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Back from Blakeney on the North Norfolk coast where I did do some sketching, mostly with non permanent pen and wash, which I found was the most convenient way of recording what I saw. Just a felt tip, one brush and some water. But I have to say that mostly I looked and took lots of photos. Blakeney is a bit special...it's a conservation area, so will not change or be developed and this is reassuring. It's a quay with a tidal creek dominated by the amorphous spread of the Blakeney Hotel and then a small settlement of buildings and cottages meandering up the hill away from the quay.
The huddle of cottages and lanes ( called "lokes" ) meandering between them is characterised by the stone facings on the walls interspersed with red brick and the hollyhocks growing randomly at every corner. It is impossibly pretty and an artist's paradise with subjects to paint everywhere you look.
I had a chat with three artists who were painting quietly away and saw several others sketching unobtrusively, trying not to draw attention to themselves. One chap was starting a full blown oil painting while his companion sat patiently sheltered from the wind by a huge striped umbrella.
I intend to work on some paintings and drawings maybe in the quiet of the studio now I'm back.
Having had a serious go at painting en plein air, I am now in awe of painters such as David Curtis who produce wonderful watercolours in situ. I guess it's a way of working that you get used to over time. For the time being, thank goodness for my camera!
