The Ivy Tree

Weather lovely yesterday so I went a sketch walk and saw this wonderful old tree with a skirt of growth.

Sketching Sunday.

A dry Sunday and no plans except to go out and about locally and try once more to sketch in gouache.

The grasses were very bleached and the sky a pale yellowy grey with the sun a white orb. 

I added some pencil marks when the gouache had dried. I don't find it the easiest medium but prefer it to watercolour for sketching now. 

Rain and more Rain

When the rain never stops it's time to go with the flow and attempt to sketch the small torrents of water that appear everywhere. But I find it very tricky to get that 'liquid' look.

Postcard From My Walk Blog

A postcard I sent to Pat in California done in gouache on paper on one of the few dry days we've had this Autumn. I'm so glad it arrived safely as 2 went missing last year.

http://walk-postcard.blogspot.co.uk/

Musselburgh Harbour

Musselburgh Harbour

Gouache and HB Pencil

I love the work of Barbra Rae and was looking at her sketchbook online.

www.barbararae-sketchbooks.com/

Most of her sketches are done in gouache and I read that she usually works 2 pages at a time side by side to allow ease of drying. I thought I'd have a go with gouache on a recent trip to the east coast of Scotland to the harbour town of Musselburgh and  I found it easier than watercolour to sketch with. Maybe next time I'll have a go at the 2 page way.

Pond Life

Watercolour on cartridge paper

Part of a friend's pond with a hint of the pond life.

It's a "back" thing !

2B and 4B pencil on cartridge paper

I went to a Life Drawing Group on Sunday held in an old stone barn. It's a good thing it was a warm day but a really interesting venue owned by a sculpture under the name of Justin Illusions.

Sam, our model , is excellent - I don't know how she sits so still for so long. These were half hour drawings done in the afternoon after shorter morning poses.

There is plenty of space to move around the model but it was the human back that I found so interesting to try and capture. There's something wrong with her leg in the 3rd drawing hence it's shown as a smaller image.

 And don't mention feet !!!! I've got to practise feet.

Pen or Pencil

Pen and watercolour

2B pencil and watercolour

Two tries at the same subject - lilies growing at the moment in the garden. 

I said I'd practise sketching with a pen but I don't find it easy. I can't quite work out why I find it so uncomfortable - it just seems to lack the softness of a pencil. I enjoy the way a pencil mark varies in tone depending on the pressure you apply as compared to a pen which seems to lack that variation. 

Then, of course, you can't rub out a pen line !!

Calves and more calves

Pen on cartridge paper

Bridget Hunter 2012

I'm not doing well with the EDM Challenges, not keeping up. And I don't sketch well with a pen unlike all the wonderful sketching bloggers I follow.  But here's a page of calves leading up to the postcard to Cathy done in pen. My personal challenges have become to draw more in pen and to get those animal legs looking more shapely!

Postcard to Cathy

 I did this card of an Ayrshire calf for Cathy    http://asketchintime.blogspot.co.uk/      who lives in South Africa as part of our Postcard From My Walk exchange. Cathy requested cards featuring animals but as I find it really tricky to get animals' legs anatomically correct I took the easy way and left them out !! 

EDM Challenge 7

Draw a Favorite Object

Pencil and watercolour on cartridge paper

The challenge was to draw a favourite object or childhood toy. This cruet set belonged to my grandmother and I've always loved it because of the bluebird decoration.

EDM Challenge 6

Draw a Jar or Bottle

Pencil and watercolour on cartridge paper

Bridget Hunter 2012

I've got a bit behind in these Every Day Matters challenges but this is number 6 completed today, a drawing of a jar of olives. I'm addicted to olives !

Sketching Penguins

3B pencil on cartridge paper

Bridget Hunter 2012

It was like a Sunday School Trip yesterday to Blairdrummond Safari Park, Stirling except the sun shone. 5 adults, 3 children and 2 cars - all that was missing were the streamers out of the car windows! Managed to spend a bit of time sketching the penguins.

EDM Challenge 4

Draw a cup or mug.

I hate elipses so a more difficult challenge for me. But I do love this old cup. Its part of a set consisting of teapot, jug, sugar bowl and plate. Unfortunately a child's ball, which should not have been thrown in the kitchen, hit the set on a shelf and broke the jug and cup. We managed to glue the cup together but not one to drink out of anymore.

EDM Challenge 3

Draw a Bag 

2B pencil

watercolour

I had two tries at this just because I enjoyed the subject. I also needed to sit for a while having gone a one and a half hour cycle with an enthusiastic 10 year old grandson who said, as he puffed along beside me on a bike with no gears, that it was the best day of his holidays. We ended up at the beach for chips and some slushy odd coloured freezing drink.

EDM Challenge 2

Draw a Desk Lamp

2B pencil on Cartridge paper

Amazed I found time today as also bought a bike. Forgot how wonderful is that sense of freedom even with a wobble or two and a hard saddle! It's been 46 years since I last rode a bike !!!

The EDM Challenge

4B Pencil

Draw a Shoe

I've decided to do the Every Day Matters Challenge - http://dannygregory.wordpress.com/ - as a way of  forcing myself to find time each day to do some observational drawing. It may not happen daily - life's like that - but I've found an unused sketchbook so here's my attempt at the first challenge.

Ducks a ducking !

I'm trying to sketch animals on the move because, in reality,  they don't often pose unless asleep or stuffed. These are recent attempts at ducks ducking and diving in the local pond. Think I'd better take more bread next time.

Beauty is a Pot Belly PIg

The Blog "Postcard from my Walk" has restarted. This is my card sent to Robyn and Robyn's Post on the Blog. http://walk-postcard.blogspot.co.uk/

Beauty is a Pot Belly PIg

I've always wanted a Pot Belly Pig, so can you imagine my delight when this month's postcard arrived from Bridget...

Pencil, Gouache & Coloured Pencil - Bridget Hunter
Click on image for the big picture.

I've only seen black pot belly pigs before but this one would do Monet proud.  Bridget creates magic with her palette.

This little pig, she says, lives with her friends at Dean Castle Park in Kilmanock.  She (the pig) was a very good model, standing relatively still, snuffling in the mud, while an amorous boar was snuffling ..... well, use your imagination.

This sketch is particularly treasured having come right out of Bridget's sketchbook.  I was pretty pleased with the stamp too!

Thank you Bridget.  I'll treasure my pot belly pig.

An hour in Corsica.

A few more sketches from the cruising sketchbook this time while ashore in Ajaccio, Corsica. These were done "on the run" so to speak as the ship was leaving in an hour and we'd spent the time looking at a local market. I'd love to go back there.

I did end up buying herbs for fish from the Spice and Herb stall in the hope my attempts at cooking Sea Bass might improve !

Across to Holy Isle

Holy Isle, evening

Kingscross Point

Road to the Sea

The Witch Step and Goatfell

It's been a few days of sketching on Arran - so many places, so many choices. I wanted to use only pencil or pen but I always end up adding colour. 

Sketching on Arran.

Brodick Castle, Arran

I'm on the beautiful Island of Arran for a few days. The weather is changeable but the dampness brings out the midgies, especially today when I went to sketch at Brodick Castle. It wasn't a hard decision to go for a tour inside but I managed a few sketches later when the sun came out. 

A bit of Cruising

Pencil on cartridge paper

Bridget Hunter 2012

I recently returned from a bit of cruising around the Med with some friends I've known since school days. It was a first for me and and was a bit like being back on school trips - where's my tshirt, who's got a brush, that's it I've lost my purse and so on. 

These sketches were done while lazing around on deck. And, yes, that's a bit of red nail varnish - me trying to look the part !

In Rome trying out the camera in reverse. Just like cramming into a photo booth when we were 16.

Sketching Little People

Pencil on cartridge paper

Bridget Hunter 2012

At last a sunny day so took one grandchild to playpark and had time to do some very rough sketches. I love the shapes young children make with their almost flexi frames and the baggy trousers over nappies. I just wish they would hold the pose a wee bit longer.