Technology Outdoors: Week 4 Science Outdoors.

Redshift Swan ©Sue Pownall 2017

As an art teacher to adult students, I was dubious about what this last week could bring in terms of personal inspiration and for my classes.
Unit 2 reintroduced me to the Doppler Effect, which I had forgotten, and continued with RedShift, which I don't recall having ever learnt. However, as I studied physics back in the dark ages, including Einstein's theory of relativity, I assume I must have.

Finishing the unit, I bounced around the internet reading more on this. I liked the simplicity of the illustration below, and found space.com a good site for info, but nasa.gov was a bit complex.

From universevocab.weebly.com

Apart from spending a long time surfing, I continued my exploration of the weekly ideas through my dog walks and took a Doppler effect photo.

Dogwalk Double Doppler Effect

This would not be an image to share with young learners, but from an artistic viewpoint the resulting patterns of colour and light as the cygnets swim towards the swan and she swims towards them could be the beginning of some printmaking patterns. In fact, I have been playing with monoprints based on Redshift and Doppler Effect, here are some of them.

Variations on a theme. ©Sue Pownall 2017

I am sad that this is the last week of the DLabErasmus course, but have an idea to develop the dogwalk images I have created for it.

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If you are looking for my art, you will find it here: www.suepownallartist.co.uk 

Hello spring!

The gates are open for 2016 at the National Trust's Bourne Mill. ©SuePownall

Today is the Spring Equinox in the northern hemisphere, and spring is one of my favourite seasons. I also like autumn ... and summer ... oh and winter if I'm inside and warm and it's snowing outside.

On Wednesday, I was sketching outside in order to record the 2016 opening of the National Trust property, Bourne Mill. I'm working with the property this year, so rather than sketch the building, other than the outline, I chose to focus on the open gates.

I used a Monologue sketchbook and inked on site. However, I added the watercolour added at home due to icy wind.

St. Patrick's Day. ©SuePownall

 On Thursday, Saint Patrick's Day provided the opportunity to get some green paint out as I sketched with some friends in a local pub. The above sketch was completed on site, Winsor & Newton watercolour with Staedtlar pen in A5 Daler sketchbook.

Sketching with my assistant.

 More green featured this morning, which is why I'm blogging this evening, as I experimented monoprinting using a Gelli plate. Some of these prints I am thinking of working up, maybe with stencils, or watercolour, or.... not sure. Some as collage backgrounds, maybe. Whilst one will become an Easter card to send to my mum.

Spring monoprint experiments. ©SuePownall

Now, I'm looking forward to lots of garden drawing, flower sketching, and more spring printing.

 What about you? Is spring your favourite season? What are you working on?