Racing Lines
Art by Maxine Dodd
Sunshine inspiration…
In January, there is nothing better than reminders of sunny days. Looking through some of my pictures made in Mallorca brings back good memories and inspiration for the year ahead…can’t wait! Wishing you sunshine inspiration too…
A winding road…
The autumn is coming to a close – in parts of the UK, the winter has begun even… Here in Leicestershire, it’s all gone a bit dark and gloomy, damp and murky… So to cheer up a bit, here’s a reminder of the Tour de France, and one of my favourite subjects, a lovely long peloton following a lovely winding road – all sunshine,…
Autumn breeze
We’ve had some gorgeous days lately as Autumn comes to a close. The forecast for the weekend promises an icy wind straight from the North Pole – certainly felt a bit colder on my walk just now but the sunshine and blue skies are beautiful and there’s still warmth in the breeze… at least for today!
Primaries
Hello! Progressing quietly through January with time to experiment -it’s nice to return to a medium or technique not used for a while. This time, I rediscovered acrylic paint and palette knives, thinking about landscape. It’s been so dark and grey here lately, that I felt the need for colour too – variations on the primaries, red, yellow and blue. Have a great weekend –…
Drawing January: Snowdrops in colour
Hello! Another January drawing, again looking at snowdrops. This little group grow in the yard of our village church. What you see below are the stages of one drawing, Little Darlings. I wanted to use the transition effect to animate the stages a little. The most recent stage (stage 8) appears underneath. I’m nervous of this in some ways – often I see a stage when…
Drawing January: Winter and snowdrops
Hello – and a belated Happy New Year! I’ve just come indoors from my first drawing expedition into the garden. I know that’s overstating it, but I do carry so much stuff down from the studio, it feels like I’m going to the North Pole! Weather bright and sunny after a flurry of snow – not like the painted sketches I did last year…
Storm waves
The weather over Christmas and the New Year in the UK has shown the devastating power of the sea. The sea fascinates and attracts like mad. We can’t help ourselves, but the reality of living and working with it is another matter. Here are some drawings:
Pretty in pink
My second post that ties in with the Festival of Flowers blog. A great idea and very inspiring. Find out more – and take part, on http://festivalofflowers.wordpress.com/, (or click the logo below). It was one of those perfect late summer days yesterday, so I took my pens and watercolours into the garden and made some drawings. The two I liked best were of the Japanese anemone,…
Snow into Spring
The winter in Britain this year has been exceptional, one of the worst in recent memory. This week we’ve seen farmers desperately trying to rescue their sheep and cattle, buried deep in snow drifting over the hedges where they sought shelter. Where the sun breaks through there is a slow thaw, but in the hedgerows it hangs on. The nights have been crystal clear…
January blues
This week the weather steadied – snow bedded deep and days were cold. The whiteness is wearing and we’re all tired. I ventured out to meet my friend Sheila who was painting nearby, but mostly continued work in the garden. Along with my usual pen and watercolour, I changed to oil paint on board for the first time in a long while. I felt…
Winter white?
Following on from last week, the winter has begun to bite deep into the countryside. We’ve had days of hard frosts and now today, the snow is falling. It was too cold to hang the washing out, so instead, I festooned our garden trees with food for the birds. Colour arrived in the form of one fleeting but spectacular dawn and a fieldfare bossed…
Beautiful, cold January
Winter has arrived in middle England – it’s been cold and foggy, with the exception of one day when the sun came out. I hung washing on the line and couldn’t resist setting up outside to draw. It was wonderful to be outside in the fresh air. The rest of the week has been cold and foggy but just had to go out and…
