About water: From sketches

The stream is an obvious constant of the tight, narrow, twisting valley that informs my current work. Despite this, until recently, the water has only featured indirectly. This has changed with changing seasons, as the stream rises and falls with downpours and dry spells, so with my sketchbook. The pages are now filling with water-related line drawings and annotation. All describing the short, relatively unremarkable sections of that small watercourse.

These sketches and notes are what I take back to the studio, working initially through small scale works on cartridge paper (two examples in this blog post)- and then on larger sheets of watercolour paper.

Sketch for water drawing. Charcoal and chalk on paper 41 x 30 cm

Sketch for water drawing. Charcoal and chalk on paper 41 x 30 cm

The resulting drawings explore the flow of water, the obstructions, the water coursing through narrow straits, juggling pebbles as it flows- the leaves, branches, soil and pebbles pulled along with the current as well as the bubbling, rocking and roaring that that accompanies it.