Sketchbook studies in Fife, Scotland
I’ve just
returned from a fantastic week’s holiday in Fife, Scotland. We were based near
the small fishing village of Elie along the Fife coastal path and only had to
step outside the caravan we were staying in to enjoy brisk autumnal walks along
the craggy beach and headland each day with the children and the dog. It really
helped cleared the head after a difficult first half term teaching at college.
Sketchbook studies in Fife, Scotland
Sketchbook studies in Fife, Scotland
Besides the abundant natural beauty of our
surrounds I inevitably found myself drawn (sic) to the large oil rigs moored
offshore and clearly visible from the beach. There was something about them;
their scale, their slightly other wordly quality, that I found compelling and
so I found myself making a series of sketches in my sketchbook throughout the
week in the brief snatches of time I could manage. They were done at different
times of day, and I tried to capture something of the fleeting light and
weather in my quick studies.
Sketchbook studies in Fife, Scotland
I’ve been enjoying using some coloured markers
and fineliners in my sketchbook lately, and although the colours, because of
the limits of what I had available, were not necessarily ‘true’ to the scene, I
did try and capture a truth of a different kind in the colours and marks I
quickly committed to paper.
Sketchbook studies in Fife, Scotland
I loved sitting atop the windy dunes and rocks on the beach doing them, and that experience is what will stay with me more than anything else…
