Exercise 5.2 Walk studies.

Make a study of something you see on a walk within five minutes of your house.

• Make five sketches in black and diluted black ink on grey/beige postcard-size paper.

• Make five sketches in watercolour on HP watercolour paper, postcard sized.

Artists who make work involving walks include Gilbert & George, Jane Grisewood, Richard Long and Heath Bunting. Mario Rossi uses watercolour to depict the restaurants and shops near where he lives. Robert Priseman has made a series of paintings of houses where crimes have taken place. He places them in Indian icon frames to emphasise the precious nature of a house.

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Over the last few months, I have had several 'homes'. Banbury U.K. (my primary home), three Canadian hotels, and two cottages in Peterborough and Lion's Head, Ontario, Canada.

I chose one of those Canadian cottages, 'The Thompson Cottage' to inspire me for my initial ink walk studies. Below are some of the images I photographed near to the cottage.

The Thompson cottage is remote, sits nestled on Clear Lake, and has been in a close friend's family for generations. A home from home and an environment that makes the heart sing because nature surrounds you, the autumnal colours of the falling leaves in the trees and the warm glow of the breathtaking sunset.

I thought immediately of Richard Long, in the trail of shells that led from the house to the 'bunkie' (extra accommodation in the summer months).

I could see the fluid lines of nature in the trunks of the trees. Could Jane Griswood's work and explorations of the environment influence my studies?

I took days to make many plein air studies, of various sizes and locations (around Canada) as practice for my sketches. Different times of day produced different patterns and shapes. The differing light and tone also played a fundamental part for me to reflect on.

These works have been added to my sketchbook.

A5 and postcard size sketches

Small concertina sketchbook studies.

For the brief it says;

Make five sketches in black and diluted black ink on grey/beige postcard-size paper.

For this exercise, I used my tutor feedback from the start of this course. For example;-

• Being aware of negative and positive space when copying images,

• To mid my colours, to play around with the depth of field. I could use the colour of the paper as the mid-tone.

• Be aware of the structure as these pieces are small.

• Use small-sized brushes for the small size of paper.

• Using pre-prepared diluted ink.

• Use the exercise look at what you see not what you imagine (drawing upside down technique).

I used some white gouache with the ink because my highlight on the grey paper was not bright enough.

Chairs in the wood.

Pebbles on the step.

Birds nests on the window sill.

The Bunkie in the woods.

Looking up through the tree.

What worked well?

• The texture, stains bleed and shapes created with the ink and water mixture.

• Brushes to create grainy and unfinished marks.

• I find Birds nests on a Sill the most successful: the dark tone in the window, textural marks, and weathered nests.

• Pebbles on the Step possibly need more details in the plants growing diagonally up. I used the image upside down to copy from (learnt technique) and find it does work with reflection.

What did not work?

• Some of the images lack details and are a little vague.

• Chairs in the Wood has too much white gouache at the top. Also, I have been overzealous with the application.

• In general, the white gouache application is too heavily applied.

• Looking up through the Tree, the trunk's tone is too dark at the top and doesn't seem to be in the distance. Therefore the perspective is not gained. More detail in the leaves is also needed.

Make five sketches in watercolour on HP watercolour paper, postcard sized.

Wilderness Road.

Canoes by Clear Lake.

The Road to Tobermory.

Clear Lake.

The Thompson Cottage.

What worked well?

• I enjoyed using the watercolour to 'draw with paint' and not make an underdrawing as such.

• The Thompson Cottage utilises a brighter colour pallette in the rendering of the structures of the cottage, but is it the correct palette?

• The compositions in Wilderness Road and The Road to Tobermory work well for me. The semi abstraction of trees is intriguing and the loose mark making makes good use of the negative spaces.

• All five have good points and looseness of mark making.

What did not work?

• Clear Lake too simplistic and flat.

• The Canoes by Clear Lake has promise. The sky is lures you in but, the foreground is too twee maybe? The heavy application of the boats and flora doesn't bring anything to the party.

• The Thompson Cottage has perspective errors. I tried to correct the errors using watercolour pencils but I feel I made them worse!