The Art of England - Drawings and Prints: September 2012

Sunday, 30 September 2012

Waltham Abbey in Winter

This is Waltham Abbey Church, depicted towards dusk after a fresh fall of snow. This illustration was completed a number of years ago when I was 27 and featured locally on a set of christmas cards, part of a set of illustrations commissioned to depict Essex at Christmas.

It was drawn with an indian ink technical pen and hand coloured with markers (see the Essex pages of this website for other illustrations from Loughton, Abridge, Chigwell and Theydon Bois).

Waltham Abbey

Waltham Abbey, Essex.
Hand signed A4 Print of pen and marker sketch on Bockingford 190gsm watercolour paper £14.99
© Robert R Wisdom www.theartofengland.co.uk 2012

Friday, 28 September 2012

Westminster Abbey illustration

Westminster Abbey in London is the subject for my study. It was illustrated to celebrate the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton at the Abbey on Friday 29 April 2011.

Pen and Ink is such a favourite medium of mine. I first encountered the technique at College in the 1980s when I was the student of Reg Grey and instantly was a fan. Dipping the nib in the ink bottle and it scratching onto the watercolour paper is primal and seems to suit the ancient nature of the study. The pen strokes thicken and narrow with pressure and it really seems the way you feel towards the subject flows through the tip of the nib.

In my illustration a dramatic clearing sky has given way to sunshine on the face of the stone making it radiate from the paper. It describes how the wedding figuratively brightened up a rather gloomy economic Britain of the time.

Drawing of Westminster Abbey

Hand signed A4 Print of pen and marker sketch on Bockingford 190gsm watercolour paper £14.99
Original 12" x 9" pen, ink and watercolour on 140lb watercolour paper £195
© Robert R Wisdom www.theartofengland.co.uk 2012

St Botolphs Priory Colchester illustration

Tucked away in a back street between the castle and the town rail station in Colchester, is an historic ruin that I had seen pictures of but never managed to figure out where it was exactly. My Son had to meet in St Botolph's Church for a special service with Air Cadets and veterans and the Church was beside the ancient priory which dates back to the 1100s.

I took the opportunity to sit and illustrate St Botolph's Priory on what was a rather overcast and windy morning. I was joined by a smartly dressed man collecting litter who was interested in my sketch. He told me a little about himself. Although homeless he liked to help out by voluntarily keeping the church and Priory grounds free of litter and encouraging youngsters to stay on the straight and narrow. Nice man and an example of goodness in the face of adversity.

He is my lasting memory of the illustration - it happens so many times if you spend an hour with a sketch pad.

St Botolphs Priory

Hand signed A4 Print of pen and marker sketch on Bockingford 190gsm watercolour paper £14.99
Original 12' x 9" pen and marker sketch on 140lb water colour paper £125
© Robert R Wisdom www.theartofengland.co.uk 2012

Heybridge Basin illustration

Heybridge Basin is tucked away down a tiny road and is a fine place to have a beer and watch skippers negotiate the lock. What does impress is these final lock gates, somehow holding the whole River Chelmer and it's boats upstream.

I took out my pens and sat next to the lock keeper's cottage and drew this illustration while my family went for a short stroll along the picturesque sea wall spotting boats and their crystal clear reflections on the water. In nearby Maldon another successful Regatta was held just the day before. The Essex coast is still a very lively part of England running for an estimated 350 miles. I will pen plenty more scenes along the edge of this county.

The lock gates and a heavy chain lead the eye to the scene's focal point - The Old Ship pub, with the Jolly Sailor just in view behind.

Heybridge Basin

Hand signed A4 Print of pen and marker sketch on Bockingford 190gsm watercolour paper £14.99
Original 12' x 9" pen and marker sketch on 140lb water colour paper £125
P&P only £2.75
© Robert R Wisdom www.theartofengland.co.uk 2012

Colchester Castle illustration

Drawing the castle in Colchester whilst perched on a couple of chairs in the rose beds, my 9 year old daughter and I are visited by an old lady keen to see our sketches.

She tells us of her own art and complements us both on our drawings and shows us a tin of what she has bought for lunch. It's nice to connect with the scene - the people and the sounds. This is why I think drawing a scene is more fulfilling than photography in many ways. As I finish my artwork I can hear my son's remembrance day drill with the air cadets finishing just behind me to mark an anniversary of the end of the Battle of Britain. This is England.

Each of my illustrations reminds me of the time I spent recording it more than a photo ever could. Colchester Castle never fails to delight - the squirrels ever present and friendly are a delight to watch and feed. We shall return.

Colchester Castle

Tuesday, 25 September 2012

Creake Abbey illustration

Such a hot English day. The sun beats down from above on the ruins of this ancient abbey in North Creake and has done at least as far back as 1206. Nelson was born less than a mile to the North.

And I read with interest on the information board that a devastating fire tore trough the Abbey in c.1484, and, for once it seems, our Henry is innocent.

I settled down with sketchpad on a crumbling pillar, and captured the timelessness of the Abbey with this illustration.

The odd tourist was dwarfed by the still-present magnificence of its Norman crossing arch and its high walls (at least) still sheltered its flock with huge diagonal chunks of cooling shadow.

Creake Abbey

Original illustration of Creake Abbey, Norfolk
12' x 9" pen and marker sketch on 140lb water colour paper available from:
The Artmonger
21 North Street
Burnham Market
Norfolk
United Kingdom
PE31 8HG
+44 (0)1328 730 370
www.theartmonger.co.uk

© Robert R Wisdom www.theartofengland.co.uk 2012

Morning dew at the Windmill illustration

An early morning drive to a recommended place of charm was rewarded with this view, tucked up a short stone road in Burnham Overy Staithe, Norfolk.

As the night had sprinkled a little dew, and the day begun, I removed and sat on the carpet from the boot of my car and sketched while my legs slowly but surely feel fast asleep.

My study is of the view across the field to a beautifully restored and inhabited windmill - typical of those found across the wind-blessed Norfolk landscape.

You will notice my illustration eye-line is low from sitting on the ground but this helped the field gate lead the eye in to settle firmly on the listed 1816 windmill. It's a stone's throw from the watermill, which I need to visit soon.

Burnham Overy Staithe

Burnham Market retires for the day - an illustration

Burnham Market is a lovely little village in North Norfolk a few miles from the coast. At it's very centre lies The Green.

There had been an open air auction on The Green earlier and I returned later to sketch the heart of the village towards Front Street where we were staying just as the shops were lowering their canopies. One of the fishmongers from Gurney's Fish Shop, where we had earlier bought some delicious cray fish tails and smoked salmon, was busy packing away the last remnants of the day's catch as I sat and took in the scene and sketched.

The sun would dominate the illustartion - casting long fingers of shadow across the soon to be deserted road and ushering in a return to quiet at the end of another fair day in Norfolk.

The Green Burnham Market

Please Choose

Hand signed A4 Print of Burnham Market looking towards North Street
Pen and marker sketch on Bockingford 190gsm watercolour paper £14.99

Original illustration of Burnham Market looking towards North Street
12' x 9" pen and marker sketch on 140lb water colour paper available from:
The Artmonger
21 North Street
Burnham Market
Norfolk
United Kingdom
PE31 8HG
+44 (0)1328 730 370
www.theartmonger.co.uk

© Robert R Wisdom www.theartofengland.co.uk 2012

Nelson's Local in Burnham Thorpe illustration

Cycling through the village where Lord Nelson was born was quite a humbling experience. We chatted to a lovely old man over his wall, outside his beautiful cottage fringed with wildflowers. Later we stumbled upon their 'local' ale house, the Lord Nelson in Burnham Thorpe.

Thirsty from our cycle we plumped for a couple of shots of spiced rum named 'Nelson's Blood" and I sat across the road and sketched the lovely building on a warm but slightly overcast day and here is the resulting illustration.

We toasted Horatio well aware of the significance of his contribution to keeping our nation great. It all seemed very far from the grandeur of London's Trafalgar Square but just as moving.

Lad did good.

Nelson Burnham Thorpe

Original illustration of The Nelson, Burnham Thorpe 12' x 9" pen and marker sketch on 140lb water colour paper available from:
The Artmonger
21 North Street
Burnham Market
Norfolk
United Kingdom
PE31 8HG
+44 (0)1328 730 370
www.theartmonger.co.uk

© Robert R Wisdom www.theartofengland.co.uk 2012

Burnham Overy Harbour illustration

It was a second trip to Burnham Overy Harbour for me.

My wife and I had cycled past the harbour briefly on the way through to the dunes and the deer at Holkham Hall the day before. I knew I needed to make time and sit and take in Burnham Overy Harbour's undeniable charms.

My early morning revisit witnessed an old gentleman busy halfway up a ladder leisurely painting the black weatherboard of the cottage during my sketch. The humble harbour was calm and peaceful and patiently awaiting the onset of a Norfolk winter.

The illustration composition is magical for the artist - the cottage in the foreground, the hillock leading the eye first left, then right and traveling up the path past the boats to rest up the estuary and the big Norfolk sky.

Burnham Overy Harbour

Hand signed A4 Print of Burnham Overy Staithe Harbour
Pen and marker sketch on Bockingford 190gsm watercolour paper £14.99

Original illustration Burnham Overy Staithe Harbour
12' x 9" pen and marker sketch on 140lb water colour paper available from:
The Artmonger
21 North Street
Burnham Market
Norfolk
United Kingdom
PE31 8HG
+44 (0)1328 730 370
www.theartmonger.co.uk

© Robert R Wisdom www.theartofengland.co.uk 2012

Burnham Market - The Green illustration

I rose one morning after breakfast and found a quiet bench and sat under a mighty tree adjacent to war memorial and got my pad out to illustrate and capture the morning.

Although a sunny morning a gentle September morning chill made me wish I had donned a jumper. The sun was rising to start its journey across The Green in Burnham Market and the odd local would park in front of my vantage point visiting the shops but patience won through and I got my scene.

Burnham Market - The Green

Hand signed A4 Print of The Green, Burnham Market
Pen and marker sketch on Bockingford 190gsm watercolour paper £14.99

Original illustration of The Green, Burnham Market
12' x 9" pen and marker sketch on 140lb water colour paper available from:
The Artmonger
21 North Street
Burnham Market
Norfolk
United Kingdom
PE31 8HG
+44 (0)1328 730 370
www.theartmonger.co.uk

© Robert R Wisdom www.theartofengland.co.uk 2012

A love rekindled

This is where a renaissance starts for me. A holiday in Burnham Market in a tiny cottage in Front Street. With art coursing through my family tree and after too many years of working mainly on computers I felt the call to chronicle the beauty of England and to travel with my sketchpad and capture the atmosphere and charm of some of our greatest assets.

Fortune Cottage Burnham Market

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