I thought the rain had ceased and ventured out to do a drawing of the Landgate at Portchester castle from an angle reproduced on an old etching . However, five minutes after commencing, the rain came down and added to the picture which kind of works; however, I thought fine-liners were waterproof!

Portchester Castle: through the Landgate

watercolour wash and ink; the original drawing was done on site:

 

it's quite a large site, plenty of space for dog walkers, and Mums taking small children to play group; it's also popular for school trips; suddenly out of all the space available they sat 6 feet away! Still, it afforded an opportunity for quick sketch: note small boy on right---there's always one!



By the way, eavesdropping the lesson I was surprised to learn that Anne Boleyn was a visitor there! How did the teacher come by that information?

I'm fortunate to live near a historic castle and church: as well as the north end of Portsmouth harbour: much inspirational material here!

Portsmouth Harbour

Often I use views across the harbour for sketches and drawings: open space, sky, water, light and shapes of ships and buildings;
recently I did a pencil drawing on a cloudy day as the sun was gradually breaking through:

somewhat disappointed with it (you can see why), I set off home; suddenly small yachts appeared:

quick pen sketches

later I tried paintings:

acrylic, but I'm not too sure about this, so attempted a watercolour:

 

 

still not sure, so I attempted another view using acrylic: still not sure.There's always tomorrow!

Sea mist moving in across the south coast of the Isle of Wight. I don't like working from photos, so I photographed the view, did an A6 size colour sketch from memory and then used both the sketch and the photo.

This is coloured pencil on mountboard prepared with an acylic blue wash. The highlights and mist are done with oilpastel.
After  had phoptographed the painting I realised that I have two paintings in one:

and:

Visit to Gunwharf shopping mall; happilyI was left to my own devices with sketch pad and pen!
People at the ATM, cash from the wall; interesting postures:

I saw 2 later  at the bistro:

and now for something completely different, acrylic 7.5x4.5 ins on mountboard based on a pencil sketch completed at the South Wight last Sunday:

Musings

I've no idea who accesses this blog and for what reason; is it  out of curiosity to gaze momentarily at some fairly mediocre amateur art, or to read some of the little comments which accompany the images?  So, here are some thoughts which go with the images on this blog and related to this new picture. I'm an Anglican priest, a Benedictine oblate, a retiring mental health chaplain and an artist of passionate interest and mediocre capablity. They are all connected. It's all to do with contemplation. It's also to do with seeing the "sacred" in the ordinary stuff of life, looking for depth, shade, colour, nuances, connections and meanings. Prayer, art, contemplation, creativity, communication are all connected, what some people would call "spirituality", a much over-used word and one I shall personally be glad to be rid of. Basically, to draw and paint you have to see, and to see, you have to draw and paint. Watching and gazing are crucial to being a human being of depth.
If you want to engage with these thoughts I would be pleased to hear from you:
jehair777@aol.com or james.hair@live.co.uk

meanwhile, I drew this young lady as she was gazing at the incoming tide and did a small acrylic of her.