Drawing Rye Harbour

Seaside England

Before heading to Sussex for Mick Kirkbride's drawing weekend, I prepared an old book to draw in. (you willknow that I remove pages, glue pages together with PVA and gesso the pages before masking off an area and painting on a coloured ground) I might have painted, but as ever it has been whirlwind speed around here and I found myself barely getting packed in time, making the decision that drawing in the little book would have to do. We set off before 6am and I was standing in the salt flats making sense of the pier and the boat shapes in the baking heat by 10:00.  Louise, Mick's wife, organised the weekend, including a room in their rental for Patrick and me.  All I had to do was draw and draw, and that's what I did.

Standing on the Seashore

We drew until lunch time and I looked one way and then directly into the light at the boat and boat shed.  The cafe allowed me to take a mug of tea to the salt flats.  It was very civilised. The pub filled.  The water rose and mud flats turned to reflections.

Excellent Cold Bath

The Bather's Name

After lunch we walked out to the jetty and the nature reserve. As I stood drawing the shed, which was so stark that I found myself struggling to get beyond a childish drawing.  Still, it felt important to capture the structure as it is a iconic part of the view.  The man who owns the shed arrived half way through the afternoon and began to paint the black sides.  

A Golden Shark

 I turned to the mud flats, again, looking into the light. 

Mrs Beale's Umbrella

The next morning Patrick and I went for a walk and on our way back from the nature reserve I saw the town and knew that I wanted to record that too. I had to climb down the bank of the jetty into the salt flats again. I started with the sky and its one little cloud.

Bathing Machine

 I walked a little further out the jetty and stood next to Anne.  There wasn't enough time to find anything different so I looked and tried to find something that interested me in the sparse landscape. I began tonally, with ink and then looked for the colour.

Merely Bathing

 On the final afternoon I was back with the people and the colour and seaside feel. Astrid was doing a beautiful painting of the paint-peeling boat.  Most people spent the last day working up a final piece. everything I did was in the pages of the Seaside book. I stood behind Astrid, part of a rambling drawing group. Then, a family made its way down the pier and looked for seals. 

Saline Effluvia

The titles are taken from the words on pages in the book.  I will need to look for my next seaside village to draw! I have 15 pages left in the book…

Altered Landscapes

 One of the things I have been exploring in the last few months has been using old books to draw in.  I had tried it a few years ago but used a small book, drawing to the edges and I wasn't satisfied.  In my life drawing group Emily Fox sometimes draws in books and I noticed that she used larger books.  She draws on pages as they are, I tried glueing pages together, gessoing them and then masking areas on the page. I created a colourful ground with pastel and alcohol on each page.  I have been alternating between my altered book and my sketch pads in my life drawing group.  This summer I brought a book to alter to Maine.

The surface makes my pastels buttery and I experimented with shape of drawings, using what was on the page as a starting point.  The book is Plank Bridge by the Pool by Norman Thelwell, and in removing pages and gluing them together, I have created 21 pages to draw on.  So far I have only used six; I did lots of drawings in my sketch pads too. I am not sure whether to mix Cranberry Island and Suffolk imagery but suspect I won't be able to wait until next summer! Here are the images I have in my book so far.

Garden and Woods 14 x 19cm July 2015

Whistler Path End 14 x 19cm July 2015

Wetlands and Boatshed 13.5 x 12cm July 2015

Gertmenian House at Night 13.5 x 15.5cm July 2015

Beds and Flowers 14 x 10.5cm July 2015

Ocean View From House 14 x 9.5cm July 2015