Assuming that there will be little in the garden to draw, I plan a small harvest to sketch indoors – there are herbs, three-cornered leeks and a few chard leaves.
But the garden has other ideas...
In the last of the day's light I spot the first snowdrop out, then fresh buds on the hydrangea.
Snowdrops are curious things to draw because their colour is never as I expect. There's a wash of green on the flower and the almost-grey green of leaf and stem has a lot of blue in it. The greens are set off by the purple-black of the soil.
The hydrangea buds alternate, some smooth green, some striped with an engineered bronze leaf vein. Their backdrop is a dark carpet of fallen leaves, green and brown merging gently with the earth. A quick sketch, this, racing the dusk.
New year newcomers – a welcome sight on the first day of 2023.
Ballpen, watercolour, fineliner on scraps of paper.
Visit my Teemill shop for sketches on t-shirts and tote bags.