Sketches on our travels

We have taken a couple of trips away recently and as always I sketch on these trips.  I thought you would like to see, where we stayed, and some of the drawings...Firstly, there was Birdlip in Gloucester where we have stayed before....here...

(thanks Google maps)

a quick sketch of the hotel, but didn't take the sketch further - perhaps I will return to this at some time and add watercolour

On this visit we drove over to Cheltenham one day for a look round - and I quickly sketched this building...I purposely did it wonky (just in case you wondered)....

Then we stayed down in Cornwall - here at The Harlyn Inn near Padstow

(thanks Google maps)

 

there was a lovely beach on the doorstep...

A drive around one day included a stop in *Falmouth

and to round off this post, here are a couple of sketches of our different hotel rooms...

Note: if you don't know what to draw - then draw your feet!

* Falmouth

Before the storm comes in!

(and an out of focus lurcher)

Park Head walk in Cornwall

Although we didn't get down as far as the beach we did enjoy a good walk across the fields.  Started out from the *National Trust Beach Head Bunkhouse car park.

 

It was a quiet day in the car park,

in fact we only came across two other people

although we did open the gate,
there was a stone stile too

and the walk was worth it

*  Beach Head Bunkhouse - National Trust

New on my Etsy shop today

I think I have swamped pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and various parts of Facebook today with these, so thought why should my blog be any different.......

 ~ Devon Harbour ~

(click the above for link)

 Plus I have added 7 other new paintings

 My Etsy Shop - 

just click the link

Jellyfish already!

Well, I guess they are in the sea, but somehow we usually expect to see these stranded on the beach during the Summer, not in January!

And they are BIG 

husbands boot shows the proportions of this jellyfish

 and this one...

and a lost float - with a gathering attached!

Still, that's the North Devon coast for you!

Flooding in Worcester

Beautiful to look at but somehow I think the racecourse had "Wet under foot conditions"!

 Definitely WET - and not surprising when the culprit is the River Severn on its doorstep...

 This bridge seemed to be stopping the debris getting through, so there was a bit of a build up...

We parked next to, but higher up, than the river.  The footpath was only passable if you wore waders!

 The swans didn't care though. This next picture shows them enjoying a kindly treat from someone.

 ...and in fact they are on the 'extended river' as this is normally a pathway...

see.....No sitting around at the moment...

I did wonder if the large box on the right was a Speed Camera for boats!!!

Urban sketching

Days out give me the chance to do lots of sketching.  At this time of year that often means sitting in the car, but I'm not complaining.  Sat with my sketchbook, pens, paints and a cup of coffee to drink is my idea of bliss (you probably guessed that from my previous post)!

Here I've done a quick sketch whilst we stopped at a retail park (yes more shopping).

There's a bit of a lesson in this sketch.  The various areas > hills > houses > cars are tending to all be Separate  -  whereas the overall drawing would look better if the areas merged a bit.  So I addressed this issue by adding watercolour to the evergreen tree - it know brings together the hills in the background plus the car below it.  I felt this was enough, sometimes overworking can spoil a piece...it's good to have spaces too.

It only needed a little subtle change to bring the drawing together.

(I'm going to add this post to www.usefulpaintingtips.blogspot.co.uk)

A look around Gloucester Quays

Every time we visit Gloucester I love it when we stop near the Quays.  Apart from the retail therapy (as if I would like that)!  - it's good to take in the atmosphere of what had once been a thriving working canal.  Although still thriving, nowadays it's more holiday cruising in rather twee narrow boats.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, it has brought popularity to the canals, which in turn keeps them open and places like Gloucester Docks a place to enjoy rather than avoid.

You wouldn't think I had just looked around the shops - as if!

The old warehouses, once used by the canal companies, have now been converted into high end apartments, again a plus as otherwise it would be rundown and horrible.

...and when the weather turned cold, I was able to retreat to the car

(the public car park was next to this boat basin)

so I was able to sit in the car and sketch

Bliss is Shopping
then getting to Sketch all in one visit.