WENDY POWELL-JONES

‘An artist’s diary’

Thankfully the weather picked up and was sunny during a short camping trip at rosebush- a bit windy though. We spent a couple of relaxing days at Llys y Fran fishing and sketching. Here are a few small quick studies.

Loved this tree!

Across the lake

Summer greens

Along the shore

Up in the preselis taking pictures of the heather. Would you believe this is August- hats and dog coats!

Some years ago I went on  two painting courses with Trevor – one watercolour and one oil. He is an internationally recognized artist and author and I was fortunate to get onto an alla prima oil painting two day course which I attended this week. He is based in Cheltenham so it was a bit of a drive but certainly  worth it. He and his partner were so hospitable,  the tutoring was excellent and the group worked well together. I have posted a few pictures of the demonstrations he gave and two  snap shops of the Cotswolds. I didn’t have time for much sightseeing!

We spend a few nights at a smashing campsite at Rosebush- can highly recommend it. Great central location as well for visiting  favourite bits of Pembrokeshire- there are so many!  This time Chris fished Llys y fran while I walked around the lake and did a bit of sketching and birding. One day we did the walk around Dinas Head which was stunning and also spent a morning enjoying the Preselis. I am trying to do more sketching outdoors this year  as I know I rely too heavily on photographic references. I’m not worried if they aren’t brilliant-don’t you be either. Enjoy your painting experience!

Preseli cottage

I liked the dark tones of the trees against the light cottage.

Mobile studio!

Bit of Llys y fran

Bit more of Llys y fran- the dark shape is two people under a fishing umberella!

The bluebells are just about over now. They were glorious this year and we tried to make the most of them. I did some 2-3 min sketches  (using watersoluble graphite pencils) while ‘on the move’ with classes at Gelli Aur. It was a useful exercise as it allowed me to capture a fleeting expression of the scene that inspired me at the time without the added clutter of photographic detail. I worked up some of the sketches in watercolour, not using the photos I had also taken but trying to remember what was there and using my imagination also. Don’t get me wrong photos are invaluble but if your style is loose and impressionistic as I would like mine to be then working purely from photos can be very frustrating as they show everything and it’s hard to know what to miss out. In the field I think you instinctively focus on what is important to you- what the scene is saying to you personally at the time. All this gathered information I am sure will be useful when doing more finished paintings at a later date.

Watercolour sketch

Graphite watersoluble pencil

Graphite watersoluble pencil

Graphite watersoluble pencil

Had a really nice weekend catching up with family and doing a bit of walking- on the flat. No climbing mountains for me. Being a family holiday I did not go with the intention of doing much sketching but I did take a few photos that I rather liked. They were taken looking towards the Snowdon range from a circular walk from Beddgelert north to Llun Dinas and then south and back to Beddgelert through the Aberglaslyn pass. A  smashing walk of around 6 miles.

Today I did some tonal sketches from a few of the photos. They were partly  enjoyment sketches and partly studies to see if they might make paintings. Media used was watersoluble graphite pencil on watercolour paper. I tried to simplify the detail and look for strong composition and good tonal patterns. I worked very quickly. Size – 6×4″.

I did a small ( 10×7″) watercolour from one of them. I hope to work up more.

Soluble graphite pencil

Soluble graphite pencil

Soluble graphite pencil

Soluble graphite pencil

Watercolour

We had a lovely afternoon with some of the time spent sketching in stunning bluebell woods at Gelli Aur.  The brief today was to do several quick  en plein air tonal sketches  using watersoluble graphite pencils. We then went back to the hall to work up a watercolour sketch from one of them and also to enjoy a delicious homemade sponge brought in by Jackie – thank you!

We braved the damp and drizzle this morning to do half an hours sketching. It was well worth it. We are looking at watercolour techniques for depicting ivy growing on trees and there’s nothing better than spending abit of time doing some observational drawing. We were using watersoluble graphite pencils which were very pleasing to use and suited the subject matter. I’ll talk about them more in my tips and techniques section soon.

My work is being exhibited here until mid May. It’s a lovely place to visit. The walk along the Wye there is really pretty especially in this sunshine.