small squares

More of my little vignettes from the train.  I was trying to catch "moments" or elements of the landscape and simplify them graphically into little icons.  They are very small - about 1 1/2".  I'm also trying to use more intense colours, stepping up from my usual pale washes.

As a graduate of the James Belisle school of masking, I taped off the squares in order to have the crisp edges.  The really fun part of doing that, is peeling off the tape and seeing the crisp white edges....or at least what stands for fun in my life!

Hurston Cottage, Wallon Farm

I stayed in a cottage on what is referred to in Dartmoor as a medieval farm.  These farms are rambling assemblages of extended homes, barns and outbuildings.  Hurston Cottage was recently renovated and the only real remnant of the past was the well in the floor of a room off the kitchen which was covered over with a thick piece of glass.

Wild daffodils were out , but I didn't manage to catch the vibrancy of the bright yellows. Time for me to investigate masking fluid and gum Arabic, I think.

Fingle Bridge

I was lucky to have sunny weather when walking from Castle Drogo, near the village of Drewsteignton in Dartmoor National Park.  Fingle Bridge dates back to the 17th century when it was built for pack horses carrying corn and wood through the River Teign gorge.  Today it is the site of near constant photo opportunities as visitors pose in the refuges over the cutwaters ( the piers between arches).

On the Train

I love a train ride.  I enjoy putting my brain in neutral and gazing out the window.  Last week, travelling to London from the West Country,
I was lucky to get a seat with a table to myself, which let me spread out a bit and sketch.

I did the top one first and it's an archetype, not an actual scene, as I couldn't work quickly enough while passing through the landscape.  That lead to the lower one which is a sort of graphic composition rather than a landscape.  (The white bits are sheep.)

These put me in mind of a quilt or fabric sculpture.  With the right colours, wouldn't that be fun?

A Devon Landy

I've had a "thing"for these old Land Rovers since I was a boy.  It goes back to driving out through the jungle and up and down the steep pitches of bauxite mines in Guyana in the late 60's.

All part of my observation that most guys would like the car of their youth that they couldn't afford at the time.  My list includes a BMW 2002, an air cooled Westfalia camper van, a Citroen deux-chaveux and ( a new ) Mini.  All but the Mini, are hobby cars, as in more time under them, than driving them.  Were I stinking rich, I'd own them all, but with new engines.  Like a Westfalia, with a water-cooled Subaru transverse retrofit 4 cylinder,  that actually power many of what appear to vintage Westie's along Americas left coast.  it's not really about the vehicle, it's about the prospect of an adventure.

I saw this "Landy" in Devon and wondered about the snorkel ...did the owner really ford rivers...or, had it seen service in Africa and was purchased at auction upon return?  But then the sticker in the window explained it all - "powered by fairies".

pen with prismacolour pencil crayon 

Kes Tor and the River Teign

I spent several days in Dartmoor National Park in the West Lands of England last week. A constant contrast between narrow tunnel like lanes bounded by tall banks and hedges and the moody skies and rolling heather hills of the open moors.

It's an amazing cultural landscape where even the wild moors support sheep and ponies.  This sketch was just beyond an ancient stone slab "clapper" bridge where we had a quick dip in a small pool.  Kes Tor - a rock protrusion on a hilltop, was visible through the gap in the pine windbreak.

Stone Men

Last night our sketching group visited the studios of Smith & Barber -stone carvers.  They are currently working on the restoration of the West Block of the Parliament Buildings here in Ottawa.  Their specific contributions is the replication of various architectural ornaments and details.

They work in an amazingly traditional manner - mallet and chisel on stone, with incredible precision.

Phillip Smith stayed late to let us in and in talking to him his passion for stone carving was evident and infectious.

I was taken by some of the "green men", sort male nymphs or fairies which became part of the Gothic lexicon of ornament, but have much longer origins back to the Celts.

I invited my sketching friends Marc and Laurel to come all the way from Montreal ( a 2 hour drive) and they did!   A gift to me for their company. They made friends, as they usually do and documented the evening with Laurel's photos and Marc's sketches.  More to come, no doubt, this summer at the Stone Carving Festival.

A Little Colour on a Grey Day

A little bit of colour is welcome on a grey winter day when there aren't even distinct shadows.  This yellow shed around the block from my home was the closest to sunshine I saw yesterday - unusual here in Ottawa which is known for is cold but clear, sunny winter weather.

Daly Street

The backsides of buildings continue to fascinate me.  As the large trees in front of homes decline, are removed and not replaced, more and more, the large trees can only be found in the interiors of the blocks.

I also like the way you can read the evolution of the buildings with additions cobbled onto additions in stages.