SKETCHING AT DARTINGTON
On Saturday we went to Dartington Hall to do some sketching. I did two, with lunch in between.
The entrance to the courtyard
This has always been a favourite view of mine. Unfortunately I didn’t get the proportions right in this one – as usual I squashed it! Also I messed up the perspective a bit. I didn’t manage to finish the sketch on the day because a young lady came up to talk to us and we had a long (and lovely) conversation. I added the shading and further detail on Sunday afternoon. It has come out rather dark. I am therefore not 100 percent happy with this one, but I usually find that there is one that I don’t like so much, when we go on these sketching outings.
A building in the courtyard
My second sketch was a lot more successful. I am not sure what this building is used for these days, but in the days when I attended the annual Summer School of Music, it was the Summer School office.
Nature fragments
When I am out and about, I love to notice tiny bits of nature – I rejoice in the small things that most people don’t notice or bother about. Little leaves, bits of twig, pine cones, tiny plants which have deceptive strength, pushing up through concrete, feathers, pebbles… you name it! This time we collected a bag of gorgeous little pine cones which I shall display in a bowl. I love these – the design is just perfect, based on the Fibonacci Series.
The following day, I laid out my treasures and photographed them.
At top left is a tiny fragment of lichen which must have fallen off a tree. It is a delicate green and looks like seaweed, or a tiny coral. At bottom left is a tiny pillow of moss which looked as if it once grew on a rooftop. The rest of the items are self-explanatory.
I decided to draw them. I chose coloured pencils this time – mostly my Amazon Basics set which is fantastic (except that the pencils are not available as open stock which is a pain) – the black one is getting a bit short these days, and isn’t as intense as the Faber Castel Polychromos one so I used that. I drew them in my sketchbook, alongside my sketches of the day.
We had such a good day out. We are going again next weekend.
