December blues

Soon it will be the shortest day and we will begin to come into the light again.  It is a struggle, these dark days, to work by decent light.  Even the daylight is murky, or, on a sunny day, the sun is so low that everything is distorted.  Sometimes I simply cannot see clearly what I want to draw.  The studio at The Cube is too different from home with all round light.
Here is my effort a la Rory McEwen.  I don't appear to have signed it so maybe it is not finished here.  Coloured pencil over watercolour.

I did another in similar style of Monks House, Rodmell.
At present the project is to design a Christmas card.  And surprisingly difficult it is too.  

Equipment

I won £50 on a local lottery recently and spent the lot on paper.  It's not that much paper as it happens, not when the paper is hot pressed Fabriano.  Whenever I make an order from +Jackson's Art Supplies I add on a few coloured pencils (to make the postage worthwhile).  Most of my art stuff is gathered along the way.  I buy sketchbooks at The Cube, pencils and brushes from the shop in Folkestone's Old High Street, a feather from the garden, a magnifying glass from Specsavers.
We have a new lady in class.  She arrives and sets up a very posh big magnifying glass on a stand.  It has a row of LED lights.  Then she stacks up her black zipped cases of pencils and brushes.  There are four of them, identical and pristine.  She has a plastic storage box - not a rejected tupperware job like mine, but a proper affair with trays and drawers.  She comes and goes with a small suitcase on wheels to carry all her gear.  At home she has a workshop in which to artisticate.  I have a small table squeezed between the spare bed and the window, and a daylight lamp from Amazon.  No wonder the bed is strewn with materials and work in progress.
I think I shall start referring to the spare room as 'my studio'.

Working on three pictures in my 'True Facts From Nature' series (see +Rory McEwen ).  One is from our garden, one from Monk's House, Rodmell - home of Virginia Woolf - and the third is from Toby and Zenah's garden.  Also on the go - 'Seed shells' in ink.  Wish I had more time though.  The dark evenings are a struggle even with my daylight lamp.

Real artist now!

I put two pictures in an exhibition in the church in Great Mongeham.  Today was the first day of the exhibition and I sold a picture!  I am over the moon! It was my Sweetheart cabbage, which I rather liked and was pleased with. Someone else liked it too and it will be hanging on their wall.  I hope it goes to a good home.  It is a wonderful feeling to know that something I made is appreciated.  Apparently it is going to hang in the 'green room' in a house in the village.  The picture attracted them because the cabbage is vaguely heart shaped - which I had not noticed!

Last week I went to see the Rory McEwen exhibition.  It was fabulous.  The most amazing thing was his use of space.  The leaves or vegetables seem to be falling or floating.  He thought nothing of putting one leaf in one corner of the vellum and nothing else.  He painted leaves that were damaged and almost skeletonised.  He painted mouldy and decaying vegetables.  He did flowers too but the leaves and veg were my favourites.  Truly inspirational.

End of summer

Although I no longer have a teacher's holidays I still plan as if I did!  I intended to do so much!  I completed an artichoke, flowering, in coloured pencil, but it is not right.  

Artichoke
coloured pencil

The seed pods picture is almost done.  
I am working on a depiction of the cliffs at Capel where I was bowled over by the dark silhouettes of the alexanders  (Smyrnium olusatrum) among the golden grasses.  I am using a big piece of paper and the plant material is tall.  The only way I seem to be able to manage is sitting on the floor, the board resting on my knees and against the table edge with the plant material in a vase also on the floor.  It is all very uncomfortable! There should be an easier way.

Smyrnium olusatrum or Alexander on the cliff top.

Cannot wait for the class to start again but meantime I am going to Florum at Sevenoaks and to +Kew Gardens  to see the Rory McEwen exhibition.

Summer

Our homework for the summer is artichokes but after a week or two of doodling I have ignored the remit.  It is not that I don't want to do artichokes, it is just that there are so many other things I want to draw as well.  
I have been working on Nectaroscordum, a Berry 'bombe', a birthday present of Periwinkle and a selection of summer seed pods.  All are in coloured pencil. At present I do not have enough free time to do everything I want!
Nectaroscordum is not on blue paper and I do not know why it has come out like that!
The 'Berry Bombe' is finished but I am wondering if it was better a piece of fruit ago.

Berry Bombe
coloured pencil

Nectaroscordum siculum sp. bulgaricum
coloured pencil

Periwinkle
coloured pencil

Doodling and artichokes

We have had our last class of the year and the holiday homework is artichokes. With the whole summer ahead I feel no pressure and artichokes are casual at present, one drawn in pencil, three in watercolour with no drawing, one mad splashing colour about in what could be called a loose style or could be called messy.  None of these will make it on to here, too public a space.  Next, an artichoke in ink.  
Meanwhile I am drawing Nectaroscordum siculum bulgaricum, one of my favourite plants, and Periwinkle (Vinca major).
It is good to have some time to experiment.

Goddess done

Flora is now complete.
At the art class Claire asks who has finished their Coming of Spring piece and I have to say that I need her to tell me if it is finished!  It is, just about.  The face has been the hardest part but a tweak here and a tweak there and she is done.  Spot the snail!

Flora, Goddess of Spring
Coloured pencil