Good morning everyone. Well, we just got back yesterday from a few days holiday in Derbyshire, UK. And, it was very pleasant indeed! So, I thought I’d show you some of the quick sketching I did. Actually, I painted this yesterday afternoon when we were visiting Calke Abbey, an old stately home managed by the National Trust. To be honest, we chose not to go on the tour of the house, although I’m sure it was fascinating. But we are still being a bit cautious about indoor spaces at present. However, the estate, park and gardens were very impressive.
Part of the Walled Garden
As you can see, this section of the walled garden was laid out with delightful flower beds and very healthy looking tree ferns. But for us the best bit was the vegetable garden and the fruit trees. And we admired a medlar tree in full fruit and the most bright orange pumpkins we have ever seen! Then we walked out through one of the lovely arched entrances. Fortunately, there was a very well placed bench for me to sit on, where I quite happily spent almost an hour watercolour sketching.
Quick Sketching in the Walled Garden
To tell you the truth, I had just read an article in my art magazine about keeping plein air sketches simple. So I immediately put it into practice and followed the three steps. Firstly, make an accurate sketch using light pencil strokes. Then draw over the lines in ink – without following them too carefully. After erasing most of the pencil marks, next add colour. And, it’s nowhere as easy as it sounds! Especially the add the colour bit – but it did simplify and speed up the process. Finally, back in the cottage, I took a good look at it and just added a few more darks. In fact, I think I needed that bit of time and distance to assess it. And add the finishing touches to my quick sketching.
See more of my plein air sketching here.
There’s a dapple-ness to this I really like Margaret! And, as often in your work, there’s such a great use of line to enhance the structure, so natural and on spot; have been slowly trying to incorporate a little of that into my own work, long way to go 😊
Thank you so much, Felipe, I really enjoyed using pen on this one. For me the problem is knowing when to stop!
I need to start practicing my sketching again, this is quite lovely, Margaret!
Thank you so much, Tiffany. I really enjoy this type of watercolour sketching, but any kind of sketching is really good practice and then it feeds through into your painting. Win win !