Botanical Art Workshop: Irises

I have had a brilliant weekend.  It started on Friday so really its been a brilliant long weekend.  I went along to a botanical art workshop where we would be learning how to draw or paint irises.  When I arrived most people were already there; I knew quite a number of them from other workshops and it was lovely to see them again.  After getting teas and coffees we all sat down for a lesson on the botany of the iris.  This involved pulling an iris apart to see how it goes together which helps when you are drawing them.  It was fascinating and some of us even looked at the petals under microscopes.   By this time it was time for lunch, which was wonderful; a lovely salad and a very nice quiche. 
There was a slight hiccup after lunch as the irises we were to be drawing from had been kept outside so that they wouldn't open too early but they hadn't opened at all!  The chef who had provided such a nice lunch was dispatched to buy some more flowers.

Firmly shut

On his return, I chose my iris and positioned it before taking a photograph for future reference only.  All drawing is done from the actual specimen, not photographs.

Black background makes it easier to see detail

Then came the initial sketches; this was quite difficult as irises are complicated flowers.  But due to the earlier pulling apart I knew how many of everything there should be and how it all fitted together.
The sketches took a long time to get right but its very important to get this bit right as, if the initial sketch is correct everything else sits properly.  I then chose my colours; you look at this type of iris and think purple and yellow.  But when you start to look properly there are all sorts of colours on the flower from cream to greens and dark indigos to reds. 

I completed the sketch and then did a tracing from it and transferred it to hot press paper.  Then I began using my coloured pencils.
All this sounds like we were working non stop, well we working quite hard and you have to really concentrate to get this kind of thing right.  Three of the ladies present hadn't used colour pencils before so it was a different kind of concentration for them; the work was interspersed with tea, coffee, chocolate brownies and fruit cake.  Its important to step away from your work, to walk around to stop you stiffening up and to keep hydrated, at least that's our excuse.  We also talked and laughed a lot.

Day two was beautiful and sunny and we could really appreciate the garden which was full of flowers including irises.  Lunch was a wonderful chunk of salmon in a sticky sweet sauce, gosh the food was good!
We all kept plugging away at our work, some doing colour pencil and others water-colour.  With so many different styles, we learnt a lot from each other.

On the last day we carried on - I know this might sound boring to some, but it was my idea of heaven.  To be able to sit and draw uninterrupted for three days, bliss. 

Below is a collage of my progress; there is still a long way to go but I have brought my iris home so I can carry on. 

As you can see my picture needs more colour and more depth.  Its a bit wishey-washey at the moment and the petals are not easily distinguishable for one another   I need more contrast.
A quick thank you to Gaynor who taught us very well and showed lots of patience and Robin who fed us well and kept our coffee and tea cups topped up. 

As to all those irises that didn't open, well they were in a warm room for a couple of days.......

 I hope you all had a good weekend too.

Germinaing pea plant in colour pencil and graphite

I have almost finished the first stage of my pea composition.  After much practice, (shown below) I began my picture:

Sorting out colours.

But, half way through, I decided I wasn't happy with it, so I started again and finally now, I am pleased with the result. 


I need to work a little more on the roots as there are a few hard lines that need softening and I need to sharpen my edges.  However, I don't plan to do the edges until I have completed the full composition so watch this space.

My next task is the amaryllis which seems to have taken over the fire place.

I would like to capture its flowers all furled up but I don't know if I will have the time.

I am going to a botanical art workshop on irises over the weekend and this flower may well be out by then.

As it was a nice evening the Engineer and I went for a walk; we crossed the main road and then walked down towards the creek and past the allotments, which are looking wonderfully well cared for.

These leeks are huge compared to mine which look like slightly bendy needles at the moment.

Each plot was so well kept; there didn't seem to be an unloved area anywhere.

A quick cut through some trees and out onto some parkland by the creek.

We walked along admiring the view and listening to the wind making the yacht masts clank.

The waters edge

Lots of boats

This narrow alleyway is known locally as Frenchman's alley and leads through to some very old cottages.

Just back from the slipway is a group of older houses; the front one sometimes floods if there is a very high tide. 

The slipway

We then walked back home, where I spent some time in the garden watering my veggies.  What a lovely walk, back in time for a cup of tea and crochet.

Bank Holiday

This morning was lovely and bright, the perfect day for pottering in the garden.  As it was so warm and I am hoping there will be no more frosts, I decided to plant out my courgettes and beans. 
I have been putting them outside regularly so they should be hardened off by now.

Courgettes



Runner beans

Whilst I industriously dug, watered and planted the Engineer was at the other end of the garden practicing his welding.

As it was a Bank Holiday we hauled the Teen out of bed and suggested we go out for lunch.  Two burgers and a lasagne later we came home and the Teen went back to her bedroom with a bowl of Doritos and some dip!
The Engineer went into the garden shed at my request, to get out the bamboo to make a frame for the runner beans to climb up.  I knew where the bamboo was but I also know that large spiders lurk in the darkness of the shed and while I don't mind little ones, I do not want to get up close to a big one. 

So I have now watered all I planted and said a little prayer that they would be protected from black fly and slugs. 
The Engineer carried on with his welding and I sat and finished off the colour pencil section of the germinating pea I am drawing.  This is my second attempt and at the moment all has gone well; I am doing the roots in graphite I think this will give a good effect.   If I have finished I will show you on my next post.

Washing machine noises and a lovely walk

On Thursday the washing machine was making an unusual noise, then it seemed like the drum wasn't rotating so I hurriedly switched it off.  Once the Engineer got home from work he switched the machine back on to listen to its noises and sense its mood.  The drum turned slowly to start with but as it accelerated there was a very definite series of odd bangs and a final twang.  The motor kept running but the drum slowed down to  a stop.  Four screws later and the back panel was removed to reveal that the belt that drives the drum had snapped.

Ping!

The machine is pretty old so it took the Engineer quite a while to find the right belt online but he managed to order a new one and it arrived this morning in less than 24 hours and was then fitted within half an hour.  Its very useful having an Engineer in the house.

While we went for a walk we left the washing to slosh happily and the Teen elected to stay in bed.  We drove to Hunston and walked along the canal tow path back into Chichester.  Its not long walk but it was warm, sunny and very peaceful.

View from Poyntz(!) bridge - Chichester cathedral in the distance.

 There were water lilies and flag irises along the edges of the canal. 

Water Lillies

The irises with their yellow flowers were almost glowing in the sunshine.

Flag Iris

Once we got into Chichester we walked to the Cathedral close and broke out the picnic.  Homemade crustless quiche and homemade chicken nuggets, ham roll and salad.  Very nice. 

Yum

Our main reason for going into Chichester was to go to the Society of Floral Painters Exhibition at the Ox Market Gallery.

There was a minor disagreement about the location of the gallery which is almost hidden, down a narrow alley.  After a brisk discussion and a bit of walking it was decided that the Engineer's internal compass was a bit out of whack for once and we went in the direction I suggested, to find the gallery right where its always been. 

The Exhibition was lovely; it seemed that careful thought had gone into the placement of each picture, showing all of them to their best.  There was some beautiful work, from botanical to much looser mixed media pictures and all of it worth seeing.  The exhibition is on until the 7th of June and the gallery itself is a wonderful space, full of peace and light. 

We decided that after such a healthy lunch we should stop for a cup of tea and cake.  The Swallow Bakery is where I go when I want a good cake in Chichester and it didn't disappoint. 

Devil's chocolate food cake and chocolate brownie.



Didn't last long!

After a brief detour into the Cath Kidston shop, where I stroked the bags and sighed a lot, we walked back to the car along the canal path.  Dark clouds has started to gather on the horizon and it looked like a spring shower was in the offing, but the rain stayed away.

Below is a collage of the day; the butterfly is a sculpture that is by the canal basin in Chichester.  If you look carefully you can see the Engineer going into the Ox Market gallery which is in an old church - there are certainly plenty of those in Chichester.

I hope your Saturday was just as nice as ours.

Crochet

On Friday the postman delivered a parcel that I was very excited to receive.  I ordered a selection of wool from the Attic24 yarn shop.  I am doing the granny stripe blanket that Lucy designed using double knit special wool by Stylecraft,  The colours are wonderful, so warm and rich; the wool is really soft, brilliant for a snuggly blanket.

My order arrived really quickly and well packed.  When I opened the parcel, it wasn't in a boring plastic bag but this lovely net bag: 



I have copied an idea from Lucy and put a bit of wool around a clothes peg along with a note of the colour and shade on one end.

As you can see I am getting on quite well with the blanket.

Bargains, Books and Brownies

After lunch today I went for a look around a local charity shop.  I was really pleased to come away with two nice tops.  At least one of my tops at home is starting to show signs of needing to go into the rag pile so one of these will be its replacement. 

I also visited my library and picked up 3 books.  I thought I wasn't really into 'chic lit'; then I discovered  Trisha Ashley.  I have now read all her books and they are brilliant so I decided to give Sophie Kinsella and Jenny Colgan a try.

I've also read the first Robert Galbraith book "The Cuckoos Calling" and enjoyed it, so I was really pleased to see the next in the series "The Silkworm" on the library shelf.  I know Robert Galbraith is the pen name of J K Rowling but I loved the Harry Potter books too and although there isn't a wizard in sight in her Galbraith books, the characters are interesting, believable and the writing is excellent.

The Teen has a friend coming to stay tonight so for a treat I have cooked them chocolate fudge brownies.  I don't think they will last long, especially since they are the Engineer's favourites.

We don't usually have takeaway pizza but just this once ........ 

Enjoy your weekend.

Fledglings

C & D have now returned home; it was lovely to have them visit for such a long time.  C has planted up some pots for me with trailing lobelia and geraniums, so more nice things to draw.

This morning I was in the garden bending over some flowers wondering whether to take a flower to art class to draw when I heard something whizz over my head.  Then there was a scrabbling noise to my right where the Engineer has put up a large grey tent to store some stuff from his shed.  The shed is going to a new home and being replaced with a larger shed.  The scrabbling had come from a fledgling blackbird which had flown into the tent, as in splat.  It wasn't hurt and was just staring at the tent as if to say "where did that come from?".  Mummy blackbird then arrived with a beak full of worms and a reassuring chirp.

The fledgling then seemed to carefully think about all of its next moves.  It looked at the garden chair that was next to the tent, then looked at the floor, then repeated the move before hunching its shoulders and flying onto the chair.  No splat this time.  It did this sequence every time it flew to a new perch and it let me stand there with my camera and take photos.  The sun was warm and the birds were singing it was quite a special moment.

I don't know if this little one is male or female but its all beak and feet at the moment.

On the way to the art class I dropped into a garden centre and picked up a geranium called Lotusland.  It has such amazing leaves that I couldn't resist.  It will be quite a challenge to draw - I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew, or draw.

Gulp!

Beans, peas, Dr Who, big bits of metal and a hyacynth in graphite.

On Thursday I was at work and C & D caught the train into Southampton and walked the walls.  Before they left C decided it would be good idea to begin hardening off my beans and courgettes as the weather was nice.  However, it was quite windy and when they came back my plants were very battered, bruised and the beans in particular beyond help. 

They look much healthier in the photo than they are.

On their way home they had stopped in at Aldi and bought salmon to cook for dinner.  While C cooked, the Engineer and I went and cast our votes.  Dinner was delicious; salmon in sweet chilli sauce with red peppers, mushrooms and noodles.  Yum. 
After such a nice meal we all sat and played Monopoloy, Dr Who Monopoloy which was a little confusing for C & D, but C still managed to win.

Extra TARDISs and sonic screwdriver not included.

C & D also bought me a bunch of hyacinths of the lightest violet colour so I am doing a quick sketch in graphite.  I don't think they will last long enough for a colour pencil attempt, and the unfinished sketch below isn't that brilliant as I have hard edges making it more of a line drawing really.  When I initially sketched it the flowers of the hyacinth were closed and now they are open so I am having to use a little guess work and the other flowers to do the shading from. 

I also need more tonal value in my flowers or that thick black line on the stem will stand out like a sore thumb.  My work area is smelling lovely though.

Speaking of edges, the postman delivered a pack of Prismacolour Verithin pencils today.  These are harder and thinner than my usual Faber Castells which means I can sharpen them to a very fine point to enable me to deal with "furry" edges of my bean leaf.

On Friday after a quick look at the election results we went out for lunch at Lilly's in Wickham and browsed through the shops.  When we got home C went into the garden and planted some more beans and courgettes for me.

Then she put some bamboo canes with string around them for my peas to grow up.

D and the Engineer spent time in the garage drilling holes in big bits of metal.  They were happy boys.

 

Saturday we all went out to have look around some more of the Chichester Art trail.  Although the day started with rain, it cleared up and became quite warm. There are so many talented people out there; the Teen was very taken with a life sized hedgehog that had been done in needle felt and even its spines were prickly.  We then had a look at some beautiful jewellery, some of which was hammered silver and some cast.  At this point we lost D who had asked the jeweller if he could see her workshop; this was a theme carried throughout the day - C, the Teen and I looked at and enjoyed the art.  D and the Engineer looked in workshops and asked how things were made.

We ate lunch at The Anchor Bleu in Bosham; a lovely meal with a wonderful view as the tide came in over Bosham.  


The Engineer & D enjoying the view

We decided we didn't need pudding but the Teen asked for an icecream from a van and got a rather spectacularly coloured ice lolly and yes, it did turn her tongue blue.

Blue Tongue Lolly

The Teen also made friends with a cat that seemed to live in one of the shops in Bosham. 

We saw everything from sculpture to botanical art, from fused glass to paintings in a tiny terraced house.  It was a good day out and I feel inspired to get out my needle felting tools.  But then I also want to finish my hyacinth and get on with the quilt I am part way through and carry on with cross stitch.  As I finish off this post the Engineer is doing something creative with grinding wheels and sticky tape, the Teen is in her bedroom being anti social and the sound of gentle snoring is coming from the sofa where C & D have fallen asleep reading their magazines.