Sketching in St. Ives, UK - Part Three - Twenty Steps

drawing ink and watercolor plein air painting sketchbook travel sketching urban sketching watercolor Feb 28, 2019

Sketching in St. Ives, UK - Part Three - Twenty Steps

Posted: February 28, 2019

The video above was filmed many years ago on a cold, winter day in Ashville, North Carolina shortly after I invented one of my drawing/painting games. Taking twenty steps and forcing myself to draw something from wherever I found myself AND to spend only ten minutes on the sketch forced me to pay attention to only the shapes and lines that excited me and to move my pen and brush quickly, look at basic value shapes or object shapes and to tune into my heart rather than my head.

It was delightful to play this game in the narrow streets of St. Ives. As I often do, I met a gentleman who was curious about why I was sketching something that didn't look that exciting to him. Intrigued by my response, he invited me in to his flat to meet his wife and daughter and to invite me for tea! His daughter works in a gallery in London.

What first caught my attention on this street was the wash hanging out and moving in the sunlight.

Part Three of a Twelve Part weekly posting of sketches created while exploring the UK in 2016, 2017 and 2018. These sketches are a sneak preview of the techniques I'll be teaching in Wales this May at Chapel Cottage Studio in Abergavenny.

Upper left: clothesline seen from the end of the street

Upper right: twenty steps closer to the clothesline from the other side of the street looking at a lovely garden.

Lower left: twenty more steps closer to the clothes hanging on the line.

Here you can see the clothing on the line as I gaze in the direction I came from. The red door is the dark door at the end of the street. My first sketch was done from the steps of the red door.