Sept/October Sketchbook Pages

Capturing memories on the page

Dear Reader,

It’s time to get out my sketchbook again and give you a closer look at my pages, and so before November rattles on and December catches us unawares I thought I’d better share my September and October pages with you here.

When I was thinking back to these months I thought that perhaps I had not been as active in my sketchbook as I would have liked. Preparing for the Coast Colour Canvas exhibition alongside client work and workshop prep certainly impacted upon my sketchbook time but I was pleasantly surprised as I was scanning in my pages that there were more sketches than I had previously recalled.

The sketches were created mostly in quicker sessions -around 15-20 minutes, and I found my most memorable ones were where I connected with other people whilst sketching.

Below is a prime example of this. I met my Artist friend Sandi Hester of

An Artist's Life

in Exeter early October and the first sketch we did together was at Exeter Quay where we spent roughly 10 minutes scribbling away before the mizzle (mist+drizzle) came in. You can see how I was rushing to capture the boats and background with my paint marks and wobbly lines. Also notice how the rain has blurred the edges and left wonderful textures that I would not have had otherwise.

When I look at this I remember the conversations we were engrossed in and the rain coming in, our hands and faces getting soaked and us both running across the harbour with arms full of bags, chairs and multiple sketchbooks trying not to get the pages wet. It must have been very entertaining to passerby’s but it was so very exhilarating!

Our second sketching session was not as manic but we still kept at a pace as our husbands were with us and we didn’t want to spend too long making them wait. Plus we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. So here are some swans swimming under the bridge.

Another memorable sketch time was spent on the coastal path later in the month and as I was nearing completion a couple of ladies came and spoke to me. It’s funny how I can remember the conversation we had each time I look at this sketch. I also remember thinking how striking the colours were of the gorse alongside the sea and it’s certainly favourite colour combination.

7-14th October was the group exhibition Nature’s Palette at Coast Colour Canvas Gallery and below are the pages I sketched when I was there.

September I recall was beautifully warm and I enjoyed several sketching sessions by the sea and used my #joyofsketchingoutside Autumn prompts to give me some instruction. Below is the prompt Bridge and Horizon.

Bridge at Polurrian

Here below is the same view of Kennack East but another day and a much smaller sketchbook (think pocket size) and the time taken to sketch was 5 mins rather than 30mins.

Colour notes on wildflowers spotted

In October I also ran a sketch walk session around Porthleven for a 50th birthday celebration. I thought this was great idea as the memories and conversations they had would now be sealed into the images they sketched. This was one of the spreads that was created on the walk as an example of using a limited colour palette and fine liner pen. I like to call these Snapshots as they should take no more than 3 mins to draw but you can quickly capture something that takes your eye.

After a particularly stormy, windy week my husband took us out for a drive and sketch.

We went to Perranuthnoe first and picked up something to eat in the cafe there. We had forgotten it was half term so it was filled with families and dogs. We ate and then returned to the car where I drew this view of the sea and cliffs in the midst of a rain storm.

We then drove on to Penzance and pulled in along the seafront and I painted with just gouache the street in front of me, again from the car.

Then one more stop before turning around- I sketched what I could see through a gap in the fence- St Michael’s mount and a boat in just a few short minutes.

Just as we were on our way home after picking up food supplies the clouds parted and we happened to be passing a graveyard at Marazion. As our shopping was in the car I knew I didn’t have long but I asked Tony to pull in, in the hope that I could get a chance to draw outside.

I pulled open the heavy iron gates and walked down the cemetery path. I could see the silhouette of St Michaels mount outlined on the horizon. I scanned the gravestones and my eyes came to rest on the wings of a creature. I went a little closer and saw a tiny statue of a rider pulling back the reigns of a winged horse and knew this would be the one to draw. I had my portable stool so was able to sit for 15 minutes between the grave stones and capture the above picture. It was cold but dry and I was happy to be able to finish our outing sketching outside.

And this is where I’ll close for today’s post, I hope you enjoyed taking a closer look and if you have any thoughts I always appreciate hearing from you.

Ps. If you enjoy my sketches you may enjoy my Landscapes of the Lizard Zine- volume 1 - it’s full of sketches drawn on location around the Lizard.

Find it here or for EU customers find it here.