On January 16, 2023, I spent time just wandering around the garden, taking pictures of the snow on all the dead stems of weeds, flowers and grasses. I had my very small field kit bag with me, determined to do some kind of sketch.
My husband took some pictures of me, showing how bundled up I was! Two hats on my head, my dad’s old Woolrich hunting coat and thick mittens! I ended up standing in the back of the garden and did a small sketch in my little sketchbook. When it’s cold outside I like to use a small sketchbook so it forces me to keep it simple and quick.
Above you can see my little homemade sketchbook, it’s small enough I can also tuck it in my coat pocket. I used a permanent ink pen to do the drawing outside and then took my frozen fingers inside and used watercolor pencils to color it. I looked at a photo I took with my cell phone for reference to help me finish it. You can see the waterbrush I used too. You’ll notice my pencils are all short; I cut them all in half and carry them in a little pouch for taking into the field. Reducing weight is always key to me.
There is my little sketch finished and you can see the pencils tucked into the little pouch I made for them.
“Scottish Cottage and Snowy Fell”, watercolor pencil, ink
I’m happy with how that came out. In my photo you could see our oil tank on the left, I just left it out, artists choice! I tried to simplify by leaving out little things laying around, pots in the garden etc. I had fun playing with the purples in the shadows of the greenery.
I hope you enjoyed this little study, and encourage you to keep sketching. Small quick studies from life, not photos, are good practice and it helps keep your ‘eye’ trained.
We had about two inches of snow last night, everything is covered in a soft white blanket. All our flowers that were finally coming up are now covered but at least the daffodils haven’t bloomed yet.
Above is the Hawthorn I painted not long ago, and I’ll be putting a post up about that soon. I’m following fox tracks in the snow and they led here, then it jumped up on the wall and walked behind the tree! I love following tracks in snow to see what story it tells, guessing at what happened in the night.
The tracks led here also, where a fox jumped and hopefully got a vole! I did a Youtube video talking about it and will link it at the end. The grass clump above is what I decided to draw.
Here’s my little field watercolor palette, holding it in one hand with my fat mittens on!
It’s hard to take pictures while holding things!
I was trying to show how I hold the sketchbook against me and the palette, both in the same hand. I used to have a small hard panel that I would clip them to, I’ll have to revisit that idea! Kind of like a clipboard but skinnier.
Here’s my field kit I used today, it’s a small one. I stepped into the wood shed a minute so I could put things down to take a picture and video tape.
“Grasses in the Snow”, watercolor and ink
My finished little study, I like how it came out. I put together a short Youtube video about doing this sketch and I show my field kit. Find it RIGHT HERE, give me a like and leave a comment if you can!
I’ll be sharing another post soon, about the Hawthorn tree and Mossy Wall, with lots of stages of painting to see. I’m also saving my pennies (pence?) to buy a new printer so I can get back to offering prints and note cards, stay tuned!!
Ok, so I know it’s summertime so why am I talking about spring? Well I still have sketches and paintings to share that are from late winter and spring before I share my recent work. You’ll notice my winter and spring sketches were all quite small and not as much watercolor going on. As the weather warms up, and thus my fingers, I start to do more. Lately I’ve been doing some charcoal drawings too, but lets not get ahead of ourselves…spring first!
Watercolor of Edlingham Burn, February 10th in Edlingham village, Northumberland.
Above, here’s a small watercolor I did while sitting by the burn or stream that runs through Edlingham. The painting is just small, about 5×6″ or so, but good practice to paint the green trees and blue and brown water. Well actually the water is quite clean and clear, it just reflects all that’s above it! I really enjoyed the sun that day though it was still cold, so I finished the painting at home.
Fuzzy Buds drawing in ink February 17, 2015
I just love when native bushes bloom with soft fuzzy buds in springtime. They have little shiny, leathery looking caps that their fuzzy little heads push up as they swell to bloom. I brought some twigs in to draw; if you put them in water they look great and last awhile as you draw them.
My set up for drawing.
I set up the jar of buds by the patio windows, getting some natural light to work by. I like sitting here with my porridge in the morning to read and watch the birds outside.
Painted with watercolor from live branches I brought inside. February 17, 2015
I really enjoy trying to paint the soft look of the buds and also showing that they are white. You can’t (well I can’t) help but stroke them and think of how it feels like the ear of my bunny I had years ago!
One of many snowdrops, done in ink and watercolor. February 11, 2015
Spring here in England, wouldn’t be spring without the Snowdrops! They were everywhere and lasted so long, a real promise of more spring flowers to come. I had planned to paint a Snowdrop open, but ran out of time. I took a lot of pictures though so maybe in the future?
Unfinished sketch of a bit of Edlingham Valley.
Here’s another from February; do you notice how small this is? It’s from one of my tiny 4.25″ x 5″ sketchbooks I like to use in the winter. (see pic below). It’s great for tucking in your pocket when you just might want to draw something interesting, and I draw while standing up so it’s easy to hold too.
Finished watercolor 4.25″ x 5″, view in Edlingham, Northumberland.
Later I finished the color on the trees and grasses. As the page says, it was cold that day!
This is one of the small sketchbooks I designed, it’s great for winter sketches because it’s small.
There’s the sketchbook I made, designed complete with a pen holder made out of duct tape!
The Vole Hole, watercolor, 4.25″ x 5″.
Another tiny one, done on the backside of the sketch of Edlingham Valley view. Who can resist a tiny hole belonging to a vole or mouse? I know my husband’s cat can’t but neither can I for different reasons. I just have this little childlike vision of cute mice straight from Beatrix Potter coming out of the holes. I like to practice drawing these kinds of homes for future stories I may illustrate.
4.25″ x 5″ ink drawing of our ancient Sycamore.
I did this sketch with the intention to study the wonderful colors that are on this tree. It’s an ancient Sycamore covered with lichens of many colors, mosses of green and the tree bark’s own reddish hue, just waiting (still) to be studied by my watercolors.
Well I think that’s all for this post, I still have lots of small spring sketches and watercolors to share soon though. Next time I’ll post some more photos too. I’ll be posting soon, stay tuned!
Winter has passed by and I’m still settling into my new life in England. I did some sketches as I could, being tired from unpacking, cleaning or just being overwhelmed in general. But happily I can see my sketching has increased as the months slip by and I will share all that in further posts to catch up.
Waiting at Gate 12, Buffalo International Airport…the big day way back in December!
Today I’m posting sketches I did way back in December and January. The one above I did while waiting in the Buffalo International Airport, Gate 12, for my flight to the UK. I like the way it came out, a person sitting ‘almost’ in silhouette in front of the huge windows. It definitely helped to pass the time and calm my nervous excitement.
Ink sketch of a very old Hawthorn in a farmers hedgerow.
After I settled in I started walking in the mornings, mostly on my favorite lane above the village. Just like at ‘home’ in New York, sketching in winter I mostly use very small pocket sketchbooks. It’s just too cold to stand around freezing my fingers off, so I just do smaller quicker sketches; the most important thing is just to keep sketching.
The drawing above is actually tiny, done at the top of the page, but I like how it came out. It’s done with a brown Faber-Castell ink pen; I love using these pens. It’s a twisted little hawthorn along a sheep field, very exposed to the winds at the top of a ridge. I like it’s character because it reminds me of a bonsai tree. Some of the little trees you see hedges made of are actually very old trees that are trimmed all the time.
“Tree on Upper Lane”, a rough sketch on a very cold day, using water soluble pencils that I haven’t wet yet!
This sketch was done very quickly because it was so darn cold! I love walking on this one lane that goes out of our village because it’s lined with ancient trees and gorgeous views of distant hills and fields. I did it using water soluble pencil but wanted to scan it before I wet it. When you wet them they can get very dark and intense…it still waits for me to wet it with my brushes and mess around.
This is one of the small sketchbooks I designed.
This is one of the small sketchbooks I designed, it’s great for winter sketches because it’s small. I made a pen holder out of duct tape and attached it to the back cover. I have another one that’s even smaller that I used at home a lot too, just loved sticking it in my barn coat pocket when I went walking.
Small watercolor done while sitting along the bank of Edlingham Burn, on a very cold day in January.
January 7, 2015 – I walked down to Edlingham Burn (small river) and found a mossy rock to sit upon with this lovely view. Well maybe it’s hard to imagine from such a small sketch, but it was a view of the burn and moss covered trees everywhere, just lovely!
Me in the freezing cold, painting Edlingham Burn.
I was very cold painting this, I did it with mittens on mind you, no easy task! I sat on a bit of rock, cold and damp, but it felt so good to be out and finally messing with my watercolors, that I didn’t notice (until I got up, all stiff!) I used one medium sized waterbrush to do this.
The livestock fence across the burn.
Farmers use old pallets across small streams or ‘burns’ here, to keep sheep and cattle in sectioned off fields. I put it in the background of my watercolor sketch you can see above.
A walk along the burn in January.
This is Edlingham Burn, I walked along it looking for a spot to paint. Where the rest of the land was pretty bleak and bare, the river was/is fascinating to me. With all it’s mossy trees, ivy climbing everywhere, dry grasses draping over dark banks touching the cold water and the sound of splashing water, wonderful.
From my small sketchbook, I love the way these two trees were twisting together.
These two trees I found behind the old church, in the farmers field. I really like how this sketch came out. They twisted together, almost in an embrace, part lichen covered, part moss. Standing in a cold, bare hedge, naked of leaves or flowers, just waiting till spring! Maybe someday I’ll do a larger color study.
Pine tree across the road from us, I noted the birds I saw while sketching it.
January 26th – I did this sketch on a day where I was tired and not feeling particularly inspired. That’s an especially good time to stick to your small sketchbook, just do something small until you ‘do’ feel inspired. It helped me to focus and relax; practice is always a good thing. I noted the birds I saw while doing it, Seagulls, Jackdaws and a Tree Creeper.
A pretty view of sheep over a country fence.
I thought I’d leave you with two more photos, from Jan. 6th on my morning walk. I love watching the sheep in the fields all around me, there are so many kinds here!
A sheep wondering what I’m doing in her field.
This little ewe was watching me, they run away if you get too close, so having a zoom is needed! They are all carrying lambs at this time and I can’t wait to see them in spring!
Check back for more updates, yes there are more sketches, paintings and photos to catch up with from this spring and I can’t wait to share them with you! Sign up in the right column with your email, if you want to be notified when I do new posts. Please leave me comments if you like!
I’ve been meaning to post these pictures as I did them at the end of this winter. All of them were done outside while wearing mittens, so I was going to title the post something like that, but now that winter is gone I can’t bring myself to think about mittens! So, here’s a bunch of tiny sketches done at the end of winter, using my tiny square sketchpad.
Tiny sketch kit I keep in my winter ‘backyard coat’ pocket; I also keep a mechanical pencil and kneaded rubber eraser in it.
The baggie is sandwich sized and in it I keep a permanent ink pen, one mechanical pencil, a kneaded rubber eraser along and the homemade 4″ x 4″ sketchbook. This small size is great for winter because just capturing a small sketch on a freezing cold day is better than trying to do something bigger and your fingers fall off from the cold before you’re done! 😉 I also keep a few pages of printer paper at the back for notes or creative ideas for poems.
Aspen leaf deep in the snow…very cold outside!
I’ll add my small sketches in order that I did them.
“Waiting for Spring”
The tree sketch above was done the same day, after strolling around the frozen yard. The two trees at the back corner of my yard had dark, dead leaves and swirled dried grasses all about them, like an oasis in the white snow.
“Waiting for Spring” photo of sketchbook.
This photo above just shows how small the sketch is. Like I said the idea is to keep the sketchbook handy in my pocket and keep the drawing time to a minimum.
“Cocoon Leaf” that I’ve been watching all winter.
This is a sketch of the leaf I’ve kept an eye on all winter. I wondered why one dead leaf never fell from this little tree in my yard, I suspected what I found, a cocoon. Very interesting to look at up close and see the silk spun around the stem.
“Cocoon Leaf” sketched from the other side.
And this is sketched the next day after my walking. It was difficult to draw with bulky mittens on, sometimes I pull back the top and use my fingers. I like this sketch because it shows how beautiful the form of the leaves wrap together.
A tree by the lane (Long Lane).
Today I went further than the yard, up Pasture Lane into the big field. It was just great to be out in the open and not cooped up inside, though it was still very cold. All the ground that had flooded in the winter was covered by ice + water, so I had to watch my steps. As I sketched the tree I imagined a squirrel could be looking down from that one ‘V’ branch, in a story, then I thought of England as usual. “My mind if full of leaving, my mind is full of returning…to England”. Then it started to snow again.
“Cocoon Leaf”, another sketch…I like this one.
The next day I walked in the yard again and drew the leaf. It’s great to repeatedly study one object, every sketch a different angle or different lighting.
“Cocoon Leaf” gets covered with a plastic mesh bag.
I decided to play more the ‘scientist’ and hopefully get to study what kind of critter comes out of the cocoon, if any! I took a plastic mesh bag from some onions and gently tied it over the twig with the cocoon. I made sure the bag won’t move and disturb the cocoon leaf. The only thing about doing this is now I’ve signed on to be “Cocoon Keeper”, it’s my responsibility to watch it everyday in case something does come out.
The other neat thing about drawing outside that day is the sounds I heard from the treeline. There’s a ditch that drains the fields there and all winter it’s full of water and ice. Today the ice made such interesting cracking sounds, I assume it’s to do with temperature changes between air and earth.
Sketches of what I think are Woodcock footprints in the snow.
I had a nice walk on this day, March 25. The sun was out, it was cold but calm and I got to see a Woodcock walking on the ground! First I saw these tracks which I noted, then just further on I saw a Woodcock in the treeline walking! I’ve never seen one on the ground, they always flush as I come upon them. I tried to grab photos but, NO WAY, it was too quick for me.
Tree in Aspen Hall with interesting marks on it.
Last sketch of ‘Winter’; though it’s officially spring, with snow on the ground and mittens I still call it winter! This was sketched the same day, after seeing the Woodcock. I walked up Long Lane to Aspen Hall and sat for a bit on a pile of dead branches I use for a seat. Aspen Hall is a special place for me because it’s a place on my land where my sons and I would first hike to. Just far enough for a 2 + 4 year old to make it to, one in a wagon when tired, but far enough to be an adventure and secret place; I always loved secret, special places. We planted daffodils and crocuses 20 years ago, and some still come up now! I can’t believe it’s been so long ago.
Well that’s it for ‘wintery sketches’! I do have more in my tiny sketchbook but they are officially done ‘without mittens’! so I’ll save them for another ‘tiny sketchbook post’.
If anything, I hope this encourages some of you to stick a small sketchbook in your pocket and just do little studies when you’re out. Some of us spend far too much time focused on work, the house, the kids, the computer….when it’s so important to get out and walk and see. The best way to see is to stop, study and draw!
(Just a note on my actual drawing techniques, sometimes I use a pencil to sketch and correct with a kneaded rubber eraser. Afterwards I’ll go over it with the permanent pen, let it dry, then erase the pencil. I do this because I don’t like pencil in my field sketchbooks as it smudges. Many, many times I don’t use the pencil first at all, I just take my time and sketch directly with the permanent pen. It can be a freeing feeling to do this, but also can make you think a little more before you make your mark!)
Hope you enjoyed my tiny sketches and notes, please leave me comments and ask questions if you like, I love reading them and replying!
New Years Eve has come again, as it does. We had lots of snow lately and now that hunting season is over, I can venture out into my fields again! So I got out my snowshoes, stuffed a tiny sketchbook in my pocket and slung my camera over my shoulder and ready for a walk! Well after donning a few wool layers that is! (Click pics for clearer view.)
My ‘long’ snowshoes are ready to go.
This post isn’t really about great sketches but mostly just getting out into nature, going for a good walk and of course looking for inspiration. I love looking as I go and letting ideas come to me. I see holes in the snow and think of my little characters living in there! But if you just enjoy sketching nature then you get inspired by the lighting, colors and forms you see as you walk. If anything you feel better for filling your lungs with fresh air. I enjoyed taking pictures to add to my reference folders, so I’ll put my photos here that I shot as I walked and you can see what I saw.
My long snowshoes.
I have two pair of snowshoes, one is a “Bear Paw” style that is rounded on both ends, and the other are what I wore today, they taper out long in the back. These were great for the long trails, I guess the others are supposed to be good when in a more ‘brushy’ trail where you don’t want a long end (like skies) to maneuver.
The start of my walk, up “Pasture Lane”.
This is “Pasture Lane”, the start of almost every walk. I did a nice oil painting one year in May, while sitting just here and looking down the grassy lane filled with yellow dandelions! Ahh…to dream of green spring! (Have a peek at the painting here in my gallery)
“Long Lane” waiting to be explored, this is near the pond.
Then I turn to the area where the pond is but if I continue on in the direction as before, “Long Lane” is before me. The lane that my farm is named for! It goes on and on and all the trails I’ve made over the years with the brush-hog run off of it. It’s all been getting pretty wild though the past few years, as I’ve either been in England or my tractor broke or couldn’t because my back bothered me. I have noticed a LOT more wonderful butterflies and dragonflies on the property though, by letting the field go wild!
A pretty view of the field from Long Lane.
In winter you learn to appreciate the subtle things, like the colors of the dormant bushes, the murky greyness of the trees in the distance, the way snow rolls over everything and creates subtle shadows that are a challenge to draw. You also notice the quiet of it all except today, today the wind was making it’s presence known!
A little natural snow arch that would be perfect for a bunny!
I spotted this little snow arch created by the tree and bushes and it captured my imagination. I thought it’d make a great reference for adding a bunny someday.
A close up of the “snow nook”.
So I took a bunch of photos from all different angles, then stood still to do a tiny sketch in my tiny sketchbook.
A tiny pencil sketch of a snowy arch in the snow, complete with bunny!
Ohh it was cold but I tried to do what I could and later I touched it up a bit while looking at the photos. I added a pretend bunny while I was drawing it in the lane; someday I’ll have to think of a story or painting.
Water in the ditch and snow covered downed trees.
The deer always cross here and I like to stop and image things. It’s like a little world to a small creature complete with lake! Other than that it’s just pretty.
Tracks from my snowshoes.
Always look back to see how things look from a different view…
Dead grapevine leaves, auto setting.
Now these two pictures of the grapevine leaves are just a mini photo lesson. I only wanted to point out that I tested using the “auto” setting (shown above) which makes the picture very cold and bluey. But below…
Dead grapevine leaves taken with Aperture Priority mode.
I switched it to Aperture Priority mode and was able to select the kind of lighting…you know, indoor with lights, outdoor shade etc. When I selected outdoor type and shade it allowed the warmer tones to come through. I thought it was much nicer and how I was ‘seeing’ it in real life. In that setting I could play around with the depth of field a little too. Sorry my photos in the this post aren’t a bit nicer but I don’t take time to tweak in any photo program…they just are what they are. I was mostly interested in photos for references.
Now I’m following some deer tracks.
So I wander onward…following deer tracks. Another great thing about winter is being able to study all the tracks that are made in the snow! You can try to figure out what went on during the night when you were sleeping.
Here’s a little hole that could be good for one of my illustrations!
More holes capture my imagination, so I photograph them for references.
here’s another hole that caught my imagination.
Now as you think of the holes and look at the photos below…
Almost to “Memory Lane”.
…read what I wrote in that tiny journal sketchbook, while walking in the freezing cold lane:
“Dec 31. New Years Eve Walk – Snowshoes…cold.
The wind blows through the Ash tree tops, Great roaring above that sounds like an ocean in the distance.
The wind looks everywhere for a burrow, a hole a nest…it has no home. So on it roars…looking.
I hear clacking little frozen branches – small ones that rattle against each other in this wind.
Sometimes I hear the squeaking and creaking of big limbs, pressed together over time but now mobil in this wind.
I walk on.”
Beautiful dried grasses all swirled in different directions.
This is near “Memory Lane”, where most of the year it’s wet so this grass grows profusely there and in winter it’s nice to look at. I love the color of dry grasses.
Dried Bull Thistle bends low.
Here are some more notes from my journal: “The Bull Thistle – bending over, trying to kiss the snow, once stood 7′ tall.Now it prostrates itself in a deep bow.”
The downy hairs they once had are now soaked with ice.
“What bristly seed heads still have downy beards – are now soaked with ice as they hang their heads to the ground.”
Me with my snowshoes after a long walk!
Oh dear, there’s me without a stitch of makeup on!! Yikes! I can also see white blurry bits of snow on the lens. Oh well, I like this photo because it reminds me of my mini adventure so I thought I’d share it!
So now, my parting words to you are – instead of moping around the house this winter, grab your sketchbook or camera and go for a walk!
This is a little (5 x 7″) oil painting I did “en plein air”, or translation… “while standing in the snowy field freezing my fingers off”! What I wanted to do was study the colors in oil and not get too caught up in the finished look of a painting. It was a good exercise in study of color for me, it would not have been as successful if I did it from a photograph.
My oil field kit, closed.
I rigged up a little field kit for oil painting, just for taking out on hikes. Here’s a picture of the kit closed, it’s a plastic case you can buy at an office supply department. I’ve only used it this once but hope to work with it more and ‘tweek’ it. The main objective was to keep it as light as possible.
Here it is open to show you the metal pencil case and use of 'sticky tack'.
This shows the kit open with two areas of gessoed canvas ready to use. Notice the four dots of ‘sticky tack’ on the left, they’ll hold the lid of the metal pencil case when I want to paint, using the lid for mixing. I used tape to make loops to hold brushes; just put tape sticky sides together to make it ‘not’ sticky in the middle.
I created a loop of tape to slide my medium cup into.
I used the tape in the same way here, keeping it sticky on the ends but not in the middle, I created a loop that my medium cup would slot onto. At the angle I would hold the kit, the cup would not come off! It was then held from behind with a dab of ‘sticky tack’.
Here is my field kit in action!
I held the homemade kit in one hand, using my arm for support, and painted with my right hand. It’s all in my reach and I brought no tubes of paint. Notice my fingers are holding one brush at the ready and the other ‘dirty’ or ‘in use’ brushes are kept on the left of the hinge, clean ones to the right in the loop.
Of course Ginger was along for the adventure and waits patiently to continue with our walk!
I put a squeeze of my colors in a metal pencil case and put some in a pill box from the pharmacy before I left the house. The pill box was an experiment and I wasn’t really satisfied with it, it gets too messy on the lids and doesn’t keep the paint really airtight. Since then I’ve moved to using contact lens cases that screw shut…we’ll see how the paint lasts in them as they’re all back in England and I won’t see them until spring!
This shows you my view of the field as I worked.
The above picture shows you the view I had as I worked, it also illustrates how dull the colors look on a photograph and how I perceived the colors with my eyes to be a bit more vivid. This is why working in the field is so important whether you are oil painting, using watercolors, pastels…etc.
When I came back home, I stuck the little study up on a wood post in my living room using ‘Loctite” sticky tack. I hung there for ages and I enjoyed looking at it whenever I walked by. It wasn’t until I found a great frame and laid it on top that it popped out and said “HEY…I’m a good little painting!” hahah…yes sometimes my paintings talk to me…don’t yours? It also told me to stop ignoring it and get it framed so it could have a proper place on the wall! Yes…yes, the voice of guilt, this painting actually was done last year (12/31/10) and since I traveled to England it got sort of forgotten!
(Some of the images go to my shop where you can hover and see enlarged details)
Snowy Lane in black wax crayon colored with watercolor
Even though I did this sketch back in December, while I was in Northumberland England, I guess it’s appropriate now seeing as there’s been a return of snow there! This was their first snow of the winter and it fell quite heavy for a time, coating everything with that heavy kind of silent snow. I had a cold but peaceful walk up the lane and stopped at this view with the trees I always like looking at. I did the sketch while standing to the side of the road using a black wax crayola crayon. The snow was falling on my paper as I drew and it made it hard to draw, not to mention drawing while wearing my fingerless mittens. It was later that I added some touches of watercolor.
A lovely gate along the way
I love the way this ivy covered gate looks and would love to do a painting of it. Problem is it’s someone’s front gate and with the house being just inside, they may think I’m being rude standing there staring at it.
The snowy lane so quiet under snow
This is one of my favorite views as the lane curves into the distance. You can see this is the view I stood and sketched in my drawing.
Another view along the high lane
The trees stand sentinel as they’ve done for hundred’s of years. Many of the trees you see along a lane are just overgrown from old hedges that weren’t kept trimmed down.
The black faced sheep were quiet in the cold.
I love how the trees look in the back of the field and how peaceful the sheep were, just trying to conserve energy I guess. These ewes are probably getting fat with lambs in them now…can’t wait to see the little ones in spring!
The thick snowy hedge along the lane.
There are beautiful colors all around you even in winter!
I like seeing the leaves in winter; these were interesting with the red spots. Sorry the picture isn’t brighter but the day was so grey!
Just waiting to be put in a drawing!
This is an old farm shed I always look at along the lane, it’s so old it’s actually fallen off it’s foundation and the sides are collapsed. I don’t usually want to paint old barns as some people do, but this with the trees, shrubs and grass with their colors in this shot, really attract me. I can see it as an ink sketch perhaps or chalk.
I hope you enjoyed coming on this little snowy walk with me. More sketches and photos from England coming soon.
Click the picture below to see a glossy note card I created in my shop for Christmas! I even wrote a verse for the inside!
I know it seems out of place, this painting of snow when it’s Spring (at least it’s trying to be spring!) but I found I had never posted this and would hate to have it forgotten! So here’s a short post about a cold, snowy walk in January! If you click it you’ll see prints of it in many sizes.
"Field at Long Lane Farm" watercolor
I did this little 7 x 7″ painting in my journal while standing in the lane that goes out to the fields on my farm. I love the subtle colors of winter, the red tipped bushes and the cool blues in the snow. On a good sunny day you can have to most intensely blue colored skies and high contrast clouds. Not that you’ll ever hear your weather man call them that! “today there’s a chance of high contrast clouds with rain” hahaha.
Seed heads along the walk
Here are some notes I wrote as I paused to look at some dead seed heads.
Watercolor pan, brush and waterbottle
And this shows you what I used, not a waterbrush but a ‘proper’ watercolor brush, just used the one and a plastic bottle for water. In the winter you can’t use the waterbrushes that are so popular as the water tends to freeze as you paint on the paper.
Hope you enjoyed the late posting…I hope we can all say goodbye to winter weather soon!
Here’s some prints and note cards of this little watercolor in my shop:
(A late entry that I wanted to add photos to before sharing, it’s from a tiny field sketchbook I made that’s handy to take in my pocket or a small bag when it’s wintry weather like this.)
Dead Weed heads Covered with Snow
What a cold day today, but Ginger and I ventured forth into the frozen whiteness and found some pretty things. I liked looking at the heads of dead flowers way out in my field, the snow was cupped upon the tops like cotton waiting to be picked. I did the two sketches today using a small sharpie marker in my tiny field sketchbook I created.
"Shadows on Fox Lane" 2
This photo is of “Fox Lane”, one of the ways I can walk out to my fields. I love the blue winter shadows cast here.
Tracks in the Snow Up Long Lane
The drawing above is of “Long Lane”, a VERY quick, simple sketch done with mittens on while Ginger and I paused on our walk. I at least wanted to show the perspective of the lane and the trees, the tracks in the snow help with that too. Long Lane is the prettiest, trees much closer and thicker along the lane, it’s so beautiful in springtime.
Furry Fronds of Ice
These furry branches are weeds growing just under my back deck, just where the exhaust from the furnace comes out the moisture in the air has created these pretty stems.
"Shadows on Fox Lane" 1
Another photo of Fox Lane. Hope you enjoyed this chilly walk with me!
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