Tour de France 2014: Stage 7 – Épernay to Nancy
Cascading Green was made from Stage 7 of 2014’s Tour. It was one of the longest stages and passed through some lovely towns and villages by the river Moselle. The peloton rode past this lovely house with tumbling bougainvillea and a cascade of green on the trees lining the road.
It was so pretty, I had to paint it!
It’s a lovely day in the studio already. Early and ready to work…
And my studio assistant is back too!
There are many pictures I should be sharing with you just now, all sports inspired, but every now and then a picture comes to me almost by accident – they don’t ‘fit’ with the sports work that I usually make but they do ‘fit’ together -since mostly these oddities are made under the same circumstances – in the early hours before it’s quite light – or even in the dark – and I make them because I have woken early and can’t get back off to sleep.
I work as quietly as possible, so as not to disturb everyone else, and use the daylight table light, which bends and stretches to light exactly what needs to be lit and nothing else – I make a picture or two, half asleep almost, leave whatever I have made to dry and go back to bed – usually to sleep fine after that. Making art is a great cure for my occasional sleeplessness, I have to say.
So, it happened last night, (this morning) and I found a piece that I had started and left, not knowing what to do with it. I put on the daylight lamp and only had a few things to hand, a lovely ink made by Diamine called ‘onyx black’, a couple of Derwent Graphitint pencils, ‘Dark indigo’ and ‘Meadow’ a couple of pastels of mixed origin, probably Schmincke and Sennelier, grey and white and some System 3 white acrylic.
These photos give you an idea but it’s a bit tidier now than at the time – I was half asleep and no camera!
What emerged from my marks and spatters were the trees and hedge at the end of our garden – I look at this view a great deal and the hedgerow is a haven to wildlife, especially pheasants.
Normally, our regular visitors are two males, who we call Philip and Phineas – occasionally there is a third, Felix – (Phelix??) and sometimes one or two females – but lately, there have been lots of them, – (a nye?) – of at least 12 , in the garden finding food to eat – and they are lovely to watch.
The marks that came reminded me of the trees and hedgerow where they come in. I reckon the next step is to draw them during the daytime when we are all awake together!
So here, from my reverie, is this night time piece, from memory really, showing where the pheasants live…
Today’s drawings are from the England vs Pakistan Test at Old Trafford. These are the ‘warm up’ drawings which are little more than scribbles but I made them on the tablet for a change.
I am still learning how to use the electronic pen. I have found that holding the pen on its side works better, but still a long way off, but as always, it’s great to try and learn something new.
A tool I have discovered is the video record, which traces each step in the drawing. Most of the time I draw automatically, so it’s fascinating to replay and see how the lines build up and the sketch emerges.
The eagle-eyed among you might just spot Stuart Broad’s bandana, probably not much more! Have a great weekend 🙂
Drawing August, celebrating all things drawing. It’s an online event to celebrate and encourage drawing. Simply post a drawing every day throughout the month using the hashtag #DrawingAugust.
Second drawing for this year’s Drawing August online event. This is pastel on Ingres paper. I used Schmincke and Sennelier here; the pigments are so strong and vibrant, they are always exciting to use.
Pastel is possibly the purest form of painting – we work with pure pigment and little else!
Amanda McLean
Soft (chalk) pastels were the first medium that hooked me into art properly. I made a picture when I was at school using pastel on black paper. It was a revelation, the colours and contrast were something wonderful and that was it, I was off on my journey. Lovely memories!
It’s Drawing August time! An online event to celebrate and encourage drawing. Simply post a drawing every day throughout the month using the hashtag #DrawingAugust.
This is my first for this year, a mixed media drawing of my gladioli ‘Espresso’ which I made with a combination of watercolour and charcoal.
Hello! Time to slow down – The past week has been a bit full on, so to enjoy the company of our cat today is a treat. Recent research says that there are many health benefits from sitting with your cat or dog – they calm, restore and heal. I can’t argue! Sleep on Azlan! 🙂
Sunday snooze
All the paintings are for sale, unless marked ‘SOLD’. Make a note of the title and press this link…
Click to buy Thank you! 🙂 For full details of framing, sizes, payment and more, please visit Picture Info
Hola! I’ve had time out recently which has meant that I have not been able to follow La Vuelta and the Tour of Britain day by day as I would normally. However, I have been catching up with both races and thought it would be fun to make random posts from various stages, which I’ll feature over the next week or so. Today is La Vuelta and the theme is flags, fog and passionate fans! Here are my drawings:
In case you were wondering… all the paintings are original and for sale. Prices from £150 To find out more about them and how to buy, click here or Picture Information
Hola! What a week it’s been for cyclists and fans alike! Stage 1 saw the team time-trial take place on 14 different road surfaces, an horrendous crash in Stage 2 – one of the biggest stars disqualified… the list goes on! Speaking personally, the gremlins have hit me somewhat this week… a few mechanicals, so to speak. Therefore, I’ve decided to publish the impressions I have made so far and wish you a very warm and happy weekend!
Here are my drawings:
In case you were wondering… all the paintings are original and for sale. To find out more about them and how to buy, click here or Picture Information
Maxine Dodd 