Tag: lane

There’s weather coming

Soon be time to get those oil paints out and try some autumn landscapes, with those wild skies and mix of colours. Meantime I’m still battling with line and wash, trying to say the most with the least.

These straw bales caught my eye as they stood in an animated fashion across the slope, framing the village church spire in the distance. The foreground shadows are cast by tall trees just to my left on the edge of the field. What makes it for me is that one bale stands out by being in the shade.


In this sketch, the reflected colour of the blue sky in the tarmac seemed to be exaggerated
by the vegetation. I accentuated the colour slightly, the actual sky seemed unimportant
in comparison.


In this drawing, one single cloud arrived and gathered itself from a relatively clear sky and dominated the scene. The telegraph poles stride across the stubble field and past the maize crop on the horizon, where rooks perch on the wires. A shower of rain followed shortly afterwards.

Water, water everywhere

A very wet July. Buttsbury ford, Billericay became a local attraction as the
rising water level rendered the road impassable for many days. Local
photographer Roger Whitlock and I payed a visit one evening. While Roj
set about capturing the evening sky I made this rapid sketch in watercolour
and felt tip, propping the sketchbook on my easel. I was interested in the
colours and the overall feeling of sodden, all pervading wetness, and that
river, road and lush vegetation all seemed to merge together.


I had no mixing water with me, but as I was stood in the wheat field with flood
water slowly rising up over my boots, I realised I could improvise! As a consequence,
the picture has a rough texture to it, which is the silt in the water dried onto the page.
Roj took this photo when I had started laying on the colour (See more on Roger’s
photostream by checking local photographer in the sidebar).

Alan by Roger Oct 2012
This pencil drawing was made a couple of weeks later, looking a little further
down the lane, with the river behind me.