Autumn painting « Jane Horton’s Blog

Autumn painting « Jane Horton’s Blog.

This posting is about the struggle I had producing my final Autumn painting and includes photos of various stages of the painting process.

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Cyclists are a joy to draw!

What fun.  I watched the Monsal Hill climb yesterday in the October sun, then drizzle and wind.  This is a ‘sprint’ for serious cyclists on a 1:6 hill.  I sat at the top clapping and sketching the spectators.  The hats, funny shoes and multi-coloured tops, combined with the muscular legs of the cyclists were good fun to look at and to note down.  I might do some more from photos too.

Monsal Climb spectators: ink and feltpen

After this drawing, I gave up because the pages were getting smudged in the rain.

More Monsal Climb spectators

Once home Porridge felt he’d had enough of sitting still in the wind chill and rain and splayed himself out on the sofa …..

Painting detail .. or not

I am impatient about most things but when it comes to painting the discipline of drawing and painting detail defeats me, but this is what I am supposed to do for this unit of my course.  First I started with tomatoes….

but got bored with the amount of cross hatching I needed to do.  I thought the contrast of untampered-with tomatoes might work, but I think its dull.  I set up another still life:

Bamboo pen and coloured inks

I much prefer this, but it only took 20 minutes.  I love working fast and getting the feeling of speed in my pics.  Its got much more energy in it.

Getting Started

I’m been manically trying to finish up my existing sketchbook, with the same feeling I have when I want to scratch a scab.  Why can’t I just leave it and start a new one?  …… It REALLY irritates me to think this sketchbook will not be full, so I am motivated enough to get out there, sketching madly.  Here are some of the results from the last few weeks… doing what I like best … sitting in the landscape in the Peaks with my scruffy dog Porridge.

Watercolour and some wax pastel

Pencil and watercolour. Used a bamboo pen to get the scratchy effect

mixed media mainly watercolour and wax pastels

And why do I paint across two pages?? Well, I do like to paint big, but big sketchbooks don’t fit neatly in my rucksack. Still, why detsroy the image by having a crease down the middle?  Hmmm, I think I can then think of my sketches as just a bit of fun rather than as ‘art’ … and the results can be as messy and experimental as I like!

Just for context, here is a picture of

My sheep obsessed lurcher

my guard dog when I am sitting all lonesome in an icy wind on Stannage Edge….