Pink. There’s a lot of it in the garden at the moment and it’s always more complicated than it looks. Perfect, then, for trying out some portable materials before a live sketching assignment at a wedding. I’d actually gone out into the garden to draw forage, starting with the new … Read More
Some plants make an entrance at the traditional hour. Some arrive fashionably late. And all are worth a second glance… I always plant more seeds than I need, sharing the seedlings with friends. My spare chillis have been bursting into splendour in a nearby kitchen, while mine have been a … Read More
When you’re drawing sweet peas and a load of bumble bees rock up for the hydrangeas… I had planned to report on the astonishing palette of colour in the sweet peas – one cultivated plant a palette of pinks and purples, the wild sweet peas the fashiony show-offs of the garden … Read More
Edibles… I grow crops for the kitchen in pots, amongst the flowers and in improvised planters. Drawing them shows me that they’re every bit as beautiful as the plants I grow for decoration or for their scent. Pea green turns out to be pea greens, a palette of hues from … Read More
When I spend time with plants through drawing, I notice things about their structure that I haven’t thought about before. The hollyhocks are in bud, in flower and going over all at the same time, throwing their iced cake decoration buds skywards, shaking out petals and serving up generous portions … Read More
“One day, that garden will consume you”, said a friend in response to a photo of my drawing location for the day. The lavender is already blocking my way to the end of the garden… but my reward for climbing over it is a glorious cloud of perfume. As I … Read More
A few short weeks ago, these were texture: tight little heads of green buds; sculptural grey-green leaves like a Grinling Gibbons carving; flat stems rambling over low shrubs. Now, the garden is in full Summer plumage. The hydrangea is popping out ice-cream coloured flowers. Little red double-headed poppies are out … Read More
After April’s rain in May, sudden sunshine – and everywhere, purple… There’s a lot more to the irises’ purple than a first glance suggests. Glossy buds like tightly-rolled satin are almost-black in the shade. Big, blowsy petals need layers, some blue and pink, to build up their brilliance on waste coated … Read More