Nature Trails 2014 - A Natural Sketchbook Exchange

Moving on...

These are my last few weeks in London; after a life's worth of traffic pollution and the screaming sounds of sirens in the streets at all hours I'm giving my lungs, and ears, a rest and moving to Trowbridge in Wiltshire.
The park that has been a delight to me since living nearby all my life will be somewhere I only visit occasionally when Dyson and I come to London to visit our respective friends. Instead I will be living four minutes walk from the Kennet and Avon canal so looking forward to towpath walks and new bounty to discover and draw in the hedges and edges.

For what may be the last entry in the sketchbook from here I chose to put in something from my garden ... a fern crosier. I love watching the magic unfurling, tightly packed leaves filling out and surprising me with their fullness. The first attempt was in colour pencil (Polychromos) and I only managed about four layers before the paper wouldn't take any more...and neither could I !! it was frustrating.

Plan B... stick a new one in on different paper over the top.

On the next spread I took the book into the park and tried my best with the parakeets(something else I'm going to miss in Wiltshire). I did some rough sketches and tried painting on site but have decided that 'in the field' isn't for me and Dyson, maybe just me, certainly not Dyson! Used the colour pencils over the layer of watercolour for a little detail, jotted down some notes of the parakeets nesting, and did a graphite drawing on the opposite page from one of my own photo's. Came across a lovely poem by John Holloway and added that. Was fairly happy by the time I finished, which was a lovely turnaround from a frustrating start.