The boar tree - SOLD

The boar tree, ink on A3 paper

The roots of this roadside beech tree reminded me of a wild boar - I could see its head and one giant piggy trotter. I haven't deliberately enphasised either feature, not least because the tree is a beautiful sight in itself, with the large, sinuous branch to the left curving up like the muscular neck of a herbivorous dinosaur (I'm thinking diplodocus or brontosaurus), set against the sundappled screen of leaves.

Hanger: two drawings

Hanger, ink on A3 paper

Square Hanger, ink on paper, 29 x 29 cm

These two pictures were drawn to investigate the way that the beech roots cling to the steep slope of the hanger (a hillside wood). I had no intention of introducing fantastic beasts, but they crept in, nonetheless...

Downed

Downed, ink on A4 paper

I found this dragon lying between two roadside beech trees on Nuthanger Down, its tattered wings spread on the ground, looking intently up. Was there a squirrel up there? Or was it remembering its days of flight?

Let Sleeping Dragons Lie

Let Sleeping Dragons Lie, ink on paper, 29 x 29 cm

More serpentine beech tree roots, this time on Nuthanger Down, and this time in Noodler's Walnut Brown ink (which I think is based on the colour of walnut ink, but probably isn't made from walnuts).

Re-Henge: Dragon Roots - SOLD

Dragon Roots, ink on paper, 29 x 29 cm

The serpentine roots of the Avebury beeches, last seen in Henge, led me to imagine a mythical creature dozing on the bank. Has it become one with the trees and the earth, or is it just very well camoflaged?

St Leonard's in Oakley

It was raining, so I sat under the lych gate to make this sketch.

Curious about the unusual name of this church (many a church is named for saintly Peters, Pauls, and Marys - although I'm not aware of any dedicated to Puff the Magic Dragon), I discovered that Leonard was a sixth century frenchman known for freeing prisoners.

Given the dedication, I was assuming that I would find a definite assertion that the church building was (underneath all the additions and alterations) of Norman origin, but there seems to be no such statement to be found online. It is, however, believed that a Norman chuch stood on the same site.

The history of the building seems vague until the 16th Century, so it seems reasonable to state that the church is medieval with distinctive Victorian additions. It is, however, charmingly quirky.

The George and Horn: painting a line and wash

The finished painting is at the end of this sequence of in-progress shots, showing you how I painted the local pub...

Our printer was out of magenta and yellow, so I printed my photograph out in rough monochrome.
I used a mechanical pencil (beause it was there) to sketch in the construction lines freehand.
I used my Noodler's Creaper flex-nib foutain pen, loaded with Koh-i-Noor document ink, to ink in the line work. The document ink is wateproof and claims to be safe for fountain pens. Waterproof is important, because the wash is wet! Usually, I use acrylic ink or India ink with a dip pen.

Pen work (almost) all done
(can you spot the missing bit?)
and a few bits of masking fluid in place.

That fantastic moment when you remove the masking fluid...

Most of the watercolour wash is done...

Finished!

The Pier (Royal Pier Gatehouse, Southampton)

Line and Wash on rough watercolour paper, approx A3

This is from an old photograph that I took in 2002. I'm fairly certain that The Pier had been a nightclub when I lived in Southapmton, but the building was unused at the time of the photograph. It's now been restored and is a Thai restaurant.

I used a fountain pen with a flexible nib (the Noodler's Creaper pen), loaded with Koh-i-noor black document ink, for the line work that preceded the watercolour wash. Both of these are new to me; the flexible nib allows for a more expressive line, while the document ink is apparently fade-proof and waterproof and (unusually for inks with the other characteristics noted) isn't going to damage my fountain pen.

Of course, I still like dip pens (which are often more flexible, and can be used with any ink without fear for delicate workings), but this combination is very convenient for working outdoors, and it seems to work very well.