Midsummer

Well, the heat was certainly on with the next sketchbook. There were some truly gorgeous pages and I had a theme running around in my head that wouldn't go away. After Summertime there came A Midsummer Night's Dream, and I was quite literally, away with the fairies. Shakespeare's play gave me plenty of inspiration, and along with a quote and some honeysuckle sprigs, the pages started to come together. 

Fresh greens, summery pink and sunshine yellow

After the quotation, title and other calligraphy was in place and the sketches of the flower, buds and berries, it was time to decide on presentation. I love to use a mix of elements in sketchbooks, with bits stuck in, pen and pencil here and there, some unfinished bits and of course, painted things.

Purple bud with greens 

Mixing it up a bit 

And keeping it classic

 So how did it go? Well, I was pleased with the result. let's just hope the recipient is.

Nearly there.

  And what's the quote?

I know where the wild thyme blows,

where the oxlip and the nodding violet grows,

quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine

With sweet musk roses and with eglantine.

There sleeps sweet Titania sometime of the night,

lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight.

William Shakespeare 

There is a link here. Eglantine is an old word for honeysuckle, (also used for briar rose which is confusing).   

Catching Up

Time is flying by so quickly lately that two months has gone by and I haven't updated the blog. I shall do two months in one go.

The month of March was for Francis' sketchbook,coming from Ireland via Anglesey and I knew that Francis liked Celtic designs. I have a book by Courtney Davis full of lovely patterns so I got drawing some of these. My garden was blooming with many crocus, so very springlike.

Then on to April and Shevaun's sketchbook. I was already painting scaly male ferns and I am always taken with the architectural shapes and fresh smells of the fern crosiers; like newly mown lawns. My studio brimmed with them, all different species, shapes and sizes.

I liked how Ida had used black paper to make her painting of daffodils sing, so vibrant. So I got out the gouache and painted a shield fern on the black paper. These soft ferns are just like furry caterpillars, curled up and snug, then unfurling in the warmth of spring.

A few more sketched ferns and some writing, in welsh and english completed April.

Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns Grow

"Draw everywhere and all the time. An artist is a sketchbook with a person attached." 

Irwin Greenberg

My sketchbook arrived just before Christmas, sleek, clean and full of promise. I had so many other things to do at the time, but those beautiful white pages kept tempting me. Ever since this project was conceived, I have had the phrase “Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns Grow” in my head and I really wanted to include that somewhere in my sketchbook.

I decided that I’d also like to do something on the cover of my book in gold leaf. I lost several hours looking at vintage book covers online… so inspiring! I really loved these ones, although they were perhaps a little too ambitious for me.

Beautiful vintage book covers.

In the end, I decided to do a simple golden acorn on the cover.

For the title page I took a previous sketch of an acorn and leaf and modified it.

A sketch from last September

An envelope from Egypt, printed to look like papyrus fitted perfectly as an endpaper. I’ll be writing my address onto that too, just in case the book goes astray. Fingers crossed, none of the sketchbooks will be lost!

The double spread was a bit daunting, perhaps because that first sketch will set the tone for the book. I decided to let nature be my muse and headed out on a beautiful crisp winter morning to a nearby woods. I wasn’t quite sure what I would find, but once you start to look, you begin to notice all the subtle colours of winter, and the tiny signs of new life that are appearing all around.

"If one really loves nature, one can find beauty everywhere. "

Vincent van Gogh

 I’m going to try and use this project to learn more about the natural world around me. I’m delighted to say that the paper also lived up to my expectations … it didn’t buckle and took the paint very well.

Beech tree buds are quite beautiful up close 

But most of all, I’m feeling very excited to be involved with such a creative and supportive group of people. Their enthusiasm and encouragement is contagious!  It’s wonderful to start the year on such a positive note. 

Great things lie ahead.