Klimt: Park of Schönbrunn

Park of Schönbrunn (1916) by Gustav Klimt

This is another landscape painting involving water by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt.  This time it's a bit of a puzzle.

The painting is of a lake in a Schönbrunn Park in Vienna, Austria.  Last November I tried to do a copy of this painting - see Schönbrunn Park - after Klimt - but I think the original is soooooo much better!

I like the fact that it's a puzzle picture.  You have to stare at it for a bit before you realise this is a painting of a large expanse of water in the middle of a very green park.  Most of the reflections are quite subtle.  The only really significant clue are the clouds in the bottom right hand corner which are only hinted at in the top right corner.  You still have to look at it again to make sure this isn't some isolated pond reflecting the sky.

I like paintings which are not obvious!

The Lake and waterfowl at Kew Gardens

Last Wednesday I was sat in the sunshine, next to the Lake in the centre of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, drawing this sketch and listening to the complete din which the birds were making combined with what sounded like tree munching.

Spring Green, Sunlight and the Sackler Crossing at Kew Gardens
11" x 16" pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Large Folio Moleskine
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

It reminded me of city folk who go to the country for some peace and quiet and can't get over how noisy it is because of all the noises from the animals and activities which go on a rural area.

The Lake has a huge amount of waterfowl and they're all very territorial.

When we arrived we had a swan letting some Canada Geese know that they were NOT allowed to get into the water just in front of where I sat.
They tried it once or twice and the swan steamed in with wings set to "ack ack" mode and saw them off.  After which they took to marching up and down on the bank with occasional forays for a bit of weed from the edge.  We were sat there so long they began to ignore us so it was fascinating to watch.

In the meantime the gardeners seemed to be getting rid of prunings although it did sound rather more like they putting an enormous tree through the shredder as the noise was so loud.

Then the mallards had periodic races across the top of the lake.  They seemed to be keen to see how long they could skip across the top of the water before they had to take off

The coots were being noisy as per usual (when are they ever not?)

Every once in a while some other Canada Geese would practice display landings by swooping in and doing a very "look at me" landing in the middle of the lake.  Boys will be boys.....

Believe it or not the sketch is not quite so luminous as the leaves were.  I had the combination of brand spanking new leaves with that incredible green - lit from behind by the sun - at the same time as the sky changed so it became violet blue as it thought about having a thunderstorm.  Thankfully that held off until we got home!

Link:  The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew

Schönbrunn Park - after Klimt

Schönbrunn Park (after Klimt)
Caran d'ache Neocolour in Derwent Black Book
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I'm studying Klimt landscapes at the moment - and also testing new art materials, specifically the new Black Book by Derwent.  This is the result.

It's an "after Klimt" drawing of Schönbrunn Park - specifically of the tall trees and one of the pools and the reflections.  He likes trees a lot but also seems to rather like water in his paintings.

I'm trying to get my head round both how he composes his images and the marks that he makes.  I think this one is rather better at the former and not too good at the latter!  I was missing some mid green colours which are needed to make this a more effective colour match.

The necolour crayons certainly work very well with the Black Book and I think they might become the preferred media for this sketchbook of smooth black paper.  Now to see if they sink in (the perennial problem with black paper) or remain on the surface!  What I have discovered is that there's absolutely no point in wetting them on this paper as they go to nothing.

Note:   This is a link to the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria - which is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site and a tour through the park

The Studio Boat #3 and Monet painting poplars on the Epte

The Studio Boat (1875) by Claude Monet

oil on canvas / private collection

Claude Monet made a number of paintings of his studio boat.  This is the second painting - with one more to come.  In 1875 Monet was painting on the River Seine near Argenteuil.

I used to spend ages trying to work out how Monet painted some of his paintings - until I went to see the Manet to Picasso exhibition at the National Gallery in 2007, got the audio guide and heard how his habit was to use a studio boat on the River Epte - which is how I got interested in paintings of his studio boat.  (Click the link to see the location of the River Epte near Monet's house at Giverny)

Below is a sketch I did (see Sketching at the National Gallery: "Manet to Picasso") plus an extract from what I noted at the time.

Copies of National Gallery paintings from Claud Monet's "Poplars on the Epte" series
oil on canvas
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I started with two of my favourite paintings from Monet's Poplars on the Epte series. This time I got the audio guide and learned that:

• there are 24 paintings in the series depicting the poplars at different times of the day and in different weath
• Monet painted them from a flat bottomed boat borrowed from his friend Caillebotte which had been specially adapted so that it could take canvases of different sizes. ( The painting from a boat habit reminded me of John Singer Sargent who used to sketch in Venice while sat in a gondola - I'm beginning to think about devising a boating expedition!)
• He had to buy the land that the poplars stood on to avoid them being cut down before he had completed the series!

The one on the left does not compare well to the original due to lack of the right colours in my tiny pencil case. The one on the right worked rather better - but I could have done with my big sketchbook!

Given the dates of the paintings I'm guessing Monet's habit of using a studio boat must have started much earlier when he first started living next to rivers.

For earlier posts about Monet and studio boats see:

• The Studio Boat #1 - Monet's bateau atelier
• The Studio Boat #2 - "Monet Painting on His Studio Boat" (painted by Manet)

For more about Monet see Claude Monet - Resources for Art Lovers

Pelicans in the wild in central London

When you think of birds you might find in the wild in central London - pelican isn't a word which comes to mind quickly!

Pelicans grooming - on the rocks in the lake in St James Park, London
8.5" x 11", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in large Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

However if you go to St James Park and sit on a seat at the Horse Guards end - right outside the Foreign Office and near to Duck Island Cottage - then you can frequently see the Pelicans of St James Park engaged in their grooming and posing activities.

I sketched them on the way back from picking up my pictures from the Society of Botanical artists exhibition last week - and on the way to the RI exhibition, as the route basically involves walking along Horseguards! It's not a very good sketch - but then it is my very first sketch of pelicans!

If you go between 2.30 and 3.00 each day, the St James Park website indicates you can see them being fed. Although getting fed somewhat compromises their 'wildlife's status.

Apparently the first Pelicans were given by the Russian Ambassador in 1684!

There are currently five Pelicans in the Park; 3 Eastern (or Great) White Pelicans and one American White Pelican, which is distinguished by different colouring and a crest on its bill. They're gregarious, social creatures and there are numerous stories of their entertaining antics. One rather mischievous Pelican used to fly over to London Zoo in Regent's Park to steal their fish for his lunch and they're often seen climbing out of the lake to sit on the benches
St James Park - Pelicans

Alleyways and Waterways of London

The Magic Hour and October at the Sackler Crossing, Kew
coloured pencils on Arches HP
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Old Ford Lock, River Lea and Ecology Park Pond #1
(both of these are views of near where I live in East London )
coloured pencils on Arches HP
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I belong to the Drawing London Group and we currently have an exhibition at the Barbican in London. The theme is Alleys and Backwaters of London so being a member of Watermarks I decided to devote myself to the backwaters aspect for my four drawings which are included in the show - which show two lakes, a pond and river!

The exhibition opens on Tuesday 2nd February 2010 and continues until the 24th February at the Barbican Library at the Barbican Centre (2nd floor), Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS (latter is a link to Google Maps).

This exhibition aims to capture the atmosphere, excitement, lights, shadows, colours and tones of London and its people with works in various media – watercolour, oils, pastel, print, ink - that are all available for sale. There is also a display of the artists’ sketchbooks. The Drawing London group meets monthly in different neighbourhoods around the capital to work inside and out, in the streets and buildings of the city, through all seasons. This is the third Drawing London exhibition since the group’s inception in 2003.

Drawing London 2010 Alleyways and Backwaters of London
2-24 February, Barbican Library

Watermarks around Mont-Saint-Michel

Last week I had two posts about Mont-Saint-Michel which can be found just off the coast of Normandy:

• Le Mont St Michel
• From sketchbook to studio

Sketch and drawing studies of Mont-Saint-Michel
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Plus I've posted my photos of the coastline around Mont-Saint-Michel on Flickr (see a slideshow).

I know I preferred Mont-Saint-Michel at a distance but I'm also in love with the watermarks in the estuary which could be seen from the place itself - as you'll be able to tell from the slideshow on Flickr.

photos of Normandy coastline around Mont-Saint-Michel
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

However I haven't yet worked out how to have a go at them - all suggestions are most welcome.

You can also expect to see my interpretations of them popping up on "Watermarks" at some point in the future.

Sketching and drawing the water garden at Giverny

I've finally got to Giverny in terms of blogging my trip round France

This is the sketch I did while sat on the seat at the end of the pool in the water garden. I never know what to call the water in the water garden. It's too small to be a lake, too big to be a pond (and besides it's artificially created!). I've decided I'm calling it 'a pool' but there must be a French word which says it better!

I'm also more and more convinced that the vegetation around still water is really important to capturing 'the essence' of the place.

The Water Garden, Giverny
11.5" x 17", coloured pencil in sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The sketch was done using coloured pencils across a double page spread of my Daler Rowney sketchbook - while hordes of chattering tourists led by tour guides making inane comments came past about six inches in front of me! It's not conducive to good sketching. I think I've got to investigate the arrangements for visiting the garden when it's not open to the public.

Back home, armed with my photos and video, I know that the colours should be deeper than the sketch and not as deep as in the photos!

This is the drawing I'm working on at the moment. The left hand side is more finished than the right.

(Work in Progress) The Water Garden at Giverny
9" x 12", coloured pencils on Arches HP
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

You can read my blog posts here:

• Making A Mark - The garden behind the paintings - Giverny
• Travels with a Sketchbook - The Water Garden at Giverny

See my photos of the water garden here - Monet's water garden, Giverny

Plus this site provides information about visiting Giverny - Giverny - a great garden

....and one day soon You Tube might allow me to upload my 3 seconds short of 10 minute video of a complete circuit of the pool - with an emphasis on the reflections in the water!

[UPDATE: ....and here it is A walk around Giverny - #1 The Water Garden]

Victoria Park Lake people #4

Victoria Park Lake People #4
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I sometimes sketch the people on the terrace by the cafe next to the West Lake in Victoria Park when I stop there for my cup of tea on my morning walk. My aim is to develop a series of sketches in different seasons although I think I need to aim to do rather more sketches first. I get distracted by the trees and the birds............

The people who gather on this spot are interesting. They often seem to be under the misapprehension that if they you sit outside near a fountain you can't be overheard! While sketching I find I hear snatches of conversations into the sketches without even trying - I often think I ought to try and incorporate some of the words into a sketch.

Rocks in Rockport

Continuing with the rocks theme - this is my drawing of a view which apparently is very popular with the people who draw and paint when they visit Rockport Massachusetts. So much so that I decided to call this drawing Motif #2 - given that Motif #1 was already taken! ;)

Rockport Motif #2
9" x 12", coloured pencil on Saunders Waterford HP
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I've managed to find exactly where I sat on Google's Street view and you can see what I saw below. Except they took the film on a cloudy day while I had a lovely blue sky and balmy weather in the mid September 2006.


View Larger Map

That path you can see below is where I sat - as you can see on the right as recounted in my this sketchbook blog post about my trip to Rockport - Sunday 17th September: Rocky Neck and Rockport, Massachusetts.

I found the trick with the rocks was to look for colour and striations in order to provide interest and form. That and work fast when it's late afternoon because the shadows change fast!

Bring on the Birdies

Coot Nest in Victoria Park
pencil and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This year, I've started drawing water birds for the very first time. It sort of goes with the territory. First you have the water - and then the water birds turn up. Water and birds are almost becoming indivisible to me since everywhere I go I see birds when I see water.

Spring was fun with all the tiny birdies coming out to play for the first time. This was after a few weeks of very loud high pitched squawking if anything came near a hidden nest. It took me a while to catch on that was what was going on.

Coots are the sculptors of the waterbird world.

Coots have elaborate 'on the water' nests which are continuously built and repaired it seems while the babes are young. I sketched the family of coots you can see above in Victoria Park. Mum and Dad busied themselves with housework and looking after the nest - which was of course has to be extended extension as their kids grew up and out! It also provided a good chance to study ripples - which are not easy to draw as they change continuously!

Herons on the other hand are complete posers! They also practice nonchalence and studied indifference as a sideline.

Bert takes personal grooming very seriously
pencil in sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Bert - my heron at the Ecology Park Pond - never hides when posing prominently is an option.

On the other hand he never likes his fans to get too close and is much happier if we keep our distance.

I find him completely fascinating because of the contortions he goes through in terms of changing what his body looks like. When he's stretched out he's absolutely enormous and yet he can curl his neck and body up and make himself look very small as well.

My sketches of him going through his normal grooming routine (this boy could groom for GB!) were done while sitting on top of the Ecology Pavilion roof looking down at him perched on the rail of Heron Bridge. Which is so named because it's his favourite perching place by far.

He has a routine which is somewhat repetitive and I found it easiest to start several sketches on the same page and then work on whichever one he was in at the time - swopping around as he did.

There's no mistake with the leg. He does all his grooming while standing on one leg. I told you he was a poser!

Vivien says I must use more watercolour!

I posted this watercolour with coloured pencil scribble on my sketchbook blog yesterday. It's so unusual that I use watercolour that it generated It's a watercolour......... as a title for the blog post!

Willow Pond 14th June 2009 5.00pm
watercolour and coloured pencil in Conté à Paris sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Vivien tells me that using CP on top of watercolour is an ace wau to sketch and that I should do more of it....and I agree. I do very much like the feel of CP on top of watercolour and the way that you can use it to obliterate mistakes with where the brush went!

However I'm going to have to find the right paper for working watercolour with CP on top as there are very few pages left in this very old sketchbook (from Cornelissens and started in 1991 in my pre CP sketching days!)

Any suggestions as to the best paper for watercolour and coloured pencils?

This is yet another view of Willow Pond in the Ecology Park Pond series.

Spring at Willow Pond

Ecology Park Pond Series #11 - Spring at Willow Pond - 8th April 2009

8.5" x 11.5", coloured pencils on Arches HP
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The first time I went back to the ponds on 8th April, Spring had well and truly got started and there was a huge difference compared to my visit before my leg problem.

I wanted to capture the light behind the willows while they were still in that lime green unfurling leaves stage. However they look a bit stilted to me even though I know pollarded trees have a very definite shape.

I'm happier with the surface of the pond where I think the light and the surface changes are coming across quite well. I have to confess I could get into just drawing the colour and forms of the pond surface very easily. I so get what Monet was up to now and why he ended up doing 250+ paintings of the water in his pond!

You can see photos of what April looks like at the Ecology Park Ponds here - Ecology Park Pond April 2009

The Ecology Park Pond in January

The first month of my new project to draw the Ecology Park Pond through the year has ended. I've produced a lot of new drawings this month so that has to be a good thing. Here's a montage. Strictly speaking it's including images from references taken at the back end of December but to all intents and purposes these are 'January output' so I feel good about that.

The Ecology Park Pond series - December 2008 and January 2009
top row:
(left) #1 Lily Pad Pond from Canal View Bridge - looking towards Tow Path Platform;
(right) #2 The Willows behind Dog Walker Bridge from the southern edge of Lily Pad pond
Middle row:
(Left) #3Canal View Bridge and Moor Hen Pond 2nd January 2009
(Right) #4 26th The Willows across Moor Hen Pond 26th December 2006
bottom row:
(left) #5 - Willow Pond, 21st January 2009;
(right) #6 - Moor Hen Pond from the roof of the Ecology Centre 29th January 2009

The amazing thing is I'm just not getting at all bored by it. In fact I keep finding more and more views to do and am getting more and more out of it.

Last week I discovered the views of the Ponds from the roof of the Ecology Pavilion - it has a path on top! For some reason I've never been up there before - probably because I always approach the ponds from the towpath side. Looking down from the top was rather exciting - and resulted in #6 which you can see above. I was mentally working out how nice it must be to be up there one day in summer!

Benefits of the project after one month: I decided to make a list and keep this under review at the end of each month.

• Improvement in observation: I'm looking much more carefully at the subject matter - observation at different times of day, different light and different weather (I'm looking out shoes which will be safe enough for me to walk up there today to see it in snow!)
• Improved water awareness I'm getting much better at seeing and understanding how water works when it is in a relatively still setting - plus I learned an awful lot about ice earlier last month!
  
• Developing photography skills - besides taking reference photos of the pond which help me think through compositions, I've also really enjoyed starting the set of photographs which are all about Textures of the vegetation around the pond - artwork in their own right!
  
• Preparation and thinking for linocuts: I'm beginning to see how some of the references I've got of the vegetation and the surface of the water will work well in linocuts which I'm going to try very soon.
• Colour awareness : I'm developing a real appreciation of the colours of January and winter - something which I just haven't had before
• Twitcher tendencies: I'm getting very fond of the birds - which was something I wasn't expecting at all. I'm beginning to notice their habits and what they like to do. I can see a sequence of drawings on the implosion to the surface caused by coots diving for weed! I was also very puzzled by the raucous noise one male mallard was making up the far end of Willow Pond on my last visit - until I was stood the other side of the pond and realised I must have been standing right next to where he and his beloved are making a nest for their babies. There was lots of scooting in and out of where I'd been photographing vegetation! The mute swans who normally live on the canal are fun as well and very sociable and come to visit while I'm there.
• Increased output: Besides the six coloured pencil drawings (all 36cm x 26cm) you can see up above, I've also got two more drawings on the go at present which will be added into the January month on my website! Plus I can see more I'd like to do.
  

In future I'll be doing a summary shortly after the end of each month of all the work done in that month - irrespective of which month it actually belongs to in the time series - and then sort out the artwork into the different months in the website galleries - see Ecology Park Pond Series - Drawings by Katherine Tyrrell

I now need to go away and place a large order for more Arches HP blocks!

The Ecology Park Pond Series - an introduction

Today I've got a formal introduction to my series relating to the Ecology Park Ponds near where I live

• On Making A Mark - you'll find an explanation about the layout of the ponds and some photos in The Ecology Park Ponds - an introduction
• on Travels with a Sketchbook I have a sketch which preceded a drawing which I hoped to post today (but the light is too bad for photography) - see An introduction to the Ecology Park Pond series
• On Flickr - The Ecology Park Ponds are a set of photos of the Pond taken from different angles and at different times of the day.

In summary:

• I've created a map of the ponds and named all the different ponds and bridges so I can better describe where I'm located and what the view is of

An annotated map of the Ecology Park Ponds
(click for a larger version)

• I'm going to keep a photo diary of the ponds - in part because I enjoy photography and in part because I find that looking at the ponds through a camera helps me a lot in sorting out what are good 'views' or 'crops' for my sketches and drawings. You can see the set relating to The Ecology Park Pond on Flickr
  
• I'll be developing a sketchbook for the series. I think I'm going to be getting a special sketchbook dedicated to the series. Sketches will be in pencil, coloured pencil and/or pen and ink.
  
• I'll be making a series of drawings of the ponds in different months and seasons. These will be worked up from both sketches and my reference photos. Initially in coloured pencil, I'm hoping to move onto pastel as the weather gets better and I can work for longer outside. I may also have a go with watercolour and who knows I may even try acrylic or oils!
  
• A monthly perspective: I aim to do one particular view each month during the course of the project. I started off thinking it would be one view - but I may change my mind about that

Extract from the the Map of the Canals and Rivers of the East End and Docklands

annotated to show where the Ecology Park is

In addition, I'm also thinking of adding in odd sketches and drawings of other water and waterways in the area - which you can see on the map below (from the Waterscape.com guide to rivers and canals in East London).

• the pond in Victoria Park
• the lake in Victoria Park
• Hertford Union Canal
• Regents Canal.

Links:

• Watermarks: Reflections on a Pond
• Travels with a Sketchbook: The Ecology Park Pond in December
• and 28th December 2008 (15:30) - Frozen Pond
• Making A Mark - Working in a series - drawing and painting ponds
• Making A Mark - The Ecology Park Ponds - an introduction
• Flickr - The Ecology Park Ponds.

Four fish out of water

The Lynn Painter-Stainers Fish
14" x 18", coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Following on from Jeanette's post yesterday about her fish, I thought I'd post a drawing I did recently while sat in the middle of the exhibition for the Lynn Painter Stainer's Prize! (see Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2008 and Exhibition)

It's very odd drawing a still life (involving what I think were herring) sitting in the magnificent Livery Hall hall of Painters' Hall - the home of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers in the City of London - but that's what I did.

I should explain - that I was trying one of the workshops run during the exhibition. It's really nice sometimes to turn up for a still life set up by somebody else and all you have to do is decide what angle you're going to draw it from!

I took one of the large pieces of paper on offer and used my own coloured pencils. I used my camera to work out the four lines for cropping the image and drew out a pencil 'frame' on the paper in which to work. I then adopted my normal approach to sketching plein air which is to scribble using an open hatching method. It's also a good approach when working on paper this big and in a limited timeframe (this took about an hour or so).

Drawing on paper you're not used to is always interesting with coloured pencils as I never quite know how it's going to react. With some papers the coloured pencils just sink in and on others it's really difficult to get good darks. This one was slightly veering towards the latter and it took some time to get darks associated with the scales and shadows of the plate down.

I wouldn't have chosen fish to draw as a still life but I really enjoyed this and I'll certainly do some more in the future.

Reflections on a Pond

I'm having a "ponder" (ouch!) about what's going in my plan for 2009 at the moment. I'm supposed to know and have a blog post written by 1st January!

Anyway, I've been thinking about maybe drawing the same watery thing throughout the year - as per Kevin McPherson's Reflections on a Pond project.

McPherson's project has been highlighted by some painters as a precursor of some of the painting a day projects - although interestingly he didn't actually paint every day.

My understanding is that he produced a painting of the alpine pond, which he could see from his home in the mountains east of Taos, New Mexico - for every day of a year - in different seasons, weather, light and times of the day. However it apparently took him five years to complete the project and he produced 368 paintings in total!

His aim was to capture the different effects of light as the seasons changed. Given the project was about change he held certain things constant - the subject was the same, he painted on small 6x8" panels and he used a limited palette. I gather he also made brief journal entries about each painting.

Subsequently, his paintings have been reproduced in a book about the project and some of the paintings now go on tour on a regular basis. It's now also got its very own Facebook Group! On Facebook, you can see photographs of some of the paintings in a recent exhibition in Pasadena - and see how the paintings look together. They seem to be arranged by seasons.

I don't think I'm anticipating such a big project - however I can see the value in drawing the same thing over and over again while varying seasons, weather and time of day.

The Ecology Park Pond - 26th December 2008
8.5" x 11.5" pencil and coloured pencils in sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

My pond would either be the little pond in the Ecology Park (next to the Regents Canal) - which I sketched yesterday (see above) - or the lake in Victoria Park which I definitely have not drawn enough. Either way both are a jolly good excuse to take a walk and get some exercise as well and it could be that I could get both done on the same walk.

Above is the effort following our Boxing Day Constitutional yesterday - note the record of the date! The pond reflected the intense blue of the winter sky overhead which contrasted brilliantly with the low afternoon golden sunlight on the pollarded willows and the acid yellow of the dry grass beyond. It was however too cold to draw for long and the coloured pencil got added when I got home!

I like the idea of keeping to the same size and format and I think I want to make up a portfolio of loose paper for the project. I think it might be interesting to vary the media used a little. I know it's going to be easiest to use my coloured pencils so I think I'll see how that notion progresses over time.

Any comments or suggestions?

Anybody thinking about doing something similar? (We've already got Tina doing her Wave Mechanics - Thames 365 blog!)

Studying lines and squiggles

Kew Watermarks #1 - a study
coloured pencils on Arches HP
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I've always liked the sort of squiggly lines you get with reflections of straight lines in water which has air movement across its surface.

I started the above drawing about two years ago after a visit to the Kew Gardens. I found some water which was obviously designed to pick up reflections from the glass house - which it did beautifully - and I was transfixed. It became almost meditative to watch how they changed with very slight changes in the airflow across the otherwise still water.

I tried to do a picture afterwards but couldn't get anywhere with it.

After nine days of watching eight other people talk about water and show me water I picked up my pencils yesterday and finished it. I'm calling it a study as I want do more and to try and improve it!

Maybe in pastels?

Introducing Katherine Tyrrell

I've never talked about my interest in water before joining this group and starting this project. What happened while writing this post was I discovered what I do when drawing water. The back of the brain had known it all along - but now it's got the front of the brain engaged and able to explain it!

When I draw water I want to produce a sketch or a drawing that has a clear sense of "place".

A very long time ago I did a degree in geography (and also studied geology!) which used to involve me in doing a lot of thinking about very different places and then analysing them from a lot of different perspectives. It's not easy to leave all that behind! What this all means is that when I make a drawing of a place as it is today, besides the conventional artistic considerations, I also like to try and understand the place, what it represents and why it looks the way it does.

In a way I'm trying to see the story of the landscape behind the surface of what I can see.

What that means for me is that I also tend to think about water as my subject in terms of:

• where it is in the world
  
• what the water has done to the land and/or how it has influenced structures on the land
  
• how the water has influenced the importance of this place in the past
  

For example, I live in London and never forget that this city is what it is today because of the River Thames! The slideshow at the top is some images of water in London - the lakes at Kew Gardens and in St James Park and various views along the Thames starting at Westminster and finishing at the Old Royal Naval College at Greenwich - which actually stands on the ground where Henry VIII had his Palace of Placentia (see Greenwich - very nearly sitting on zero).

This is me standing on the hill at the top of Greenwich Park. It contains places with huge significance to maritime history . I'm looking at the Meridian at the Royal Observatory, the place where Greenwich Mean Time starts, the Old Royal Naval College is just behind my head down on the banks of the river and the big loop in the River Thames is just above my fringe!

I'm really passionate about drawing and sketching. I sometimes draw in pen and ink but usually draw in colour using dry media - coloured pencils and soft pastels. I often sketch scenes up and down the River Thames. On my website I have a gallery of sketches of the River Thames and London Canals - from Kew in the west to Greenwich in the east plus the lakes in the Parks and Gardens - hence the slideshow!

Here's an extract from the text which accompanied this sketch in The shoreline at Bankside on my blog Travels with a Sketchbook in......

Bankside shoreline
8" x 10", pencil and coloured pencils in Moleskine
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Out of the picture and on the other river bank, next to the railway station was the site of the Norman fortress Baynard's Castle which stood in the southwest corner of the City of London, where the walls met the River Thames. It burned down in the Great Fire and the site is currently occupied by an awful lot of concrete. I used to have an office (on the same site) in a completely undistinguished concrete slab office block at Puddle Dock where I was based while working all over the UK in the nineties. Those bridges were the view out of my office window - so they're a very familiar sight for me.
The shoreline at Bankside

I also find that I often think about which artists have painted this place and this water before me! In the past, I've also tried to study and work out how certain painters I admire - Turner, Monet, Singer Sargent, Whistler and Winslow Homer - actually created their paintings involving water. A project I've had in mind for some time is to try and draw the Thames from the same places where people like Monet and Whistler stood to create their own artwork involving the Thames in London.

I also have a waterscapes gallery on my website devoted to various coloured pencil and pastel drawings of the watery aspects I've found on my travels in places as diverse as Big Sur in California, Cape Cod and Maine in New England, Greece, France, Venice, Bali, Singapore, Suffolk and Sussex!

Path to Nauset Beach
coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I really like learning about how water varies in different places and different contexts - such as why the water becomes a deep blue off Cape Cod when the waters affected by a major hurricane in Florida are moving north - as was happening the day I visited Nauset Beach on Cape Cod. I even read Thoreau's Cape Cod to find out about how he found the beaches and the sea in his day and ended up discovering all about the phenomenal erosion rates on Cape Cod and the fact they had to move the lighthouse! (See Cape Cod National Seashore). I also visited Prouts Neck in Maine to inspect the water that Winslow Homer used to paint next to his home there! (See Travels with a Sketchbook in New England)

Vivien was the person who had the bright idea for this new project - and I've had a lot of fun with both Vivien and Lindsay in working through the logistics to get it off the ground - besides the blog we've now also got a ning community - also called Watermarks!

We're now getting underway as a group of nine artists and I hope you'll come back to see what the rest of the group are about and what we're likely to get up to in future. If you'd like to keep up with us the links to how you can subscribe are near the top of the sidebar column.

Speaking personally, I'm finding that I'm walking around at the moment having little lightbulb moments as I realise more and more things that come within the watery remit of this project.........ice skating anybody?

Links:

• Sketchblog - Travels with a Sketchbook in......
• Main blog - Making A Mark
• Website - Pastels and Pencils