Out To Sea
A pause in the studio, and breathe. I’d just completed a larger project, shipped everything needing sending, received a message from the happy customers as it arrived and suddenly there is silence. I’ll potter around a little, tidying the cluttered work bench, having a cup of tea and pause.
In that moment I start to think again, reflecting on the lessons learnt from this and previous projects. Allow ideas to simmer once again, even the silly ones are entertained. All my work is connected through the outdoors, often with a flurry of landscape, coastal or cycling/ running. Before I commit anything to sketchbook I need to leave the studio. Time for a little treat.
I popped on my running shoes, grabbed Stanley (the dog) and headed to our favourite spot to lose ourselves for an hour or so. We live in Swanage which is a quiet town so a short walk or drive and the hills are empty and full of trails to explore.
Since we’ve had a few sunny days the tight meandering trails are dry. Made up of gravel and sand with lots of undulations keeps the pace varied and mind set on concentrating on the next step. Stanley snakes ahead of me, the ducking in and out of the high bracken and gorse. Between the vegetation there are snippets of the peninsular looking out towards Brownsea Island and Poole to the left and Studland and Old Harry to the right. It’s an amazing spot. Blessed to have this on our doorstep.
There is one section on this run which is really special, after descending from the midway section I take a tiny single track turn to the left, barely visible and one that Stanley knows so well he never checks back to see whether I’m following. Instantly my heart rate increases as the terrain turns from mud to sand and we start to climb. Nothing too arduous, about 5 mins in total and zig zagging all the way to the ridge. But arriving on that ridge which is fairly baron other than ferns and thistles the views are phenomenal, spinning a full 360º and I can see one house nestled into the distant hillside, the odd deer and cattle but that’s all. As I follow the ridge for a few moments my heart rate settles, ready for the next hill.
Whilst running I take regular pauses to make mental notes, take photographs on my phone and make simple doodles in my sketchbook. I often repeat this a couple of times, the same location on different days to see how the environment changes depending on the day. I don’t mind the rain, wind, snow when I’m running, it helps me to understand the conditions that have formed the environment.
I almost always return to the studio with these memories to create the final work. I personally find removing myself from the location with my own references helps to create something with a greater depth. It also makes me take more notice of the location as I see it, so when it is recreated in it’s final medium I can recreate it how I see it. And if I cannot remember how a particular section of the location connects, I pop on my running shoes and head out again.
I make sketches, colour tests, notes and composition plans. By this point I feel like I’ve already immersed myself into the environment I plan to capture. I’ve sketched out the challenging section (every piece tends to have one of these).
Now to make the artwork, I take a clean sheet of gorgeous stock, measure and mark the edges with tape, this goes into the middle of the work bench. To the left of the paper I have my gouache paint tubes, a couple of palettes, then it’s the inks, pens, pencils and large jar of water. Behind the canvas I sprawl out all my reference material, sketches, colour references, photographs, found objects from the trail. Finally to my right I have the most important item, a huge pot of tea and a couple of sheets of kitchen roll for just in case moments.
Next I put on some calming music (today its Johnny Flynn), something that resonates with the subject matter. Then I simply begin, the first tentative pencil markings for guidance, followed by paint, ink and occasionally colouring pencil. Finished off with pen and ink line work before titling and signing the work. Sometimes this happens all in on sitting, for Out to Sea I visited the studio 3 or 4 times to complete the piece.
And as this piece comes to a close I jump right back to the beginning and start with those silly ideas again. My next picture I have planned involves a bike ride, I’ll get the OS map out. More soon.
#startwithasquiggle