I’ve been sowing seeds, some in pots, some in the ground. It’s the third anniversary of this project – a good time to wrap it up. I look for something conclusive to draw. I have in mind a whole garden sketch. But in Spring, nature is in no mood to … Read More
It’s the weekend when the clocks go forward. The first tulips are out. In the nearly-three-years of this project, sketching plants has taught me a lot about time. But today, it shows me a parallel universe. This project started in the surreal stillness of lockdown, in an unseasonably-warm Spring. I … Read More
Stripes. Borders. Feathers of tightly-folded leaf unfurling. Wonderfully alien-looking serrated scrolls presenting new stems. Colour so vivid I have to start with highlighter. Never mind the chill wind – the roses are going for it. It takes a lot of colour (and a lot of looking) to show this new growth. … Read More
The garden seems to have got the message… I’ve been sketching indoor flowers this week in a fragment of time between design tasks. Then, as I glance out on a slow Saturday morning, narcissi. The pop of colour draws me out into the garden and as I get my eye … Read More
It’s been a bruising week. But as I get my eye in to the hydrangea, I see that below the spent flower heads, dark and hunched, bright buds are popping open before my eyes. I add messy swirls of colour for some animation. The Forsythia has a flower out, leading … Read More
Frost and fog have tilted the garden’s colours to grey, just a hint of leaf here and there and a flash of flower pink. Everything looks iced – shaken over the roses, glittering on the spiders’ webs, so I draw with a muted palette and add dots of white with a … Read More
On late Autumn days of mud and gaps, the garden seems spent. But on a warmer-than-it-looks Saturday, nature coaxes me to the far end, where berries drop and ivy sprawls. There, purple-black and glossy among lime green leaves, is one jasmine berry. Eyes tuned, I look up, at the holly … Read More
I’ve started my drawing day bimbling around sketching the lilies given to me by a kind neighbour, partly because I promised myself that I would and partly as an excuse not to go outside. It’s chilly. This should be no surprise – it’s November. But in this year’s strange climate, it … Read More
Snails. They have a reputation for slowness. But after overnight rain they’re making the most of a garden going over, edibles ready for last harvests and composting. I spot a yellowing squash leaf teeming with them. It’s a bit like a one-minute pose in a life drawing class – swift marks, … Read More
Blustery showers blow leaves and windfalls into the garden so I head out in search of Autumn colour. I’m diverted by the hydrangea. Topped with dry flowers that owe more to a parched Summer than seasonal turn, it’s grateful for the rain. Pairs of buds are tucked into each pair … Read More