Tuesday 28 August 2012

My old stomping ground










































I paid a long overdue visit to Sywell country park this morning. I haven't been for exactly a year.
It's a great place to wander and admire natures ways. A nice splash of water too... Two and a half miles around and always some thing to see and somebody to natter to. Josh made some new friends also 'Jack' Russell and Morag a really lovely black Labrador.
This spot has been a great source of inspiration for me over the years.. it's close to home but once again 'well hidden' as is so much of our county and just perhaps better for it to.

Sketches from this mornings ramble.
Graphite, gouache and decorating brushes


2 comments:

Anna Wilson-Patterson said...

I think I may have to invest in some 6bs
Being nosy...
Do you take photos for colours or work from memory?

chris prout said...

Hi A
You be as nosy as you please.

I use a limited palette, it's earthy and suits me. Maybe 6-8 colours max. I occasionally add a special.

I like to paint from my drawings as much as I can... and yes of course I take reference pics. I have a natty Lumix lx5 which takes wonderful images but I actually prefer to use my rubbish iphone 3g ... it takes a useless image, knocks out all the detail and leaves me with the kinda notional thing I'm looking for. I also use memory a great deal and of course a pocket full of 6bs is essential!

I find working from life is the essence to my work and by far the most enjoyable part. So taking a picture basically aids my memory, its reference and thats about all.