the artist and the tartist: Mersea

Sunday, 4 December 2016

Reflections ~ Daily Sketch 04/12/16

Reflections - Watercolour + Wax

I sketched this from my studio window after the sun had set behind Salcott Creek & Tollesbury this evening.

Tuesday, 6 January 2015

Approaching Rain ~ Daily Sketch 06/01/2015

Approaching Rain - Watercolour

I decided to leave the boats out of this view as they seemed to interfere with the simple composition of sky/marsh/water.

Sunday, 4 January 2015

Marshes in the Fog ~ Daily Sketch 04/01/2015

Marshes in the Fog - Watercolour + Pencil

Today's effort in the freezing fog, I could see almost nothing and lasted a wimpy 10 minutes but at least made some marks on paper.

Friday, 2 January 2015

Simon 'Golly' Gamble 17/01/1967 - 02/01/2014 ~ Daily Sketch 02/01/2015

Simon 'Golly' Gamble

17/01/1967 - 02/01/2014

Pencil

It's a year ago today that this fine man passed away, a good man. Golly always made me smile and left me feeling better for having been in his company.

Thursday, 1 January 2015

01/01/2015 New Year's Day. 'View Towards the Packing Shed' ~ DailySketch

First day of the new year brings damp, windy, grey conditions to our island, however I start as I mean to go on with a watercolour sketch. From the window of my studio I can see the choppy, cold creek emptying but there is an almost complete absence of colour.

Sunday, 12 January 2014

Mersea Beach ~ Daily Sketch 12/01/2014

Ten minutes sketch with gloved hands

As you can see from my hasty, wobbly pencil offering today I went to the beach. It is the first time i've walked along the beach for some time and although the sky was beautifully clear and the sun was bright the wind was nipping at my fingers. However I resolved to make a sketch but kept it brief with a few notes, simply in pencil, my gloves stayed on for the ten minutes it took.

This particular stretch of the shore is mostly shingle and shells at the water line giving way to finer sand higher up by the beach huts. As is often the case I picked up one or two shells for further reference and to accompany the many others that grace the window sill of my studio.

The few shells that made it home

As it has been quite a while since the last one, I'm now pondering another bigger studio painting of the huts and the beach/foreshore which will be an amalgamation of various sketches, photo's and found bits.

Wednesday, 8 January 2014

Gigas Oyster ~ Daily Sketch 08/01/2014

The Gigas oyster or Crassostrea gigas to give it it's latin name is now so abundant on the beach here on Mersea Island that it is pretty much the dominant species along the shoreline. You can't walk along the beach without treading on great clumps of them in the sand and mud and it makes me wonder what will be the fate of the more precious native Ostrea edulis with it's more sought after zinky flavour.

Sunday, 5 January 2014

Houseboats at Spring Tide ~ Daily Sketch 05/01/2014

The spring tides are still pretty big at the moment, leaving debris on the roads and verges along the seafront. Today the salt marsh around the house boats was well flooded and the sky threatened rain but did not deliver until the evening. I took a walk along past the boats and up through the village with Mabel my four legged black furry friend.