effort.
Also, being on the autistic spectrum, I suffer from sensory issues - mostly, I jump at sudden noises, I am sensitive to bright lights. Also, I find it hard to see the forest for the trees, literally. I'm in a beautiful place like the botanic gardens, and my eyes keep switching from one thing to the next. I notice the plants drooping by the pond, the turtles, the swans, the big tree to my right, the yellow lilies standing in the pond, the white lilies that have opened so beautifully, the lady who's painting a large watercolour to my right, someone I know across the pond, the clouds building up, the tourists who stop to look at what I'm doing (despite the fact that I've just literally opened my sketchbook!), etc etc. Maybe it's a form of sensory overload. But, really, it's that I want to capture it all. So, one nice painting at the end of the day? No. Can't do that. I keep doing quick sketches, one watercolour layer, then I pick up another sketchbook and use a pen. Then I go back to watercolour. I literally cannot settle. Previous years, it worked out, as I had lots of energy, and I produced lots of great sketches and vignettes, and I was on a high. This year, I just find it exhausting. I had to take to the bed after I got home. So, yes, it's taken me (nearly) 59 years, but now I know why I'm not a plein air artist. And it's also exactly why I love urban sketching so much. I can churn out as many quick vignettes as I want, using 5 different pens and markers. Nobody expects me to stand at an easel, in the same spot, all day. And I'm good at it. And I'm also good at studio painting. Because I have one image in front of me. I work from photos I take myself, and occasionally from photos Brendan has taken, but he's not a landscape photographer. He's a street photographer, who photographs people. Check him out on Instagram. He's good. I have a process that works for me (mostly learned from Uma Kelkar, and also from dozens of books I have accumulated over the years!). And I'm disciplined.
Anyways, here is what I did in the Botanic Gardens, all in my sketchbooks. Then the thunderstorms came, and I left.
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| Had to sketch the baby swans before I left! |
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