thepembrokeshirecreative

A couple of days ago we took a short walk along the delightful path from Lower Town, Fishguard, along the south side of the banks of the river Gwaun. Garlic and its perfume pervaded, wood anemones, bluebells and celandines were everywhere. Ferns and bracken stretched upwards into curled tips like ammonites and there was lots of birdsong to be heard. I have found that woods and their environs don't often translate well into sketches and can come out looking jumbled and indistinct. How our bifocal vision, ears and olfactory senses deceive sometimes, making you think you can transcribe it all onto paper and capture all that you sense. Anyhow, I have done some paths and woody places in sketches recently, some which worked out and some which didn't. After this walk we took a quick look at the harbour and I went for 'safe territory' with this sketch of boats and cottages. Recently a friend asked for a copy of the TS Skirmisher sketch I did a little while back at Lower To

I've neglected this space recently, but I have still been busy 'knocking out' some sketches, so in reverse order and firstly, this one from today done on a walk from Fishguard via Plas y Fron to the St Mary's cemetry and looking back to Fishguard and Goodwick. I then carried on along the road and took the bridlepath past Trebover, and took the footpath towards Cefn y Dre - a delightful miniature gorge with lots of rocky outcrops and loose broken rock,  rampant undergrowth and overhanging trees, including one fallen one that you need to almost limbo beneath to pass. Along here I made this sketch looking up the path. By the way, I don't recommend this path much beyond now and through the summer months - it gets very overgrown, isn't well-kept, it will have big stands of nettles (I just got away with it today in shorts, but in a week's time - probably no), it is loose and rocky underfoot and the upper stretch of the path towards Cefn y Dre turns

Since the last update I have a few pictures to you. Working at home from a photo I took on my phone camera, is another oil paint 'practice' piece (depending upon how well, or otherwise it comes out!) The cows painting has had a base wash laid down, outlines sketched in and the first layer of larger areas of colour added. I keep trying to make time to return to this for the next stage, but failing due to having so many other things I'm trying to do. Then there was this sketch of washing on the line at home a few days ago, made on a day when I didn't go out with a sketch book and looking for inspiration around the house and garden. That's not so easy when everything around you is familiar and taken for granted. And this morning, while wandering up the road to collect eggs, I looked back at this view of the bungalow we used to live in from the lane nearby and did this quick sketch.

The last week or so hasn't been quite so effective, with a few sketches disliked and discarded and my intentions of getting to work on more oil painting practice, falling by the wayside due to some very full days doing all sort of other things. Some days I didn't get out so much, because of doing jobs at home, but this garden sketch shows that I'm still willing and looking for subjects around home, even if they sometimes don't come out as well as hoped. On another day we went for a walk to Lower Town and I made this quick sketch looking up to Penslade, Fishguard, which came out fairly well. I really must break out the oil paints again this week - I have a couple of scenes ready and waiting to be worked on and I need to keep up the impetus.

Yesterday's quickie sketch of the Stena Europe ferry in dock at Fishguard, was snatched while out on a walk to Lower Town, where we huddled behind the quay wall, with the wind swirling round and blowing from behind us along the Gwaun Valley. It was all I could do to dash off this drawing while trying to hang on to my sketchbook pages, as the wind tried to rip them from my grasp!

Getting some drawing in while doing my daily exercise (walking) AND getting the shopping on the way home - very sensible I thought. Somehow this piece finished up far more detailed than I imagined, but then using a fine permanent pen it would have ended up one of two ways - either like this or very free and more sketchy. It was a bit challenging including all those buildings and I wondered whether I had bitten off more than I could chew, but it worked out okay.

Well, I have had a few sessions on this piece which was intended purely as practice. It's okay - it doesn't knock my socks off, but it is what it is. It may have got somewhat over-done in the end and not turned out quite as I hoped. But heck - it's still early days and it's a step in a journey. I feel I should be producing pieces which are done and finished in less time or one session and then move quickly onto the next one. There will always be the danger of spending too long on one practice piece when I fancy it might really be going somewhere, but I must resist the temptation to elaborate. Onwards and upwards - next!