Landscape – Jane Sketching

Sketching in Crete, May 2023

There was a bit of a delay at Gatwick.

When we arrived in Crete, there were thunderstorms. As the storm clouds cleared, we saw the red streaks where soft earth had been washed into the sea.

I sketched the headlands.

Eventually the sun came out.

Up the hill is the Roman city of Ancient Aptera. Here is Aptera theatre.

It is still in use. A piano was wheeled in, tuned and prepared for use, while I sketched.

Then we feasted in the marvellous Aptera Tavern. Here is the view from the Aptera Tavern towards the other side of the street.

There were lovely sunsets

In my notebook I identified and logged the ships that passed.

Logging the ships

On the day we departed, we visited the Agias Triadas Monastery.

Chania airport is a lively place after the tranquillity of the monastery.

The drawings were done in my notebooks and sketchbook and also as postcards sent to people.

the postcards were on Fabriano Artistico 300gsm cold-press watercolour paper
my sketchbook for this voyage was from the Vintage Paper Company, A5, containing cartridge paper
the ship log is in a “Grids and Guides” notebook from Princeton Architectural Press.

All colours are Daniel Smith watercolours. I use a fountain pen with De Atramentis Permanent Black ink.

Coastguard Station and Tynemouth Priory

Here is a view of the Coastguard Station and Tynemouth Priory, seen from across King Edwards Bay, on the North-east coast of England.

They both are, in their own ways, continuations of the cliffs below. The coastguard station with its massive concrete architecture, the priory with its soaring stone columns. And as if to emphasize how transitory are our human constructions: both are now disused, at least for their original functions.

Parts of the original priory which still survive are the West side of the nave, from the 12th century. “..in January 1539 the priory fell victim to the nationwide Dissolution of the Monasteries” says the English Heritage website. The headland then became a military fortification in wars which followed, right up to the 1939-45 conflict, where guns were stationed there. Some of the gun emplacements remain. It is now a tourist attraction managed by English Heritage.

Much less information is available about the Coastguard Station. It was opened in 1980 and closed in 2001, according to a BBC article of 2001. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1567195.stm). It is a remarkably solid building in a first class location. Why has nobody converted it into a splendid home, guest house, restaurant, art gallery or place of worship?

While I was sketching, a elderly woman passed by on the path and admired the sketch. She said she was surprised more people weren’t sketching there: it was a splendid view. I agreed, and didn’t point out that it was also windy and very cold. I think such an observation would have revealed me as a soft southerner. She said she didn’t sketch, but she did other things. Tap dancing, she said.

This is as far as I got before I became too cold to continue.

I sketched the Coastguard Station in 2017:

Shetland landscapes 2022

Sketching on the beach out of the wind, I am fascinated by the regular angles in which the rock cleaves.

Beach on the West Side, 27th June 2022, 1pm

The angle of the distant cliffs echoes the slope of the nearby rocks.

Sketching in the hills, islands and hills are of the same form.

Here’s a sketch in my small sketchbook. The green overlaid pattern is a print, made in advance.

Sketching near Oban, Argyle and Bute, Scotland

The Lady of Avenel is an 102ft square rigged brigantine, currently based near Oban, on the west coast of Scotland.

Postcards and Business Card for “Lady of Avenel”

Every year the Lady of Avenel needs a refit to prepare her for her working season. This year I went up there to join the working party for the refit.

I travelled by overnight train from Euston to Crianlarach.

Journey via the Caledonian Sleeper from London to Oban. Map from the Caledonian Sleeper webpage. The overnight journey takes about 10 hours Euston-Crianlarach. Then I caught a local train Crianlarach to Oban.

I drew some sketches on the journey.

I sketch my shoes before going to sleep on the train.

The boat was at Dunstaffnage Marina. In between work sessions I drew some pictures.

On the boat was a sea dog, Shona. She had to be locked indoors while crew members were hoisting the engine out. I was not part of the engine-hoisting gang. So I kept the dog company and drew her picture.

I travelled back via Fort William. The High Street caters for climbers and walkers and has a large number of shops stocking all brands of outdoor gear. I examined some of them, then rested by the Old Fort.

Near the train station there is a park with several war memorials, and a poignant plaque from the young people of Hiroshima:

“From the youth of Hiroshima in the hope that the experience of 6th August 1945 will strengthen our search for a peaceful world. January 1st 1968. Hiroshima Junior Chamber of Commerce.”

Here are a few photos of the Lady of Avenel during the refit.

Scotland is beautiful.

Sunset after a swim. Beach called “Ganavan” near Oban.

I have sailed on the Lady of Avenel in previous years:

Outer Hebrides 2017

I took my sketching things on a swimming expedition to the Outer Hebrides with Swimtrek. We were on the wonderful Lady of Avenel 102ft square rigged brigantine. We started in Oban. It was raining when I…

Lady of Avenel at Heybridge Basin

Here is Lady of Avenel, 102ft Brigantine. This was the third of three sketches. Here are the first two. I have drawn Lady of Avenel previously: Outer Hebrides 2017 See also these pages for pictures of and…

Sketch notes from maritime Holland

This is Noordermarkt, as seen from Café Hegeraad, in the Jordaan district of Amsterdam. It was a lovely autumn day, warm with a light breeze. I had the apple cake and a coffee. I had arrived from…

Train journey to Newcastle

Before the journey, I printed patterns on the pages. Many of these drawings are done on the train.

I did drawings in a “T raveler’s Company” spiral bound notebook.

“Coastal workshop” drawings and prints

Last weekend I participated in a workshop led by the artist and printmaker Fiona Fouhy. We worked on the beach and cliffs around Botany Bay, between Margate and Broadstairs in Kent, UK

Here is a selection of the pictures I made during the workshop.

This a drawing done using a piece of white chalk from the cliffs, plus some work-in-progress pictures.

Sketchers on the shore, Kent chalk on black paper, A3

Here is a drawing of the white cliffs, done in white cliff chalk.

White cliffs near Margate, Kent Chalk on black paper, A3

We made some monoprints, using a portable printing press, perched outdoors on the cliff top at Botany Bay.

Monoprints, made outdoors on the cliff top, using a portable press.

Back in the garden, we made more monoprints, this time using colour. Here is my series called “The grass will grow over your cities”.

“the grass will grow over your cities”, monoprints and plate

A long time ago I first heard this expression in an exhibition in Berlin. “Over your cities the grass will grow”is the title of a 2010 documentary film by Sophie Fiennes about the artist Anselm Keifer. At the end of the film the artist says “Over your cities grass will grow”.

According to Daniel K Brown (http://cargocollective.com/danielkbrown/Over-Your-Cities-Grass-Will-Grow) “He is paraphrasing line 34:13 from the Book of Isaiah: “Thistles will take over, covering the castles, / fortresses conquered by weeds and thornbushes””.

My St James’ Bible has it as “And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and thistles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.” This is by way of a description of the “day of the Lord’s vengeance”.

My late father, the plant biochemist Prof. Don H Northcote, had a more positive view. He looked at paving stones and saw the plants growing in the cracks. “The plants will win in the end,” he asserted. I think he meant that as a good thing.

Sketching on the journey to Orkney

We travelled to Orkney by train via Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

I carried a long thin sketchbook and made drawings along the way.

Aberdeen airport, print made with food wrapper
Aberdeen airport, print made with food wrapper
View from “The Silver Darling” restaurant
The Torrey Battery, from “the Silver Darling”
A pilot boat went past, very fast, on the River Dee
View from the train at Leukers
The Royal Society of Edinburgh, from the Wellington Coffee Café
View from Wellington Coffee, Australians in the street

Here is my very long sketchbook, 12″ x 5″ made by Khadi Paper, and bought at Atlantis in Hackney, London.

Burrastow and the bay

Here’s a view of Burrastow House, Walls, Shetland, as you enter the drive.

There was a lively wind. Those clouds looked like that, and kept changing. The small island on the right is the Holm of Burrastow. The hills behind it are the island of Vaila. Here is work in progress.

Then I drew another view, from higher up, on a mound above the road.

Burrastow and the bay, Picture 2, July 8th 2021 [SOLD]

Here is work in progress and a view of my sketching location for picture 2: a chair perched on a hill.

Both pictures on a block of Saunders Waterford 300gsm watercolour paper, “hot pressed”, 12 inches by 9inches. The yellow edging you see on the work-in-progress is masking tape. I put it round the edges for several reasons:

It enables me to hold the picture safely without leaving thumb-marks
I can write annotation on it, specifically “eye-line” and the heights of things.
When the picture is complete, I peel it off and it leaves a nice white border, which makes the picture easier to frame.

To see the comparison between the pen-and-ink and the colour, use the slider in the image below:

Compare the “before” and “after” on Picture 1

Experiments on a journey

Here is another experiment with printed backgrounds. My first experiment was this drawing at Monument.

Monument EC3, on a hot day

Click here to see this post.

June 15, 2021November 19, 2021

I thought the background was a bit bright, so I chose more muted colours for the next attempt.

Here are the cardboard cutouts I used for making the relief prints. I used a small square sketchbook made by “PrintUrchin” and pre-printed the pages using relief printing ink, diluted with extender and water so it wasn’t too bright (learning from last time). It still came out quite bright. Those printing inks are heavily pigmented.

I printed the pages first, then took the sketchbook with me on my journey, and made sketches on top of the prints.

Here are some of the sketches. They are done on the train, hence the rather shaky lines. It’s amazing how the printing, done in advance, seems to fit the subject.

Here is the octagonal building at Pocra Quay, drawn while on a walk round Aberdeen waiting for the ferry.

Octagonal building at Pocra Quay, Aberdeen, 25th June 2021, printed background, 20th June 2021.

This octagonal building was a Navigation Control Centre, operating up until 1966. It was built in around 1797-8, according to the leaflet from the Aberdeen Heritage trail. I sketched it from the shelter of the doorway to the “Silver Herring” restaurant, on a cold, windy and rainy day.

Grain silos at North Allerton, 25th June 2021

This is a really fun technique. I shall use it again.

Shetland 2021 -scenes from a run

I came back from a run with my head full of images. I put them into pictures.

Scenes from a run, 27th June 2021, in Sketchbook P1

I enjoyed using a new colour: Lunar Blue from Daniel Smith. This is a highly granulating blue. You can see its effect here in the sky:

And here is Lunar Blue the sea:

A feature of the landscape round Littleure is the inland lakes, high up on the cliffs, as shown here on the right. On the sea, the sun shines through the clouds like a spotlight, which enchants me. In that picture you also see the granulating colour in the land: this is Green Apatite Genuine.

It was a misty day.