Technology Outdoors: Week 1 Creating Trails

This week I started a DLaB Erasmus course called Technology Outdoors. It is aimed primarily at school teachers, but as my role as an adult art tutor is expanding, I thought I may pick up some useful ideas.  The project aims are grander than mine.

The Digital Learning Across Boundaries (DLAB) project addresses the need to align European educational practice with ways in which digital technology is changing how and what we learn, and how we apply this in education.

The purpose of this project is to promote digital learning across the boundaries of physical spaces, across curriculum subjects and across languages and cultures, to facilitate collaborative learning across national boundaries.

There are five parts to week 1 of which Hacking Nature really grabbed my attention and saw me dashing outside with my phone to experiement with some of the suggestions. Luckily for me there was a stunning sunset, which looked like this:

©Sue Pownall

but then I took this:

Bent sky ©Sue Pownall

and this:

Mountains in a flat field ©Sue Pownall

I have recently been working on devising a community project and could see these panaramas working as a stepping stone to cross generational work or, as the unit suggested, a large panarama could be made from all the collected ones. Something to think about.

Now on to the rest of the week's units.

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New Town Open Gardens

Spreads to date ©Sue Pownall 2016

Back in February, I was invited to sketch the New Town Open Garden event. The event is this afternoon, but I made a head start yesterday by sketching the Community Garden and both of the organisers gardens too.

I shall do all the initial drawing on site using a Seawhite concertina sketchbook, but finish inking and colour in the studio.
Eighteen to go this afternoon! Wish me luck.

To see more many images click here

Morris dancing

On Friday, I arranged a drinkdraw event to coincide with the Colchester Morris Men (colchestermorrismen.org) dancing at the Alma, Copford.

The dancers move very fast and I filled several pages of movement sketches. Top, is a general scene, which was my final sketch of the evening and one of the dancing. More pics can be seen on my site here: Morris dancing

Sketchmeet: Concert in the park.

Impression of the bandstand and The Band of The Parachute Regiment

Last Sunday, I arranged for the Colchester Sketchers to sketch at the bandstand in Colchester Castle Park where The Band of the Parachute Regiment were playing. The concert was great, the sun was out for the majority of the afternoon, and there was a good turn out of sketchers. The only negative has to be my wonky perspective and roof on my watercolour.

People in the audience

The band leader

After doing the watercolour sketch, I did the two quick pencil sketches above.

What do you think of them? The band liked my watercolour.

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Next Sunday, if you are in the Colchester area, you will find me at the Farmers Market at Bourne Mill, where I have a table showing sketches, paintings and selling prints and cards. Pop by and say hello :)

Have a lovely week everyone.

Neighbours Rooves & Chimneys

I seem to have developed a minor fascination with sketching my neighbours chimneys and rooves, so far all from the confines of my house. However, now the READ MORE AND SEE THE IMAGES HERE

Drinking and drawing

Pencil sketch of Natasha Robertson at The Black Buoy's April/May Beer Festival 2016

I have just returned from the Black Buoy in Wivenhoe's May bank holiday real ale festival. My assistant and I sat outside sketching and listening to the music, although my assistant was more interested in the fish and chips.

Earlier this week, I arranged for the Colchester Sketchers to drink/draw at the Bricklayers. My first sketch of my Aspell's cider was the most successful and is shared below.

Direct watercolour sketch.

 Finally, something different, I currently have my experimental piece hung at the Art Exchange where it was selected for the Celebrate Landscape exhibition. If you are in the area, pop in before it closes next Saturday.

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BTW. Last week's post didn't autopost here. You can read it by clicking this link I Draw Do You?

An Arty Time

Channelling Monet. Colour planned on site but added later.

On Wednesday, I headed to town with the first stop at the Royal Academy to see the Painting the Garden: Monet to Matisse exhibition. It was the most inspiring exhibition I have seen in a long time and I just want to draw and paint gardens.

Sketched inside the exhibition.

Next stop was at my favourite London gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, where I went from inspiring paintings to amazing photography in the Vogue 100: A hundred years of style.

Arriving early to meet friends and fellow artists, Jean Edwards & Minnie, I took inspiration from the Monet exhibition and sketched the pub focusing on the garden. (top).

After dinner, it was off to the Tower of London. Arriving early I used the 15 minute wait to sketch the Shard. (below)

 We were at the Tower of London for a fabulous evening at #DrawnattheTower with Art Macabre: Ravens and Morbid Corvids. I started off drawing the RavenMaster, who was a fount of knowledge on everything corvid down to the naming of the birds: he was holding Gripp. After a couple of sketches of Gripp, I moved on to the pairs of ravens in their cages. They are only caged at night and roam freely around the Tower during the day. The ravens were very challenging to sketch and moved a lot, my results were not helped by my butterfly brain wating to take photos and chat to the Raven Master: love interesting people. I think my last sketch, drawn on black paper, is the most successful and I have hung it up in the studio. Here it is:

To see the rest please go here to the slideshow

After all that artistic input, I've been very busy drawing and planning prints since coming home. I especially want to get on with my Bourne Mill gardening project. What have you been working on?

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Sketchmeet at the garden centre

Poplar Nurseries. ©Sue Pownall 2016

Yesterday, I arranged a sketchmeet for the Colchester Sketchers at a local garden centre. It was an inspiring afternoon albeit very chilly.

Settling down to sketch.

Trophy shot of scene and sketch.

Sketch 2 a gardeners trolley.

Colchester Sketchers (minus 1) chilly but inspired.

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Monthly challenges

WIP Bourne Mill in winter

There's a new challenge over on twitter led by Anthony Greentree (@antsgreentree) called #buildapril, which is is all about buildings and structures in any media.

Above is my 1st April sketch of my across-the-road neighbours drawn with a Super5 pen with DeAtramentis ink and painted with Winsor & Newton watercolours in A Daler Ebony A5 sketchbook. Whilst right is a work in progress started yesterday of Bourne Mill.

Last month's challenge was #animalmarch, and I started well with daily sketches of my assistant, but then life got in the way. Here are a selection of them:

1st March. Pencil sketch

4th March Digital sketch

8th March. Ink sketch

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