On Friday, I finally got started on a picture I've been thinking about for a long, long time. One of my grandpa's old dip pens and a pot of black ink, and I settled down next to the level crossing on Poole High Street, and got drawing the bridge- well I was thinking more about the people crossing it, than the bridge itself.
It's ages since I last drew somewhere as public as this, and it was fun! One thing that surprised me was the chats I had. As the picture started to become a bit busier, more people stopped to look and natter. Good to be reminded again not to judge by appearances- some of the teenage lads looked like they wouln't have known how to smile, let alone chat about a picture. That was really good, but the thing I've forgotten, and which made me grin, was how drawing something makes people look at it. They'd glance at what I was doing and twist round to look at the bridge. It probably got looked at more in an hour than it has for a long time. I know that if I want to really know what something looks like, drawing it will show me so much- it makes you look at the thing in a new way. I'd forgotten that it's like that when you see someone drawing too. So maybe it's worth doing it, even if just for that. Had a great day yesterday doing some painting down at the beach. First battling with the wind untill it got too cold. I cycled along to Poole Harbour to warm up, and then found myself doing watercolours in the rain. Good fun, and a nice challenge. Not sure what I think about the pictures though! The one above was going to be something, but you can see where the water just ran off the paper! Poole Harbour looking towards Branksea Castle. Not quite as I wanted it, but it looks nice and stormy, as it was. Quick sketches in paint of a family or two (and a dog) having fun. That was before the rain set in, but they were still playing when I rode past later.
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