Sketch Book Days

Weather has been a problem over the last week. At present the days lurch from bright spells to rain and hail. Lengthy sessions are difficult when that is the case so the answer is to grab the opportunities given by the occasional breaks in the nasty bits. One disadvantage I find when working in these conditions is that I tend to hurry and not take as much care with my drawing as I would in more benign conditions. Whilst not my best work these sketches have provided a chance to wet brushes before I head off to Venice on Thursday.

The first two were done yesterday when I went out with two artists that I met after signing up to the Plein Air Group on Facebook. They are both accomplished artists and worth looking up on the net. Their names are Colin Joyce and Pete Dimmock. We didn't have a lot of time and our efforts were interrupted by the aforementioned weather pattern.

Bridges - Watercolour on Not paper 11"x 8"

The above is a complicated subject that really needs some time spent to produce a sound drawing and I'll have to think about returning to try and do it justice.

Seaburn - Watercolour on Not paper 11" x 8"

With this one I was interested in the changeable sky with grey clouds starting to gather. I remembered too late some advice I was given about avoiding painting in feet with the obvious result of my poorly drawn effort.

The last picture was done while waiting to meet a couple of friends for lunch in Durham. The sun was out so I sat for an hour in the Market Place and made a few passes with brush.

Market Place - Watercolour on Not paper 11" x 8"