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.