I’m just back from an invigorating week on “Sketch and Sail”with fellow artist Alice Angus and a group of guests, all sketching and learning. We were hosted by the marvellous crew of the Lady of Avenel, who managed the ship and provided all our meals. Our voyage was around the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides, see maps below. We had amazing fun, laughed a lot, got wet, got dry again, got blown about, and enthusiastically sketched the experience. Everyone was very productive: lots of pictures were made, sketchbooks were filled, postcards were painted and sent.
Alice and I ran workshops on brushstrokes, rapid sketching, outline drawing, sketching kit, painting sea and sky and many other exercises. We all shared thoughts and ideas on tools and techniques, and everyone learned a lot, including me. We also did an experimental workshop on sketching in the dark.
Here is a map of where we went.
Maps showing our route [map (c) Open Street Map contributors]
On this post is a selection of my work from this voyage. For more about the ship, and future plans, see the Lady of Avenel website.
I travelled North on the Caledonian Sleeper, and did some sketching on the train.
Scottish highlands, sketched in the sleeping cabin on the train.Waiting for the bus from Fort William to ObanQuick sketch in a café in ObanSketching on the journey to Oban
The guests came on board in Oban, and we set off in the evening for the week’s voyage.
Leaving Oban, 6th October 2024. There was fine rain, some of which landed on the picture.Sketch map
Here is a selection of my sketches from the voyage.
At Sanna Bay there is a large sandy beach, and a settlement of a dozen or so cottages. Here is a sketch made as we approached Sanna Bay:
I walked into that scene, through the sand-dunes, in search of a post box. Against all expectations, I found one.
Here is the post box at Sanna Bay. Collections 9am Monday to Friday, and 7am on Saturday.Here is the card I posted, which reached London in two days.
At Eigg there was a spectacular sunrise.
Sunrise over the Isle of Eigg, watercolour and collage.
With a strong wind in our sails we reached 8 knots on the journey south from Eigg to Iona.
The sails are full on the journey from Eigg to Iona.
On the island of Iona, I sketched a boat on the beach.
On the way back to Oban from Iona we landed at a vast sandy beach called Tràigh Gheal. There were showers of rain.
Here’s a photo, showing the Lady of Avenel at the anchorage at Tràigh Gheal. We reached the beach by rubber dinghy.
Lady of Avenel at Tràigh Gheal
I used a JP Purcell sketchbook. Here’s a quick flick-through:
Sketchbook flick-through
All of this was powered by a strong North Westerly wind, and Tom’s cooking. Tom continued cooking even as the North Westerly gusted Force 7, and produced a hot meal for hungry sailors every evening, soup for lunch and cooked breakfasts. He made the sour dough bread every day in the ship’s galley. I found this hugely impressive.
Tom’s cooking on the ship: cake for hungry sailing sketchers: and sourdough!
In case you are curious, here are night sketches. The lights are done using wax crayon.
Here are some snapshots from the voyage.
The art gallery on GometraApproaching Staffa, Fingal’s CaveThe abbey on IonaLady of Avenel off Sanna BayWorkshops done and crossed off the list!
I’m just back from a “Sketch and Sail” adventure on the Lady of Avenel, a square rigged brigantine. I was one of the art tutors, together with Claudia Myatt. We spent a week sailing around the Inner Hebrides with a group of other sketchers: sketching the boat, the sea and the landscapes. The drawings which follow are ones I made. Participants’ drawings, with permission and attribution, will appear on the Lady of Avenel website.
Lady of Avenel Saloon “Welcome to Sketch and Sail”Looking at islandsLandscape on MullA sketch near LismoreWorkshop participants in action on the table inside the Lady of Avenel
This was September in Scotland. There was wind and rain. Two storms passed over: “Nigel” and “Agnes”. But somehow, in between it all, we all did a lot of sketching. Our Skipper, Stefan Fritz, was skilled at finding sheltered anchorages. Claudia and I worked with him to plan the days so there was always something interesting to sketch.
There were days when we went ashore. Here are the boats at Salen on the Isle of Mull. Two hulks of fishing boats are in their final resting place on the beach. They lean on each other. Their grand forms are still majestic, and their paint has now flaked to reveal multi-coloured undercoats and timbers.
Boats at Salen. 25th September 2023, A5 postcard.
We visited Castle Duart. Some people went inside, others sat outside on the grass and had a go at sketching the castle’s complicated shape.
Castle Duart (and tourist), 28th September 2023
Those chimneys had multiple points, like crowns. One of the participants did a careful study of them. In the grounds of the castle there were porcini mushrooms. These were confidently identified by one of our number, a horticulture expert. We left the mushrooms exactly where they were. We didn’t touch them or eat them. But we did draw them. My drawing does not give the scale: they were about 3 inches across.
We sketched the land from the sea.
From Fishnish, near isle of MullNear Tobermory, Isle of MullLeaving LismoreIsle of Kerrera, East side
There were inspiring atmospheric effects. Here is a glimpse of the sun near the isle of Lismore.
On the way to Port Ramsay, Isle of Lismore. 28th September 2023
That neat round sun is made using a drop of melted candlewax from a nightlight which a member of the crew, Nessie, found for me. Nessie, a.k.a Carol Anderson, is an astonishing fiddle player. She played tunes for us on some evenings. We were all impressed by her skill. She maintained several melodies at once, all on just one fiddle. Other people played the harp and the recorder, and we sang sea shanties: half-remembered but rendered with gusto, and accompanied by assorted musical instruments and improvised percussion.
Nessie was our cook for this expedition. We also had a mate, the mate’s mate, and a ship hand, to help the skipper manage the boat. They were out there even in the pouring rain, getting us to the next safe harbour, piloting us past landmarks and between islands, and managing the engine and sails. Thanks to this crew, we had a productive and inspiring voyage: always something to see or do. The sails are beautiful, although quite hard to sketch.
Sketching on the move.
Some people took time off sketching to enjoy working the boat: hauling on ropes or taking the wheel. A brave few elected to climb the rigging. One person even did a sketch from up there.
In the intervals between other activities, and when it rained, Claudia and I ran various workshops, so that people could learn new techniques, share skills, or get started: depending on skill level.
Making black and greyLine workshop: the teapotColour mixingColour mixing
The expedition was great fun, and highly productive. Sketchbooks were filled, postcards painted and sent, maps examined and weather apps compared.
We intend to run it again in 2024 and 2025. If you’re tempted to come, you can register your interest now by contacting me, or Claudia Myatt, or the Lady of Avenel direct. You don’t need any experience of sketching or sailing!
Here’s a page-turn of my sketchbook (about a minute, silent video). The sketchbook is from JP Purcell, A5, watercolour paper 300gsm. I use Daniel Smith watercolours: you can see the colour palette at the beginning of the video. (The video plays on tablets and desktops. It does not play on email or on mobile phones. Try looking at this post via the web on this link)
The Lady of Avenel is an 102ft square rigged brigantine. She was on the East coast of Scotland, and needed to be on the West Coast. So a group of us assembled to take her through the Caledonian Canal, from the North Sea to the Atlantic. This whole journey was about 190km or 120miles. I…
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 drew this picture, as you can see from the way the pen has drifted a bit, round the chimneys.…
The Lady of Avenel is an 102ft square rigged brigantine, currently based near Oban, on the west coast of Scotland. 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…
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 from Lady of Avenel: Outer Hebrides 2017 Outer Hebrides 2016 Sketch notes from maritime Holland
Here is the Lady of Avenel in aquatint. Here is the hard ground, before the aquatint went on: To help with the aquatint, I made a small test plate. It seemed a pity to leave it blank, so I put some sea life: Lady of Avenel is an 102ft brigantine square rigger. I sailed on…
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Jane Sketching 