A year in the life of a garden

I have decided to visit the Cambridge University Botanic Garden regularly. My intention is to document the seasons in a series of drawings and paintings and to compile a collection of sketches that explore the beauty and tranquillity of this lovely place.

Here is my first watercolour done in the garden. I have no idea what form this project will take in the end and I am intentionally leaving it very open. Right now I am getting to know the garden and gradually becoming comfortable in its many different spaces.

Purwell fields

 Oil on board: 51.5 x 41 cm.
This is the start of a new adventure in which I am extending ideas gathered in the autumn of 2010. The stripes created by the combine harvester overlaid by the tracks left by a tractor create a compelling design. A sense of distance or depth is achieved but at the same time the painted surface demands attention and so the picture is visually ambiguous. I am particularly pleased with the colour and especially the use of grey.

In the grounds of Anglesey Abbey, a National Trust property in Cambridgeshire, there is a delightful hanging sculpture that resembles a Marimba strung between trees. I first saw it in the early Spring and was very taken by the dappled shadows and the sharp light piercing the lattice of branches.
It is a complex picture of dancing light and shade and really needs to be redone . Nevertheless, I am happy enough with this as a first step towards what promises to be a long and enjoyable journey.

This is a gouache. It marks the beginning of a new direction in my work. I am enjoying the freedom of this medium because it is so much more forgiving than "pure" watercolour. I can repair almost anything and make alterations till I feel happy with the outcome. I have an idea to print a facsimile of a sketchbook. This seems to be consuming most of my time these days. It is a most fulfilling project.

I am drawing again. The English countryside is so beautiful and the changing seasons offer endless inspiration.

Drawing again

I was given some flowers. They are swathed in shimmery grey organza and the whole effect is not unlike a glass "basket". The organza simultaneously contains and frames the flowers in a random manner and they are 'presented' in a way that makes them rather special. I was immediately inspired to draw and paint the flowers so I took a number of photographs while they were still fresh. I hope to do several more drawings and a couple of paintings. I only hope I can "hold my vision" and my energy levels for long enough to follow through to  the completion of my project.

I have done several of these mixed media pieces and am feeling increasingly at home with the pictorial ideas. I love the crinkly collage and the shadows around the edges where the paper lifts off the surface of the picture. I have also started experimenting with pencil line and scraps of cloth.