Sargent and Venice

Pen & Watercolour Pencil large Moleskine sketchbook

I've just had a couple of magical days in Venice wining and dining with Margaret and David and enjoying a feast of art. I couldn't believe my luck when I discovered the Sargent and Venice exhibition had been extended into September. A couple of hours with John Singer Sargent's inspiring watercolours was such an education. The next day, looking for a quiet spot to sketch I stumbled upon an Albrecht Durer print exhibition which was a rare treat too. I desperately wanted to sketch the cloister at the Museo Diocesano which was the venue for Durer but I had a train to catch and they don't allow photographs. Finally an exhibition Artempo: Where Time Becomes Art at the Palazzo Fortuny was an the opportunity to see the amazing Veiled Lady 'Purity' by Antonio Corradini.

And sketching in Venice? Not very productive I'm afraid. I should have heeded Katherine's advice on sketching en plein air and realised that the friendly early morning sunlight was going to turn into a blazing torch before I'd finished my drawing. I had to complete it at home.

I 'd carted watercolours and paper along with my pencils and pens in my sketching stool/bag on my back, but such were the crowds and other temptations I didn't get to use them. I did manage some photographic references that I hope to make into paintings in the next couple of weeks.

Venice is even more special now I see her through the eyes of Sargent, Turner and Whistler and the thousands upon thousands of dreamers like myself who stand clutching a sketchbook, awestruck by her beauty.

Finally ... Light!

I've been waiting since November for a proper light in my studio. Since I don't have a window in my 'cupboard', much of the time I haven't been quite sure what I'm painting. It's finally arrived and after a naked 60 watt bulb I'm dazzled. I'm also grateful to our wonderful electrician/friend Carlo who found it and eventually installed it. And, of course, to HWEM, who encouraged me to spend the money to get it.


Before I was driven home by spots of rain smudging the ink in my Moleskine this morning, I managed this quick sketch of the gate we pass through twice a day taking the dogs for walks up to the tower.

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.

The Ups and Downs with Van Gogh

Persimmon in the Olive Grove

What's this? Two posts in one day! Too much coffee I think.

Pressing on with Van Gogh, I bit off more than I could chew. This little Persimmon is one of my favourite trees - she is beautiful in every season. This is her best outfit - her fruit, deep gold baubles throughout the winter. This Christmas she was hung with tiny white fairy lights. Tiffany's eat your heart out. But all this I leave to your imagination because as you can see, I made some bad choices here. Why on earth I put in that horrible building on the left, when it isn't even there! And why did I put in the young Cypress, which is there but does nothing for my composition. I guess I thought it was very Van Gogh! We won't mention the darks in the olive trees - please!

So what am I left with from today's study? Well, I quite like the lines that define the ground - these I learned from Vincent.

Cloistered with Van Gogh

This is the Cloister of the Church of San Francesco here in Castiglion Fiorentino. Rebuilt at the beginning of 1600, it has a Tuscan-style double loggia in a rectangular plan. I began this time with a pencil sketch which I inked over using a fountain pen with Pelikan Brilliant Brown Ink. It was a relief to discover that even Vincent liked to give himself a pencil outline as a guide. I tried to replicated many of Van Gogh's marks and the little bird in the sky is a tribute to him. I'm rather pleased with this one!

I can't go on aping Vincent forever but what I can take away from this project is the realisation that there is more than one way to make a mark. I hope that in future the marks I make will give my sketches a great deal more energy.

Since the pencil sketch took so long (I find arches really difficult) I scanned it and printed a copy to practise my marks on rather than risk spoiling the drawing. I am now going to use the scan to play around with this image with some watercolour pencils. Since I originally posted this I have replaced the scanned image of the drawing with a photograph, which shows the true colour.

See the link in the previous post for more about the Fine Line Artists Van Gogh Project.

Did Van Gogh get his sleeve in the ink?!

I wonder how many people over the years have sat stabbing at a piece of paper with a bamboo pen trying to channel Van Gogh. If I ever make contact I'm going to ask him how he avoided getting his sleeve in the ink.

I revisited that marvellous learning resource at the Metropolitan Museum of Art website How Van Gogh Made his Mark as part of my ongoing exploration of the artist. I wanted to move on from charcoal to ink. I don't have a reed pen but I had a virgin Hake Series Bamboo Pen and some rather nice brown inks. What I was interested in was how VG made all his hatches, dots and curlicues. I've concluded that curlicues are definitely beyond my present level of skill. I think the Met. site is for children but since my inner child is alive and well it suits me down to the ground.

I then went off to the Vincent Van Gogh Gallery - what a debt we owe to the creator of this site! The Fine Line Artists February Artist Project will be long over before I have sampled more than a morsel of what is on offer there. The drawings are amazing. I was totally unprepared for the extent of VG's genius for sketching. I am inspired by everything but spent a good deal of time look at Harvest in Provence and the Courtyard of the Hospital in Arles 1889.

I look around and realise how blind I have been until now. I take lots of photographs but I never really know how to exploit them in a non-literal way.

So, taking baby steps, with eyes wide open, I'm going to follow Van Gogh on a journey through Tuscany. For sure we are both going to be happier when the weather warms up a bit and we get out of my tiny, windowless studio into the countryside.

First attempt above is Olive Farm - Cortona. I lightly drew myself a little map of the design of the landscape in 2B pencil and then went in with the ink. I've made quite a mess in spots and of course, managed to drag my sleeve through the ink.

I think you will find a link on Katherine's blog of all our fellow travellers on this Van Gogh Journey.