The last days of January

3 Last sketches for Jan

My last three days of daily Garden Sketches for January. It has been a great exercise in daily sketching while I was (and still am) housebound. I will hopefully bind these together somehow as the “January Record”

They have all been 7 x10 inches approx and on different papers, using up the end pages of old sketchbooks and paper odds and ends here and there. Very thrifty.

29th Jan Tues:

Some sky! A brief early morning glimpse of blue sky with some clouds rushing by, before more rain. I am looking over the roof of the bungalow behind us and these are the tops of the wild plum. The bird feeder is underneath this tree, hence the birds. It has been great to see moving skies after days of the heavy grey static snow clouds.

30th Jan Wed:

On the window sill in the conservatory are these old scales They were my mothers from long ago and are waiting, like many other old family bits and pieces in the conservatory,  for some tender loving care and attention. I had harvested some shallots and put them there to dry in the sun… and to be honest forgotten about them. The shine in the sill is not because it is clean but because it is plastic, like most of the rest of Ugly Bungalow :). This was a very quick and rather wobbly sketch. I feel it deserved a bit more time and trouble, another day.

31st Jan Thursday:

Hiding. The tiny mouse was out again this morning. It made me laugh as I watched it hide behind the pot until the birds had gone or were distracted before rushing out to grab a seed and rushing back again.

Two garden scenes And another couple of slightly larger watercolour sketches, 11 x 7 inches,  of the January garden, without the snow this time.

Looking the other way from my work room window towards the shed. Everything is rather drab but you can find some colours. The magnolia shoots are getting bigger I am sure!

The pond at dusk from today. Empty pots, twiggy plant stalks and fallen leaves. Two black birds were still hanging around. The watertower is reflected in the pond.

I am enjoying these slightly larger colour sketches and will try to do one a week for the rest of the year. Although finding 52 different views of this small garden might be challenging.

Forward into Feb

In Feb I might be doing something a bit different for my daily garden record. Thinking ahead to the Nature Journalling Course I am running in March, I am  conscious that there are many different ways of recording and not everyone wants to paint and draw. I am not quite sure what I will do yet.

Maybe colour recording, maybe some collage, maybe pencil studies… but definitely prints! My press has arrived!..which makes up for the sad state of the Foot…more of that later.