COLTISHALL, Norwich. UK - Norfolk Broads

Saturday 25th August was the official date for the 15th Worldwide sketchcrawl and I spent it sketching through Coltishall with my dear friend Joan Sandford-Cook. Joan has recently moved to Coltishall in the Norfolk Broads and it was my first visit to see her and her new home.
I started the day with a sketch of her new lounge, open planned, looking through to her dining room, with it's raised fireplace and neutral palette.


We then headed left out of her road to Coltishall Common along the river Bure where we indulged in a latte at The Rising Sun before seating ourselves under the oak tree on the common to sketch the thatched boathouses.



Still under the oak tree I created a quick watercolour sketch of the landscape along the river, a most beautiful backdrop. I went straight in with paint in this landscape, no pencil sketch, and while it is very basic in skill I feel it captures the memory well. I shall practice this technique more.


From the same position under the oak I turned to my left to see this beautiful, historical house through the trees.



Back at The Rising Sun, we made full use of the many customers to create a few quick figure studies.

Back at Joan's we threw some cushions onto her garden furniture and 'Mmmmmmm'd' our way through a delicious bowl of local strawberries with cream. Before packing up to head home after my stay I captured a corner of the garden that has a small rockery waterfall dividing the lawn from a seated area entered through a trellis archway.

A wonderful place and a memorable trip spent in fantastic company made this my most favourite sketch crawl to date. A huge thanks to both Joan and her husband Clive for their hospitality and friendship!

GONE SKETCHCRAWLING

Saturday 25th August is the 15th worldwide SketchCrawl.

To participate simply wander out with your sketchbook in tow and make a pictorial account of your day.

To see other artists who will be taking part in your area and to upload your sketches into the worldwide forum, visit SketchCrawl.com

I am visiting my dear friend Joan Sandford-Cook tomorrow in her new home in the Norfolk Broads and we will be sketching together on Saturday.

I will, of course, upload my sketches on my return....See you then!

THE CAMBRIDGESHIRE ART FAIR 2007

I spent a wonderful Saturday browsing hundreds of artworks with my dear friend Joan at the Cambridgeshire Art Fair held at Chilford Hall, Linton.

There were two artists that appealed to me greatly and both for the same reasons. Although their styles were quite different, the confident brushstrokes, courageous application, sense of motion and knowledge of subject made me stop in my tracks. These works called to me, appealing to my love of the figure and my passion for 'unfinished' or 'raw' pieces.

I was fortunate to meet Louise Mizen who was tending her own stand, her dancer collection caught my eye from an adjacent stand and I couldn't wait to feast my eyes upon her bold style. Her horses were also very appealing.

Marc De Corte was not at the fair but his art made a huge impression on many others as well as myself.

Joan and I lunched in the old barn restaurant where we were faced with a 'quiche' that tasted, looked and acted exactly the same as an egg custard with peppers in. I do not recommend this, a very unusual quiche in anyone's book! The coffee and the lemon cake were much nicer.

We broke for refreshments again at around 4pm, not realising how quickly the time had passed. This time we sat on the deck at the back of the 'Vineleaf' and this is where I managed to capture a quick sketch, my only sketch of the day, in my small moleskin. Chilford has it's own vineyard and winery, so a purchase was a must before we left, I chose a Sparkling Rose which is now chilling in the fridge.

It was a fantastic day and Joan and I returned home feeling both inspired and knackered!

MEPAL OUTDOOR CENTRE, Cambridgeshire. UK

Yesterday was spent at Mepal Outdoor Centre sketching with some fellow members of The Fenland Visual Arts Collective.

It's a fantastic venue with a lake full of little boats, trees, shrubs and a children's play park and it's free for adults to visit. Diane, Joan and I were joined by Richard and Yvonne and despite all our chatting some of us actually managed a little work in our sketchbooks.

You can view more sketches and photographs from our day on the FenVAC NOW! blog.

CLARICE HOUSE, Suffolk, UK.

Pulling into the driveway that leads to Clarice House after our day sketching was a welcome view for Joan and I. Our tummies rumbling, we grabbed our room keys and bundled straight up to our room, 'The Summerhouse' to unload. We both had our clothes and cosmetics packed into tiny holdalls but it was our large art bags that encouraged us to take the lift rather than climb the stairs!



I have had the priviledge of staying at Clarice House a few times now and located just 22 minutes from Long Melford, I knew it would be just what Joan and I needed after a hard day sketching. We dressed for dinner and, this time, took the elegant staircase down to the restaurant, passing a manikin on the landing wearing a designer wedding dress.



The food, as always, was fantastic. Joan had king scallops followed by halibut and I indulged in wild mushroom soup followed by fillet of beef. We ate between conversation and laughter and toasted our friendship with something decidedly alcoholic. We chose the same desert, pavalova dressed with caramelised pears drizzled with raspberry coulis- Delicious!
Like two addicts, we didn't wait long before venturing back to our room to collect our sketchbooks. It isn't very often you have a designer wedding dress modelled by a tireless subject, so we both made good use of the manikin exhibiting the Terry Fox design on the staircase landing.



More chatting and tidying of our daytime sketches back in our room finished the day at approx. 1.30am and, surprisingly, I was ready to sleep for a change...Must have been the schnapps and lemonade!

On Sunday morning the sun shone brightly, kissing the trees in front of the house and creating some sensational shadows for the squirrels to dance among. After breakfast, we strolled around the grounds before changing to dip in the whirlpool. I am sure Clarice has a time magnet built within it's walls, we had just four hours before leaving on Sunday morning and it felt we had gained a whole other day lost in it's charms.

Before lunch we sketched some more and I managed to capture the entrance from one of the sofas in the reception lounge.



Our lunch was both delicious and relaxed, finishing just in time for us to meet the 1pm opening of Ickworth House just four minutes drive away.

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, Long Melford, Suffolk. UK.

After leaving Melford Hall Joan and I stopped by The Holy Trinity Church in Long Melford on our way to Clarice House where we had booked a room for the night.

Holy Trinity boasts an abundance of gems and with it's numerous windows resembles a Cathedral more than a simple village church. With so much to browse upon protected within it's walls it was difficult to choose something to concentrate my sketches upon. That was until I read the piece on Sir William Clopton's tomb, such a fascinating story, I felt compelled to log it in my venezia sketchbook. (click on the image to read the story in larger print).

The Clopton chantry exhibited the Lily Crucifix window said to date from 1350 and two poems by John Lydgate, a well known Bury monk, scroll around the top of the chantry walls entitled 'Vine of Life'. The Lady chapel is adjoined to the church and unique in that it is only accessible from the outside entrance.

Artwork by Iain McKillop hang on the walls at the end of each pew, his studies for the altar piece paintings that now decorate Gloucester Cathedral. His work was probably my most exciting find of the day, his figures portrayed such emotion I could hardly wait to get home and research him on the internet. It was during this search that I came across his website and the totally amazing cathedral paintings in his collection, what an unexpected honour I had experienced in viewing his work first hand.

Visiting Holy Trinity had been the only part of our weekend we hadn't planned in advance and I am so grateful for our time there - What a memorable experience!

MELFORD HALL, Suffolk, UK

Sir William Cordell acquired Melford after the Dissolution of the Monasteries and entertained Queen Elizabeth 1 there in 1578, a stained glass window now marks her visit.
Since 1786 Melford Hall has been the home of the Hyde Parkers, a distinguished naval family who fought hard and died for their country. Naval art decorate the walls and spoils of battles fill the house. In 1942 fire struck Melford but recovery was quick and a repaired Melford was transferred to the National Trust in 1960.



In the guide book I purchased during my visit, Sir Richard Hyde Parker speaks of growing up at Melford, with memories dating back as far as 1942, watching the house burning as a child of five years. He speaks so warmly of Melford and one feels a true 'family' atmosphere within his words. I am sorry to say I did not feel this warmth at Melford on my visit, instead the house, despite it's treasures and memories, felt empty and cold. Doorways were roped off forbidding access to the very few rooms on show making it difficult to see anything among the crowds that had all piled in together as the large Tudor doors were opened at 1.30pm. Such a large house with such a wonderful history, I was disappointed to find that the Beatrix Potter room was so small but to be able to look upon many original watercolour works and notebooks in her hand more than supplemented the size of the room.



Beatrix Potter was a cousin of Ethel, Lady Hyde Parker, the Grandmother of the present Baronet. Lady Ulla Hyde Parker refers to her as 'Cousin Beattie' and remembers her drawing some of the Jeremy Fisher illustrations at Melford. Potter's work is so fine I would find it hard to believe she worked with any other size of brush than a 000, such amazing detail and character, perfection gained from a timeless study of nature.

I felt Melford needed more than it could offer, it watched as visitors filled it and still longed for a family to feed it's walls with love.

NORFOLK COAST, 1 April 2007

DAY 2

On Sunday we drove to the North beach and sketched there for a while before Joan and Diane had to prepare for their journey home.

NORFOLK COAST, 31 March 2007

I'm Back!

I had a very relaxing 5 days, 4 nights at Park Resorts holiday park and am happy to report that my friends Joan and Diane were able to join me on Saturday and Sunday, even with the short notice I gave them. We shared a great girlie weekend together and Diane's Son, Aiden, was just the company my youngest, Harry needed while waiting for his Brother's arrival on Sunday evening.

After much agonising, I finally decided to use an A5 Winsor & Newton, heavyweight, casebound sketchbook. I love this paper and have used it many times in the wire-o format, I enjoyed having the ability to spread the two pages with the casebound.

...More to follow...

OLD HUNSTANTON, Norfolk. UK

Old Hunstanton-28 March '07 - large watercolour moleskin

...By afternoon the sun was dancing over the beach at Old Hunstanton, creating small clouds of mist as it dried the sand. Diane, Joan and Myself finished up our chips and, once again, grabbed our sketchbooks.

I love Old Hunstanton beach, the sand is plentiful and so soft, the atmosphere quieter and more peaceful than the Town beach. I wrote of a BBQ my family had at Old Hunstanton beach in my blog last year entitled "Bangers on the Beach".

The beach hut in my sketch was displaying a 'For Sale' sign and all three of us spent a while discussing how fabulous it would be to own it and spend our days sketching along the Norfolk coastline...Ah dreams!

I managed another quick sketch in my new watercolour moleskin before leaving, happy in the knowledge I would return many times again throughout the summer!

Old Hunstanton-28 March '07 - large moleskin

HEACHAM BEACH, Norfolk. UK

Heacham Beach Huts - 28 March '07 - large watercolour moleskin

On Wednesday, our good friend Diane was able to join Joan and I for our weekly sketch day and, with the promise of good weather, I knew just where to take them...The seaside!

We drove towards the Norfolk coast through dense fog, mist and eventually sunshine, arriving at Heacham just before 11am.

Our first stop, Heacham beach, was spent sipping on the contents of our flasks and shivering from the chilly sea breeze while trying to sketch. The fog hung over the sea and turned the beach into a curtain of grey, so I turned to sketch a few of the many beach huts.
This was my first time using the watercolour moleskin, I used pen and watercolour pencils.

Around midday we headed off to pick up some much needed fish and chips from Hunstanton Town before moving on to Old Hunstanton to sketch some more...

RIVER NENE, March, Cambridgeshire. UK

On the 14th, I met up with my friend Joan in March. We have been meeting on a Wednesday for some time now, alternating studios and homes to catch up and generally chatter the day away. When I told Joan I would be sketching regularly on location throughout the summer, she was keen to join me and we intend to spend our Wednesdays on location together until the weather drives us back into our studios.

We met at Panini's, a cafe situated in the Town Hall building, we both have work on exhibition in the cafe as part of the Fenland Visual Arts Collective. We indulged in a long latte before heading towards the Bridge on the High Street and beginning our leisurely stroll along the side of the river Nene. The weather was glorious, we've been so lucky with the sunshine here this week.

It wasn't long before a subject caught my eye, a fisherman sat on the bank with all of his equipment around him - Perfect! I sketched him in my large moleskin sketchbook using staedtler pigment liner. I had just finished when he received a phone call on his mobile phone and began to pack his things away. "The Boss has called me home" he smiled, referring to his good lady wife.

We moved along the bank and promptly found "Little Belle" a pretty little boat sitting beside a well loved garden along West End. It's a strange feeling sketching a boat, at times I forget if I am moving or the boat is and have to flick my eyes onto solid ground to remind myself it's not me!

I sketched "Little Belle" in my large moleskin sketchbook using Staedtler pigment liner and coloured it back at home using Derwent watercolour pencils and a wash of water.

A beautiful March day along the riverbank.

PARSON DROVE, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. UK

Today I met with my good friend Joan and we set off to Parson Land, Wisbech to sketch 'The Cage'.
The Cage was built in 1829 by John Peck as an overnight lock up for local criminals and animals as well as housing a fire pump for 95 years. It has now been restored by the Parish Council and is operating as a visitors centre.

Lge moleskin, watercolour & sepia pitt pen

Oddly, the jailhouse had a clock tower added to it to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897, just like the clock tower in my previous post about Doddington Village.

Joan and I suffered the cold and battled through our sketches, turning a few degrees to our left to capture the quaint little cottage attached to the Swan Inn, which I have nicknamed 'Swan Cottage'.

Joan and I sketching in Parson Drove with Swan Cottage just behind me.

The Cage - Parson Drove, Wisbech

At around 1pm we could brave the cold no longer and drove just up the road to 'The Butchers Arms' public house to grab a hot coffee and something to eat. You can imagine how pleased we were to find a real log fire burning on our arrival. Our good friend Diane joined us and while we chatted I managed a quick sketch of the fireplace.

Lge Moleskin, coloured pencil & pigment liner

We returned to the little cottage next to the Swan Inn briefly so Joan could finish her sketch but decided to sit in the comfort of the truck this time!