Monday 16 June 2014

Longnor Market Hall

When on holiday in the Peak District last year we stayed near the sleepy little village of Longnor. In the centre of the village is a cobbled square and amongst the buildings surrounding the square stands this fabulous Grade 2 Listed building which was once the Market Hall. These days the Hall is a Craft Centre and Coffee Shop and if you're ever in the area it is well worth dropping in.

The last time I drew buildings it was of Robin Hoods Bay and I drew every detail right to the edge of the paper, leaving no white space (apart from sky). Somehow I think that made it artistically unappealing, probably because it was hard to see a focal point. So this time I have isolated the Hall from it's surroundings. I also decided not to use a ruler or straight edge and although I'm not unhappy with the straightness of my lines, a building such as this has razor sharp edges and that doesn't come across in this drawing.

One problem I had was of parked cars. I took a photo of the Hall with the intention of drawing it one day, but I couldn't get a car-free shot from anywhere. My photo was a fine reference for everything above 5-foot from the ground, but below that it was close to useless. However, I resorted to using Google Streetview to give me alternative views from different angles and despite the fact that it too contained unwanted cars, I was able to piece things together reasonably well.

It seems as if it's been a very long while since I last used my pencils for a serious drawing, and I really enjoyed doing this one. I think I may tackle one or two other buildings in this way.


Sunday 8 June 2014

Ooops!!


I drew a mirror for a current project in my art forum but dropped it putting it in the scanner. lol.


A couple of days ago, on the 70th Anniversary of D-Day, I felt the urge to draw my own tribute to those who took part and made the ultimate sacrifice. My father went across 3 days after the main invasion but thankfully he came home ... so many didn't. It's a simple drawing and didn't take very long, but it was something I needed to do.