thepembrokeshirecreative

Yup, I haven't been creating as much as I should have recently - something to do with old chestnuts like being too busy with other things (true) and some lousy weather for being outdoors drawing (also true). I did a bit of oil painting a couple of days ago, but it was just practise and barely worth an airing. I have been doing a few mediocre indoors-based sketches - also not really worthy. Anyway, this morning I went out to Lower Town with good intentions and created this one, which I have scanned at hi-res on the computer, because I drew it on watercolour paper and should my possible colour wash addition go pear-shaped, I'll still have a bare-bones b/w copy of it! Ah, such confidence? In truth I don't use colour washes much at all, so I'm lacking in practise in that area too.

...I'm trying to get back to a more regular habit of creating some sort of art every day, as the last few weeks have been a bit slack, due to the aforementioned 'other things' (cycling, decorating and jobs outdoors in the fine weather). I'd also created a few sketches which I considered a bit indifferent, on the days when I did manage to do something - efforts not meeting expectation! Anyway, this one was a bit better, which I made last night at Lower Town. No apologies for similar themes - it's such a nice spot there, hard to resist and with good views around (almost) every corner. Onwards! Buzz Knapp-Fisher's converted lifeboat and Quay Road cottages.

Despite a fairly busy day (decorating mostly), I put my mind to getting out and doing some more drawing this morning. I stopped short of getting the 'colours' out, because of limited time available (lousy excuse?), but I drew these two different views at Lower Town - the first in charcoal and the second in pencil. Both were on an A3 pad, which I had a bit of a scuffle with the wind over, as it was trying to wrest the pages from me as I drew - par for the course around here...

Hands up - I have done a few sketches recently, but not too many that I was happy with, including one I started on Sunday at Lower Town of some boats in the harbour. It seemed to start promisingly and then resorted to indifference, so it's not about to get an airing here! I have been very busy working, cycling, decorating and generally doing other stuff, so the art has suffered a bit in the last couple of weeks - something I need to have a stern word with myself about and redress the balance. And get back to the oil painting - sadly lacking recently. So much for goals, but I'll get back into the groove, worry not. I have also run out of my favourite portable sized sketchbooks - A5 spiral bound, so I have been caught between A6 - a bit small for some ambitions, and A4 or A3 - sometimes a bit more than I feel I can commit to and justify when time is short. A bit of a rubbish excuse but I DO need more sketchbooks of the right size - not an easy thing to get during lockdown. Me...

...go? I mean, obviously I have been intending to draw/paint/sketch more, but some days it just proves to be easier said than done. The last couple of days have been a bit slack, so today, being pretty busy, I managed to squeeze in a quick sketch in town, while out getting my exercise (walking) to do another essential (shopping). I think I tied those together quite nicely didn't I? Now I'm running low of the oh-so-convenient A5-sized spiral-bound sketchbooks that I like and which I normally get when I'm in Haverfordwest and the shops are open, of course. Who thought I'd have to stockpile sketchbooks for the lockdown? Nope, nor me.

Well, I don't have a lot more to say here, other than: here's the sketch I did a couple of days ago, while out for a short walk on the bridle path between Scleddau (Cefn Road) and Pendre, Fishguard. It was a lovely day with bright sun, but with a haar - cool sea fog - rolling in and out of Goodwick, Lower Town and the Gwaun Valley all day long. The chilly breeze though, didn't spoil our sunny panoramic countryside views on a walk punctuated by exchanges with other walkers and friends, also seeing and hearing skylarks and stonechats, among others.

I have managed to get distracted a bit recently and fallen short of my own 'at least one a day' art exercise. A few sketches have been made, some a bit so-so, resulting in them not making it here, but I have missed a few days at it too. Mental kick for me. Plus I haven't yet returned to the cows painting to finish it. It takes some time to set up and pack it all away again, as well as cleaning-up afterwards, because I have to use the dining table - not really having the space elsewhere, that's why painting frequency can bit a bit hit-and-miss for me. Not a great excuse I know. In the meantime, here's another sketch. This one is from a long walk I took last weekend and is a scene near the railway overbridge, Jordanston Hill, near Fishguard, if you happen to know it. More soon, I hope!