There is never a moment when I don't have fun with my sketchbook. I found this lovely , lively scene in a small town nearby. An old , old house had been converted into an antique/bric-a-bac shop , reminiscent of those I had experienced in Long Street and Loop Street, in Cape Town , South Africa. As it was a lovely sunny day, a canopy had been erected and customers were browsing the bits and pieces. I really enjoyed doing this sketch. It reminded me of a wonderful man called Bobby who had been involved in this type of activity all his life. He would have loved some of the items and they would have definitely landed in his small shop called Jinty's Junk in Church Street, Cape Town.
TIP For those who love sketching as much as I do, there is always a subject
around the corner and even in your own home. Why not sketch your desk, telephone, computer or the utensils in your kitchen. You improve with every sketch you do. I am aiming for a sketch a day next year. Not sure if I will have the discipline but it is worth a try. I challenge you to give it a go too!!
I absolutely love urban sketching. Sitting with my sketchbook and taking in my surroundings is so therapeutic. I have learned so much about the area where I live, simply by sketching. One tends to overlook things that are interesting in their own right. Here are a few of my sketches of local buildings and attractions. I am now a member of the German Urban Sketchers community and it is so interesting to see the different styles. Urban sketching is not only for experienced artists. Anyone can take part , whether you are new to sketching or an old hand. No one judges you and your sketchbook is yours to enjoy and to experiment. The more you sketch, the better you become and it is such a joy to watch the progress and see your book filling up with memories. A sketch is far more valuable as a memory than a photo. It takes time to sketch (even half hour ones like mine) and only a few seconds to take a photo.
Hope you enjoy these and maybe try some urban sketching yourself. Urban sketching can also be simply the things that surround you in your home, garden or street. I have even sketched my breakfast and my feet whilst lying in hospital recently.
The last three were sketched quickly at a vintage airshow in a nearby town. There were thousands of people (mainly guys!!) and it was difficult to find a space to sketch. It was fun drawing aircraft for the first time in my life. Not easy but I enjoyed the challenge.
The Mindelheim Art Society ,of which I am a member, is holding an exhibition. It will be in a lovely old Castle, in the small town of Turkheim not far from where I live. The theme is 'movement' which covers lots of options. I will be presenting two of my works. This one is called 'The Wind Whistles' or in German 'Der wind Pfeift'. As usual an animal is nearly always a part of my painting. My style has changed from very realistic and paintstaking to one which is more impressionistic. I am enjoying working with a painting knife which gives lots of lovely textures. I use a brush for the finer details. Here it is. Hope you like it. Your comments would be very much appreciated. Click on the photo for a larger image. I am busy on the second work which I will upload when it is finished.
During my painting holiday in Spain, I could not resist painting this lovely Prickly Pear plant. As a child in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, I was lucky to spend holidays on the farm of my grandparents. Rolling hills, cattle, sheep and horses were my delight. The food was always scrumptious and not always that healthy!!! Fried potatoes and lamb chops were my favourite. From early morning (watching the cows being milked and feeding the calves) to collecting eggs with Grandmother, to late in the afternoon, I was enjoying the freedom with my cousins. One of the joys was to eat a juicy prickly pear. The flesh was yummy but the procedure was NOT!! Covered in tiny fine hairs that stuck into the skin in a very insidious way, peeling one of these was no fun. One had to wear gloves.
I have just returned from a wonderful week in Spain. My friends Loli and Harold run art holidays. Their home which houses the visiting artists is a beautiful villa high on a hill above the town of Beniginam. The views from the terrace across the valley to the distant mountains are just crying out to be painted. The tutor was a really good artist called Paul Weaver. He and his charming wife were very much part of the group. There was much laughter, terrific food all made by Loli and generous pouring of wine by Harold. Loli makes the best Paella in Spain!!!!
It is worth taking a look and hopefully you will find a tutor who suits you and join us next year. This is my third visit which says it all. Here is a link to their website www.dalvaro.co.uk
I love urban sketching and these are some of the sketches done during my week in Spain.
Pete and I had a great day with our Kunstverein Mindelheim, a group of art-loving folk as we learned more about the lovely old city of Augsburg.
When one shops in the city, the only thing that one really notices, is the very high cathedral dome. However, with a good guide who really knew the architecture and the history, it was a different story. I could not resist sketching this scene in line and wash.
I decided that I was going to have a fun journal filled with mixed media experiments. Spring is my favourite time of the year in Bavaria, Germany. The world around me is exploding with colour. Spring flowers of every hue are popping out of the quiet winter soil. The trees are wearing their Spring underwear before the greens of summer foliage hide their lovely forms.
This is an experiment in mixed media. I so enjoyed the process. I was happy with the result. Hope you too, enjoy it and let me know what you think.
Today, there are two magpies stripping twigs from a fir tree and I can see their black and white outfits as they jump around the branches looking like two very busy waiters in a Victorian restaurant. Their rather unmelodious voices are mingling with the pure lilting sounds of the blackbirds. Charming little blue tits are chattering to each other and the sun is shining.
