Post 26 Back end feel

Back end feel,that's what they say round here when referring to the nights drawing in and weather turning noticeably cooler . It certainly creeps up on you, the evenings are  darker earlier and when there is a very wet day like yesterday the chill in the air certainly makes you think,somewhat depressingly ... yes we really are at the beginning of the back end of the year.

Since falling of a tricky climb on a grade way out of my comfort zone I've been limping about on a badly sprained ankle, frantically hoping it'll be better by the time the holidays come round. 

It's not stopped me getting my boots on and joining in with the fun albeit in a fairly grumpy mood.
Last Saturday we headed to Hepburn in Northumberland and while the bouldering was in full swing I sat and drew for a few hours.

Looking south from Hepburn

Hepburn is a beautiful location. The panoramic views from the  elevated position of the boulders is breath taking. Sitting there to begin with was really overwhelming...I had no idea where to start.
There is a real discipline involved when drawing on location. When faced with a great sweep of countryside stretching as far as the eye can see it takes time to acclimatise.
Saturday was a beautiful day. Mostly sunny with light winds and a slight haze which fuzzed up the distant hills.

Resting up on location

Again the same principles apply...the more I observed the more I became visually aware of.
 Colours became illuminated and subtle hues of green,grey, purple,pink, ochre  and red began to stand out with greater clarity. Shapes became more defined and textures more obvious.

It's an odd thing but I'm always surprised by how I forget that feeling  on sitting down to draw....fretful initially until I really look more closely and linger for longer.This pattern is always the same.

Boulders at Hepburn

Back in the studio this week I got started again. With a  new batch of beeswax but with a shortage of canvas I had to improvise and I'm glad I did. I'm working on ply for the first time in years and I like the feeling very much. Pastures new I hope.

Wax on ply  experiments

Scratching through the pigment 

In post 25 I said how I felt superstitious about talking about how my climbing was progressing, hmmm, strange how things work out. That'll teach me !!