Drinking and drawing

3rd Essex & Suffolk Sketchers DrinkDraw event.

 

...talking and playing.

Here I am sketching

On Friday night, I had arranged for the Essex and Suffolk sketchers to have a 3rd DrinkDraw evening. These evenings are proving to be very successful and we had a good turn out again.

We went to the Rose and Crown in Wivenhoe, which has this great quayside beer garden. The above photo shows us hard at work sketching the estuary, boats, pub and more.

I spent most of my time chatting and/or playing with my assistant, who likes the drinkdraw evenings out, than painting. oh well there's always next month. 

Here's my one sketch, direct watercolour in an A5 Daler sketchbook.

Lowtide on the River Colne.

More talking than sketching occurred last Saturday too. It was the #48th Worldwide Sketchcrawl day, so I arranged to join the Drawing London on Location group at the Geffrye Museum in Hoxton. Unfortunately, my sketching mojo didn't come too. I was ready to sketch on the train but... it was packed as the Norwich train had been offloaded onto the train I caught. I found a seat, got sketchbook and glasses out and... the man next to me proceeded to tell me all about his life as a cruise ship pianist. 

Arriving at the museum, it was one of those days that the scale of the building was intimidating and the gardens stunning but... nothing grabbed my attention. I decided a cup of tea was the solution, which it was as I loved the organic lamps and was lucky enough to have the people I was drawing stay as long as I sketched.

The Geffrey café

After another wander around looking at the exhibits, I chatted to a few other sketchers, then decided to head off to look for my sketching mojo elsewhere.  As my lack of results on Friday show, it hadn't come back by then. Fingers crossed I relocate it this week.

Urban sketching in Halesworth

St Mary's graveyard, Halesworth. ©Sue Pownall

Yesterday, was the 2nd meeting of the Essex and Suffolk sketchers out at the picturesque village of Halesworth. The venue was chosen as a member had an exhibition there.

My sketching kit

We were very lucky with the weather as the rain didn't start until we were on our way home. We started at the church and then I found a seat outside the White Swan, where I sat and drew the old alms houses. I think the wonky perspective is partially due to wonky building and a lot due to the cider. Next up was a quick sketch over a bowl of organic asparagus soup, then it was time to meet and share our sketches over a cuppa.

Wonky cider-aided perspective. ©Sue Pownall

Lunchtime sketch at Focus Organic

 here are lot more sketching events coming up. You can see the Essex & Suffolk ones here: Essex&SuffolkSketchers or you could send me a message.

Where have you sketched lately?

Silvertown

Silo D, watercolour in A4 sketchbook.

Just over a week ago, I was fortunate enough to be one of eight London Urbansketchers invited to draw at the Silvertown redevelopment site. I didn't realise there were still areas of London Docklands, which were not all sparkly and new. However, Silvertown is a huge wasteland, with remnants of the recent London Olympics, the huge Millennium Mill (previous millennium not this one), a grade 2 listed grain silo, lots of rubble, street art, and wildlife.
You can read about the mills redevelopment here on the BBC.

We were not allowed into the mill as there is currently a massive operation to remove asbestos, but we decked out in hi-vis vests and allowed to spread out throughout the site.

It's not often you need a hi-vis jacket as part of your sketching kit, is it?

Silo D detail. ©Sue Pownall

 With a Payne's Grey sky and a bitterly cold wind, I wandered around to find a place to start. The mill itself was too daunting for a first sketch, so instead I ended up sat up a grassy bank, part of the old Olympic London Pleasure Gardens, to sketch the silo. With it's predominantly white facade, I started with the Payne's Grey, with a touch of indigo, sky to outline its bulk. 

The wind was so cold, despite my layers of fleece, I seriously considered leaving, but opportunities like this are rare, so I continued until it was time for lunch, where we all huddled in a patch of sun behind a corrugated fence for shelter.

With patches of sunshine, it was time to tackle the mill... I was drawn (excuse the pun) to the street art and decided to try and capture a snippet of that along with the large painted advert on one face of the mill. 

I started loosely in pencil, to try not to get to caught up in details, then added watercolour. I'm not sure how successful it was. What do you think?

 Finally, I wanted to capture a little of the current work, sketching the scaffolding and sign, but I was cold and not concentrating by that point, and so it remains hidden in my sketchbook.

Urbansketchers and photographers have been invited to record the redevelopment of the site as it progresses over the years, which is why we were there, and I hope I am one of the ones who gets to go back again. Finally, a big thank you to James Hobbs who organised the day. Check out his report and amazing Silvertown sketches here: Silvertown's Dereliction.

Millennium Mills, finally in sunshine, seen from the bridge to Custom House at Excel as I left.

Sneak peak

Section of Al Minsefah doorway ©Sue Pownall 2013

I'm currently working towards my solo exhibition, which is on from 7th December here in Muscat. 

This is a sneak peak at the first new work that I've produced. If you want to see the whole thing, you'll have to wait until the exhibition.

Long weekends are about art!

Despite having a lot of things to do this weekend, including still settling in, I’ve found lots of time for art.

Thursday, after a day of manic cleaning which included windows and curtains, I walked over to the wadi (Arabic for river bed or valley) where I collected the skull last week, for an hour or so of sketching. I had spotted a ruin, which of course I had to draw. It’s not one of my best, as I hadn’t sketched in a few weeks, but makes a start on my sketchbook – on page 3 as I can’t draw on page 1.Walking back to the flat, I spotted …

warning don’t read the rest of this paragraph if you are squeamish and don’t look at last pic of this post

…a decomposing cow. Ignoring the fact of what it was, it was really interesting especially the way the hide had ended up like folded soft suede. I sketched it on site in ink, swotting the ever present flies, and then with the dimming light of dusk went home and added the colour.


On Friday, I had my first visitor from Muscat, the amazing photographer Ahmed Al-Shukaili. He is in the process of setting up a new website, but in the meantime you can see his awesome portraits and fabulous landscapes here and here. First, he took me to a semi-abandoned village, where I spotted places to draw on another trip. Then we drove an hour out of Ibra to Wadi Sep, which has the most amazing rock formations. As we were there an hour before sunset, the colours were amazing. I was very intimidated to be taking photos alongside such a great photographer, but am happy with the two I have posted here (top & right). It was a beautiful relaxing place and whilst Ahmed worked on getting the perfect shots I took out my A6 sketchbook. I didn’t realise photographers are harder to draw than children as they move more.
 
Early on Saturday, I had arranged to go sketching with 2 colleagues, so I took them back to the semi-abandoned village. It was a beautiful morning and the temperature was perfect when we arrived just after 7.30. Unfortunately, most the time was spent walking around taking photos (mine are on flickr), although I did a quick sketch when there was a cigarette break (I don’t smoke). Next stop was the fish market to buy our dinner. It is a long process as your chosen fish is cleaned and chopped, so I left the others to shop whilst I did two quick sketches.

There are still 2 days left of the holiday and I plan to work on the Scottish ruin, which I started before I left the UK.

Beware, below is the sketch you may not like…

Painting in the Vale de Viñales II

Corner building, Viñales main road. A3 pen & ink © Sue Pownall 2011

to continue...
The day after I hopped on and off the bus (the afternoon had been spent stuck in a bar listening to music because of the torrential rain- honestly), Elio drove me into the countryside to a small cascade and was left there for an hour and half to paint it. Having wandered around a bit, the sun hitting the plants in front of the water was the obvious subject for my painting and seemed an okay composition. It was already very hot at 9am, so I sat under the road bridge, where nothing passed over, and painted the scene. I normally photograph a scene like this, and did, so the painting was a challenge. I think I did okay, but think my pen & watercolours are always more successful than pure watercolour for scenery. Also, this looks better in the original: blaming scanner!

Una Cascada. 35x25cm 425gm cold pressed, watercolour © Sue Pownall 2011

After Elio picked me up, I was taken to his mother-in-law's house, a real campesino (country person/peasant)'s abode. After being shown around, especially the new building they were constructing to rear pigs, I sat with the mother-in-law, who stared but wouldn't speak to me, and a niece, who chattered away in dialect. By then it was very humid as well as boiling and I started a drawing of some outbuildings. The photo shows the beautiful setting and the drawing when I abandoned it - I couldn't work out how to continue with sweaty hands despite leaning on tissues.

Farm buildings. © Sue Pownall 2011

On the way back into town I took advantage of Elio knowing everyone and got him to ask permission for me to sit on someone's porch the next morning to draw. Back at Elio's B&B I worked up the farm drawing by increasing tonal values and strengthening lines.

Edificios de la granja. © Sue Pownall 2011

Mid-morning the next day, my last day in Viñales, found me sitting on the porch of an old lady because 2 days ealier I had seen a fabulous building I HAD to draw, but had found no shade on the street to do so. The photo, shows the building across the way, a great vintage car (perfect timing) and my finished drawing. You can also see the afternoon's storm clouds rolling in. The finished drawing, completely drawn on the porch, is at the top of this post.

© Sue Pownall 2011

I left the area early the next morning heading for Trinidad, which is about 6 hours east of Havana and where I spent the majority of my time. The drawings from there will make up another post.

Painting in the Vale de Viñales. Part I

  Calle Sergio Dopico, A3 pen & watercolour © Sue Pownall 2011

After Havana I travelled west to Vale de Viñales. After settling into my B&B (Casa El Relojero - Elio's which I'd thoroughly recommend) I went for a walk around the small town and when I saw these houses (above) I settled down at a bus stop, for shade, to draw them. It took just over an hour to paint by which time the heavens had opened for a tropical downpour and one of the neighbours had sat talking to me for about 10 minutes, both spoiling concentration, but both interesting in different ways.

Tractor, A43 pen & watercolour © Sue Pownall 2011

The next day, I had arranged a horse trek into the valley, but having risen early I sat outside the front of the house and started to paint the neighbour's tractor. Elio's wife kindly bought me a cup of tea so I could continue. Unfortunately, I had to abandon the painting after the tea as the neighbour drove off in the tractor and didn't return until late afternoon. I tried to continue that evening, but a combination of the curious neighbourhood children - 8 of them, who surrounded me and the still hot sun, made me give up the painting again.

A6 pen & ink © Sue Pownall 2011

In between, I went on the most beautiful ride through the valley admiring the mountains and fields. Although it is not the tobacco season we went to a tobacco drying building and had the process explained to us (we were 3 on the trek) and were shown how to roll a cigar. The final stop of the ride was to a cave with an underground pool. Whilst waiting to be led underground we sat at the mouth of the cave and I sketched the rock formations. Yes I took my moleskin type sketchbook on a horse ride. What can I say? I am totally addicted to sketching. Once inside, apart from 2 small torches it was pitch black and we swam in the icy pool.

Day 3 in Viñales I took advantage of a hopon-hopoff bus and went up to a hotel with a stunning view of the valley. Despite having taken watercolour paper to Cuba, I used my sketchbook to paint the view. It's not a brilliant painting, but served the purpose of loosening me up.

Vale de Viñales from Ermita, A3 watercolour © Sue Pownall 2011

An hour later, I was back on the bus and got taken to the other end of the valley where I painted again, but this time using pen as well as pure watercolour. I think this is a stronger painting. Neither looks quite as murky in real life as in the scans. After an hour at this site it was approaching mid-day and was very hot and humid so I caught the bus back to town for some lunch.

Vale de Viñales from Dos Hermanos. A3 pen & watercolour © Sue Pownall 2011

... to be continued.

btw I'm struggling to upload the Cuban photos, but I promise to post some soon starting with cars for Michael Bailey of Paint Bytes.

Havana in sketches

Hotel Beltran © Sue Pownall 2011

I’m going to start with an apology, as my scanner is dying and I cannot get good reproductions of my drawings from Cuba, at least you can get an idea of the sketches I did.



When I arrived in Havana I stayed in an old building with a courtyard. So naturally, my first painting of the holiday was the view from my room with the magnificent blue paint work.








The next day I went to the cathedral square and found some shade in a cafe, but was feeling very self-conscious and was not pleased with the results.


These were the only 2 sketches I did at that time as I spent the rest of the 2 days wandering around taking photos or sleeping. It was also very hot, humid, and with intermitant rain. I was far more productive on my return to Havana for the last 2 days of my stay, but yet again I also spent a lot of time taking photos. I'll post some of those next.

Nextdoor to Fabrica de Tabacos © Sue Pownall 2011

Rising early in the morning, my first stop was in the park next to the Capitolio Nacional, where I did a loose watercolour painting. So loose I’m not posting it. Then I walked around the back of the building and spotted some buildings crying out to be painted. Unfortunately, a security/police man told me I was not allowed to sit there, but when I explained I was an artist and just wanted half an hour to draw the buildings, he let me stay. Unfortunately, I’d have loved to stay a whole hour, but didn’t want to push my luck. btw I was working on A4 the majority of the trip and most drawings took me about an hour/hour & quarter. Whilst I was sat there one of the other guards presented me with a pink rose bud.

On Prado © Sue Pownall 2011

Next I walked down the Prado and painted two beautiful buildings both with different styles of decoration and had been adapted differently by the inhabitants. Again, I got talking to some police, who were friendly and curious, and I think probably happy to find some relief of their boredom. Unfortunately, I cannot get the colours on the scan to come out anywhere near the original and may take a photo to add here tomorrow.

In Plaza del Cristo © Sue Pownall 2011

My final drawing of the day was a boarded up building, but still with inhabitants on the first floor judging by the washing draped about, in Plaza del Cristo. No police this time, but a lovely old man sat on the same bench and chatted to everyone who walked past and me when there wasn’t anyone else.
 

Left is a photo of the building and the completed sketch in the early evening sunlight. I was very pleased with the day’s sketches, but it had been easy to sketch a lot as it had been less humid and slightly cooler than most days I spent in Cuba.

A struggle

A Saiq window. Pen & ink 260x 260 mm. ©Sue Pownall 2011

This piece, which I finally finished Saturday, was the piece I started at the beginning of the year and boy have I struggled with it. For such a simple subject matter it has given me a huge headache. I guess because I knew exactly how I wanted it to be.

I must give a BIG THANK YOU to Cathy Holtom of Down a dusty lane as she provided me with some fabulous reference photos for the rope. The little bit of rope tired to the window bar, such a little detail in the whole drawing, has been the reason the drawing stalled. After receiving the photos from Cathy I amalgamated two of them a drew in the rope in pencil, then got scared, and stopped work on it. It then remained tacked on the wall for a long time. Earlier this week, I inked it in and drawing resumed albeit slowly. On top of this mental drawing block, the paper, which is a little old, but has worked fine with the last few A3 drawings, has begun to degrade. This degradation has led to clogging nibs and ink spots. Good job the subject could take them.

Finally, a question: Does it count as urban decay if it has always looked like that?

IF - Chicken

Shropshire Hen House. Pen &  ink. 245x165mm. ©Sue Pownall 2011

This week's Illustration Friday prompt was Chicken. I was inspired by the quote that came with the prompt:

"Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral." Frank Lloyd Wright.

Instantly, I knew I wanted to draw an old hen house and I found the prefect reference photo on flickr taken by Dick Warren. If you check it out, you will see that I have changed the left wall, which was corrugated iron like the roof, and altered it slightly to make a better composition.

Next Saturday 22nd January is the 30th Worldwide SketchCrawl and will be the 3rd in Doha. Anyone out there who wants to join me, please email me and we can arrange to meet.

Finally, a BIG THANK YOU to all my followers; artofanomad reached 100 this week. My new facebook business page has already reached 43 likes, which is tremendous in the 2 weeks since I set it up.

Muscat exhibition

As I wrote in my last post, I was lucky enough to be invited to participate in the Oman-Africa event to celebrate 40 years' rule by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. In the end I had 3 pieces hung of which you can see two in the picture above.

I think I'm not in a good place at the moment as even when I saw my pictures hung, I had negative thoughts...

• The framing is wrong. The framers reduced the area of the pictures, not a problem on the 1st two, but I took the last one to my edges and had to trim it to get it in the mount. I was non-specific about sizes, and they cut a narrower mount than I envisaged, which I also didn't specify. Live and learn! 
• They look so small. Everyone had huge paintings.
• I shouldn't have brought the third piece as it's not as good as the other two. 
• I should have worked harder and done more pieces.
• The exhibition space is not good.

Maybe the reason I felt/feel like this is because I do have drawings hung in various peoples houses (not just my parents'), and I have done since I was at college, so to see my pictures hung was not really a new experience? Maybe if the event had only been an exhibition it would have seemed different?

15th Street Mosque, Khartoum

I know I need to change my thinking. I need to focus on the positive.

• I took part in an exhibition.
• I got some finished pieces done, instead of just sketching.
• I do not know what interest may have been generated.
• Everyone has to start somewhere.
• The event was a success for the organisers. (I must stop being so egotistical in my positive thinking.)

Am I alone in this experience? Am I the only one who hasn't bounced for joy at their first exhibition? I would love to hear your experiences.