Adventures in St. Ives

I spent a glorious few days in St. Ives last week. Amazing weather, fantastic scenery and delicious food. It is what all holidays should be made of!
Here are a few photos of the gorgeous Cornish coast and a few quick Plein air sketches and watercolour studies.

I read a really interesting book during the train journey and on the beach, 'The Salt Path' by Raynor Winn. It was recommended by Kate from the Foldline and it is set all around the South West coast which felt rather apt as I was passing through many on the train and wanted to absorb the sights and sounds of this coastline through somebody else's eyes too. I would highly recommend the book as a break from the usual rom-com light summer read!

I also visited fellow Yorkshire lass, Barbara Hepworth's sculpture garden and studio which is somewhere I have wanted to visit for sooooooo long! It did not disappoint and my tip to you, if you are visiting during the peak holiday season, is to go either as soon as it opens (10am) or in the last hour of the day (4-5pm). I did this both times and pretty much had the whole garden to myself (and my friend Charlotte) on both occasions.

I most certainly want to return to this charming and beautiful part of the world again!

Adventures in Rye

My friend Charlotte and I had the most glorious October escape away from London last weekend in East Sussex. Rye is a beautiful town with red tiled housing and cobbled streets. It is steeped with history at every corner and was a visual feast for the eyes.

The morning was spent walking around the town popping into charity and antique shops. I bought some vintage Sylko sewing threads for 50p each which was a little bargain. There was a fab craft fair at the Old Literary Society building where I spend a very reasonable £10 on some gorgeous hand-crafted pottery for Christmas presents.

Amazing views were seen from atop the Bell Tower at St. Mary's Parish church which is a highly recommended thing to do. We had lunch at a lovely cafe called The Fig which served gorgeous fresh salads and hand-made quiche and cakes. The afternoon was spent enjoying the sun and sea at Camber Sands. We took the local bus to the coast and had such a relaxing afternoon soaking up the sun and paddling in the sea. I couldn't believe that the sea actually felt warm considering it was October!

I hope you enjoy the photos I took during my weekend including some fast and fun 15-minute watercolour paintings of the coastline looking out towards the headland at Hastings.

Summer Sketchbook

I have really been into painting and sketching recently and I decided to make a scrapbook to document my holiday this summer.

Sketching by the pool

I spent a week with my friend Mel in Mountain View, San Francisco which was awesome! Rather than just relying on holiday photographs I took time out every day for sketching, painting and collaging my holiday experiences.  Art equipment I packed for the trip were sketching pencils, Windsor and Newton watercolours, Chromacolour watercolour pencils, a few black pro-markers, scissors, a glue-stick, acrylic paint markers and a range of brushes.

Sketching on Mel's sofa

It was the most relaxing and enjoyable time and I pretty much sketched / painted everywhere starting out in the airport lounge and on the flight over to the USA.  The most indulgent was next to the pool, on the sofa at Mel's house and finally on a train ride to my next holiday destination in Wales last week.

Things I included in my journal were maps, leaflets, tickets and receipts of my adventures alongside traditional sketches and watercolour studies plein air of food, city scenes and landscapes.  I chose an A5 Seawhite concertina sketchbook which comes with a rather cool hardboard case. It is not quite finished yet but here are a few little snippets for you to enjoy.

Painting on the train to Wales last week

The many cool California signs found around Mountain View

Sushi and Santana Row a beautiful palm tree lined shopping street

Mushroom and leek omelette home cooking, film night on the sofa and the lovely Steven's Creek Trail walk

Ice lolly pool inflatable and the amazing graffiti of Clarion Alley in the Mission, San Francisco

Mel standing in front of a Frank Stella painting at the SF MoMA

Dusk at Pier 39 and Pier 23 neon sign from Fisherman's Wharf, San Fransisco

The concertina sketchbook laid out next to the pool before my return to the UK

I am enjoying putting the finishing touches to my journal and hope to finish it before my return to work in September. I also want to include my mini break to Wales in the remaining pages of the book.

What have you been doing this summer to relax and unwind?

O'Keeffe Inspired Art

I attended the third session of the Tate Modern Art Course linked to the current Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition last night and we had the chance to draw or paint plein air (seems to be a reoccurring theme in my posts lately). The options were to use the riverfront outside the Tate as a view or to visit the Community Garden next to the Tate for inspiration. As you can probably guess due to my rather garden-heavy posts during the month of July, I chose the garden.

A small but perfectly formed secret walled garden exists to the left hand side of the Tate Modern. Snuggled in a slither of land next to the terraced housing next to the Globe Theatre and the huge expanse of the Tate buildings lives a little oasis of community gardening.

These are the studies I made using the beautiful red flower (Dog Rose?) as inspiration. Despite enjoying sketching this I am not 100% happy with the outcome as I feel it is a little twee and too traditional for my liking. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of drawing and painting it.

What do you think?

30 minute pencil study (unfinished) and 30 minute watercolour version

Detail of the 30 minute pencil study

Detail of 30 minute watercolour study

The art work I have been enjoying over the past week has been an extension of the pomegranate studies I started last week. I have been exploring more abstracted compositions and limiting my colour palette as O'Keeffe did in many of her works.

Below is a selection of pomegranate studies starting with a more realistic image and moving towards more simplified and abstracted shapes and use of colour:

Watercolour pencils

Watercolour pencils

Two colours of watercolour: Windsor & Newton Orange and Deep Red

Watercolours (Deepe Red, Orange, Winsor Yellow) overlaid with blue watrcolour pencil

Watercolour paints (Deep Red, Orange, Winsor Yellow, Ultramarine, Prussian Blue)

Blended Watercolour Pencils (no water yet)

Next week at the final session of the Tate Course we are to select our favourite works produced during the course for a group exhibition. I am undecided as to which one to select but I'm hoping to get a chance to explore these abstract pieces further which may sway my decision.

Which art works do you think I should choose?

I will leave you with these stunning views around the Tate Modern yesterday.