A couple of years ago I was on holiday in Northumberland, a most magnificent part of the country. As well as visiting the more famous locations such as Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, and the wealth of stunning castles in the area such as Bamburgh Castle, I searched out some of the small fishing villages on the coast. One of them was this jewel in the crown called Craster.
Craster has a very small harbour and I found only a handful of small boats, mostly beached on the overgrown pebble and shale beach. I spent the most wonderful couple of hours strolling out onto the harbour wall with my camera snapping shots of the boats and seagulls (I just have to take photo's of seagulls in flight - lol) and then sitting on an old wooden bench where my wife and I enjoyed a cold drink and a sandwich. This pen and ink drawing is of the view we had from that bench. I would add that drawing it now has brought it all back much more vividly than simply looking at the photo's again.
My main web site has a step-by-step Work-In-Progress explanation of this drawing coming together, from reference photo through to final drawing. I hope you take a look.
What a perfect fishing village John. I can only imagine how beautiful this is in person and this drawing is outstanding ...the details are amazing.... Congratulations! LOVE the boat!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, very beautiful in a rugged way, and very peaceful with only the waves and seagulls breaking the silence. I could have sat there all day. Thank you for your lovely comment Hilda. ;-)
DeleteWhat a lovely village, and such lovely views! This is a perfect drawing of a beautiful memory.
ReplyDeleteThank you Judy. It never ceases to amaze me how much more we remember about a scene once we've drawn/painted it.
DeleteWonderful drawing! If only I could take a trip and compare it to the original :)
ReplyDeleteYou're very kind Linda, thank you. ;-)
DeleteJohn, LOLOLOLOLOL - The title of this article, "Encouraging Beginners" attracted me. I opened it and was shocked at the amazing talent of the artist who created the sketch....YOU - are hardly a beginner. Lovely work.
ReplyDeleteBrenda, thank you for visiting my blog and especially for your very generous comment. I must tell you that, regardless of how good or bad the end result might be, I often feel like a complete beginner. LOL.
DeleteI particularly like the boat, it's really well done.
ReplyDeleteCan I give two tips without giving offence?
1/ Use a slightly thinner line on the items in the background to introduce values and give a greater depth - feeling of distance
2/ Along straight lines (eg the guttering on the house and roof ridge) draw over these lines freehand to introduce a natural look. The idea is to conceal the straight lines we draw with a straight-edge. We use straight lines all the time, but it's the ones on the 'skyline' that give us away.
Having said all that, John, although you're up there with the best, I know you well enough to know you are constantly striving for perfection. Even if we never find it
LOL ... you won't believe this!! Quite early into the drawing I totally messed up the forward hull of the boat. The more I tried to correct it, the worse it became. In the end I covered it with solid shading but this ruined the drawing as it leapt off the paper. I should have started over but decided to carry on in the hope that, if I applied plenty of dark values, the black hull would 'blend in' more. Though that worked to an extent, it does mean that the dark values behind the boat have ruined any recession and the whole scene has become rather dark and flat.
DeleteAs you know, for the benefit of any beginners reading my posts, I normally self-criticise and explain/highlight the short comings. On this occasion I decided not to 'whinge' but just write about the location. With hindsight, posting about the importance to recession of the values would have been a better choice.
No offence taken and I thank you for your valued and much appreciated comment. ;-)
Phew! I regretted my comment later on, but I know you fuchsia growers are perfectionists and hoped you wouldn't be offended
DeleteI am just grateful that you had the interest in my work to offer advice ... that means a lot. ;-)
DeleteWonderful, manny details.
ReplyDeleteBest regards!
Thank you very much Robert.
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