Generally when I do sketches they are that, a quick aide mémoire from which I will later do a painting. This year I did more detailed sketches that I feel are worthy of having a page to themselves.
Holiday at Nakellis Studios, Petra, Lesvos, Greece – 13th to 20th July
I set out to do a drawing every day, some of them were using pastel pencils which is why there is not one pencil drawing for every day.
On the left, looking inland from the driveway to Nakellis Studios. The hill in the background provides the drop for this picture. The scene in dominated by two olive trees and a third tree to the left. In the foreground are two pomegranate bushes with the bright orange flowers. The sun was almost directly overhead. Drawn 14-08-2016.
On the right a view of Petra church as seen from the balcony of room 8. The foreground trees are walnut and olive and in the background is an oak tree which is found in the town centre. The smaller background tree is some sort of palm. The sun is high over my left shoulder. Drawn 15-08-2016.
On the left the view from Conny’s balcony of the hills to the east of the town. The background is very brown with a few scattered trees. There is small settlement of terracotta roofed houses in the distance. The foreground is not drawn in detail except for the edge of the neighbours house which was included to give some perspective. Drawn 18-08-2016.
If you approach Nakellis from the west there is a small road parallel to but some 50 yards back from the coast road. At a bend in the road this family chapel juts out into the road. The road passes between the chapel and the tree that is drawn on the left and bears round to the right. This is shown in the picture on the right. Drawn 19-08-2016.
On a Cruise to Shetland and Norway – 1st to 8th August
Following the same theme, but with only pencil available I achieved at least on drawing a day on this trip
Difficult when you have a day at sea and there is nothing but sky and sea to look at but anyway here we are somewhere in the North Sea. Some miles off the Northumberland Coast we had a few seagulls to keep us company. The clouds were interesting, bubbly on the right, streaky near the sea and wispy on the left. I suppose you could call this a seascape! Drawn 02-09-2016.
On the right as we were waiting to leave Lerwick this scene presented itself. The sky was striated, the sea quite still but the boat did swing at anchor which presented some problems. Drawn 03-09-2016.
In the left: In Bergen for a day with wall to wall sunshine! From the Cruise Terminal looking towards the open sea there is a bridge over the fjord. Those looking for realism will not I have left out the houses that pepper the hills to the right of the picture. Such is the license we give ourselves. Drawn 04-09-2016.
On the right a view at Høllen Brygge. Brygge means bridge – something that seems to be missing! The boat houses on the right are painted red in the Norwegian style and there are two large bushes that appear behind the boat houses. The rocks are covered with bare patches but some vegetation exists in the crevices. Drawn 06-09-2016.
Another day at sea and a miserable day it was – poor visibility all round but I was presented with another ship nearby when I settled down to draw. I hope the master of this vessel will forgive me for ‘making smoke’ – his ship was not causing much atmospheric pollution on this scale. Drawn 07-09-2016.
Sitting in the lounge after arriving at Dover there was an opportunity to draw this scene of Dover Castle. The shore-side building have been excluded. The sun was coming strongly from the right which gave the cliffs a crisp, clean white colour. Drawn 08-09-2016.
Out of sequence I know but here it is. We had a day in Stavanger and when we re-boarded it was time for a picture. This scene presented itself as the least busy available. The building is the fire lookout tower. With so many wooden buildings in the town this building has a significant impact of the scenery. Just to put it all in context at the bottom of the picture are a number of buildings – or at least their roofs. Some of these buildings are 5 storeys high. Drawn 05-09-2016.
Another visit to Nakellis – the first at this time of year – 13th to 20th May
Only five pencil drawings this year. Other work included a couple of tinted charcoal pictures which would not grace this page.
Left: We went for a drive out past Anaxos and Skoutaros. Just outside Skoutaros is a small track down the this bay going by the wonderful name of Tschranta. Maybe a dozen houses, half a dozen boats and about as many people. This is a sketch across the bay. Drawn 15-05-2017.
On the right we took a trip to Molyvos. Ostensibly for some shopping but lunch at the harbour presented this view across the bay. The jetty is on the right and on the left is the harbour side with a plethora of eateries. Drawn 15-05-2017.
Left: The next day it rained so another trip out in the car. We were looking for poppy fields for some photos but did not find any until late in the day. A visit to the ouzo factory at Plomari and the journey home led us to a pit stop near Achladeri. The view across the bay. The two upright structures in the foreground are street lamps. Drawn 17-05-2017.
Right: A visit to the hot springs at Eftalou required a stop to replenish liquids. From the taverna looking back towards Molyvos inspired this view. The flag was an invention to satisfy local sensibilities. Drawn 18-05-2017.
We stopped in Petra for a crepe and a frappé. We sat looking west from the town centre. Anaxos is behind the headland. Look carefully at the picture and you will see a long finger of land pointing out over the sea, very faint and low in the water. The street lamp is NOT an invention. Drawn 19-05-2017.
We had already booked our trip to Canada when we had an invitation to the wedding of Dimitra at Nakellis. Would have been rude not to go! 30th June to 6th July
The dark quality of these images is because they were photographed in low light – I don’t think it necessarily degrades the drawing itself but I have the originals anyway.
Left: I have drawn Petra Church from the ground of Nakellis many times before but never at 11:30 pm. Drawing at night does put a very different perspective on your work, what might be light during the day can be dark and the reverse. Drawn 30-06-2018.
Right: Being in a churchy mood I have drawn the small Church of the Apostles in Petra which is hidden away in a small courtyard. I do have some photos of this church on another page. Drawn 05-07-2018.
Two views. Left: A view looking towards Avlaki from Petra Sea Front. I drew a similar picture in 2017 which can be seen above. Drawn 04-07-2018.
Right: For the first time in our 15 or 16 visits we went this year to Lafionas, a small village on the hills behind and overlooking Petra. Drawn 06-07-2018.
Left: a view of the hills behind Petra looking in the direction of Stipsi rather than Lafionas. This view is from the balcony on Room 1 at Nakellis. Drawn 03-07-2018.
Right: There is a taverna at Avlaki which looks over the bay at Petra. I took a little walk to this taverna, availed myself of some liquid refreshment, took some photos and did this drawing. Petra Church is centre stage as you might expect. Drawn 06-07-2018.-
Finally from this holiday a view towards Molyvos as seen from Petra Town Centre. You can see the jetty bottom left and before anyone goes to Petra and finds the lamp post has been moved I will say that in order to frame the picture better I turned the lamppost round. Drawn 02-07-2018.
