Playing fast and loose again....

Watercolour & Ink - Canson sketchbook

Trapped inside most days lately by an unusually wet, grey autumn in Tuscany, I have been dreaming of Spring and the opportunity to get out sketching again. Of course I then have to admit I never get around to that much plein air sketching. It's because I am too slow. So the exercise I have set myself is to do some fast and loose sketches from the huge library of photographs I take (when I really should be sketching).

These are both from my computer screen using my Mont Blanc pen with Pelican Brillian Brown ink which I love because it's not in the least bit waterproof and bleeds happily all over the place when I add watercolour.

I took my sketching material on a trip to Perugia in Umbria yesterday. Didn't sketch a thing because we stumbled upon From Corot to Picasso - a magical exhibition from the vast Phillips Collection (Washington).

Vincent was there with House at Auvers; Modigliani with his beautiful Elena Povolozky; Cezanne Still Life with Ginger Jar, pears and Pomegranate; Picasso Woman with a Green Hat. Some days are absolutely perfect!

Un Regalo

Pigment Pen in large Moleskine

I recently received a gift - un regalo- from our very generous next door neighbour, Lorenzo. It's a beautiful old Tuscan wooden trunk. It's moments like these that I become really frustrated with my inability to express myself properly in Italian. In the end I just kissed him on both cheeks. I think he understood.

The other gift I've really appreciated this last year was the inspiring workshop on Sketching from Life that Katherine Tyrrell conducted through WetCanvas. It really inspired me and finally got me sketching in public.

Most of you will already know Katherine through her blog Marking a Mark but if you don't, and you are interesting in sketching, she's posted about it today and includes printable material from her workshop that you can download.

Sketching En Plein Air

I banned myself from surfing other people's blogs this morning and headed out with my sketching stool. I only got as far as the corner, where I sketched our main street. The perspective is a little out. You may play 'spot the errors', but I'm rather pleased that I actually did this.

Yesterday I drew the garden tools I bought for HWEM on my 'sketching' trip to Florence. I used this as EDM Challenge #103 Draw Some Exercise Equipment - what you use to stay fit. Well, I am planning to use them - one day.

Spring Planting

Our first strawberry plants are ready to go into the ground. I've never had any luck with strawberries in Sydney but these seem to be growing before my eyes. I've just realised in sketching the plant that those hulls one nips off the strawberries are actually there from the beginning at the base of the flower. Logical I guess, if one doesn't go through life with one's eyes closed!