Crayon | Brian Fish, Artist

Tag Archive for Crayon

A welcome return

June 10, 2023 / Grongard / Comments Off

In December 2022, when out walking with the family at Lyme Park I managed to fall over and shoulder charge the ground. Result; a full thickness tear of the supraspinatus tendon with a moderate volume of bursal and joint effusion – that’s a soft tissue rotator cuff injury in plain language. What it boiled down was that it hurt like hell and, being the right shoulder completely stopped me from painting. Ignore the fact that I managed to let 2022 go by and only posted a a few bits and pieces of art on Facebook, the plan was to do a big catch up at the end of the year…ha should know better..

So now it’s June 2023 and at long last my shoulder has improved enough for me to start painting again. If I need surgery of course (which has still to be decided), there could be a further interruption.

By way of catch up here are some of my latest offerings – in reverse chronological order.

Annual trip to the Lakes May-June 2023

Just at the bottom of the field from the cottage the old field gate made a suitable foreground. This view is across the Gretta to the Newlands Valley, with Low Rigg, High Rigg, and Wren Crag on the right (west) and Helvwlyn in the distance on the left (southeast).

Helvelyn from “The Hoggest” I – **SOLD**
Mixed Media; Watercolour, Wax Crayon, Inks and Pastel
Rough paper 16 x 12, En Plein Air

Walking out from the cottage east towards Threkeld one does not have to go far to find splendid open woodland. We were blessed with good weather and I was rather taken with this long view of light and shade – also towards Helvelyn -through the trees

Helvelyn from “The Hoggest” II,
Mixed media; Watercolour, Wax Crayon, Inks and Pastel
Rough paper, 12 x 16, En Plein Air

Having developed a taste for painting flowers (through the necessity of lockdown) I spent a happy morning studying the Rhododendron. The garden was, as they say immature, the property is newly converted. Im sure this specimen will grow much larger…I know these are not native but the flowers are spectacular.

Rhododendron
Mixed Media; Watercolour, Wax Crayon, Pen and Pastel
Rough Paper 12×16, En Plein Air

Earlier In April-May 2023

Those of you who follow the Fish walks posted on Facebook by Kate will be aware that most Saturdays we take off into the Dales. Despite the shoulder I was chomping at the bit to do some sketching and captured this scene from the banks of the Wharfe at Appletreewick. It is one of our favourite walks and one of my favourite views. I worked the sketch up as a studio piece at the beginning of May.

River Wharfe at Appletreewick
Mixed Media; Watercolour, Wax Crayon, Inks and Pastels,
Rough Paper, 16 x 12, Studio Picture from en plain air sketch

Before the Fall

It seems ages ago now. By the time I did my previous Christmas card I had exhausted my source material – you may have noticed it doesn’t show all that much. I was mightily glad it snowed in November 2021. We had a great day out mostly visiting the Hawes Dairy for Christmas fare. I managed to get a set of photographs and thought this was a suitably scene for the annual Christmas Card in 2022.

Christmas Card
Winter Sun Hylands Bridge, Hawes, Wensleydale
Watercolour 16 x 10 Studio Painting

2022 – its gone…do try and post more frequently in future!

Category: Mixed Media, Plein Air Alla Prima Watercolour, Studio Watercolour / Tags: Crayon, Landscape, Notebook Sketches, Pastel, Pen and Wash, Plein Air, Watercolour

A week on the NE Coast

November 15, 2021 / Grongard / Comments Off

For the last week of October and into November we had a week on the NE coast near Bamburgh. We have been there a few times and love the beaches. This time it was very rainy for more days than not, so much so that we mostly did short walks in between showers. My ability to collect good source material for the rainy days was very limited so we resorted to board games and I did a couple of studies in the studio when we got back.

The first is a view of Dunstanburgh Castle from Embleton Beach. We’d has a fabulous lunch at The Ship Inn at Newton by the Sea and as we rounded the corner into Embleton Bay the classic view of Dunstanburgh Castle was breathtaking. The waves weren’t huge by any means but the fresh breeze (force 5 in old money) was enough to whip away the foam. I was struck by the symmetry between the waves and the land with the Castle behind them, as though the land was a solidified version of the sea that was coming in.

The second is a view west, its from the same beach walk looking through the Dunes at sunset. The dunes make for a great backdrop to the coastline, being the east cost sunset is over the dunes not the sea and as I’m an owl not a lark I wasn’t going to get the sunrise – maybe another time. Now is the best time for us owls to get sunrises because the clocks have been put back.

Here are a couple of extracts from my my en-plein-air, alla prima notebook sketches.

Notebook – Dunstanburgh abd Farne Islands

Category: Mixed Media, Studio Watercolour / Tags: Crayon, Landscape, NE Coast, Notebook Sketches, Pastel, Watercolour

Askrigg – February 2019

February 15, 2019 / admin / Comments Off

First visit to Askrigg this year. Had reasonable weather for walking but still to early in the season for plain air painting, I must be getting soft in my old age!

Wensleydale from Scar Top

16×12, on 140lb Rough, Mixed media/Watercolour

Scar top is a limestone ridge that outcrops below Addlebrough, and runs east-west along the valley from Cubeck to Bainbridge. It make a great walk which can be done from Askrigg. This view is looking northwest, up the valley, from the ridge just above Bainbridge.

Wensleydale from Scar Top

Weather Fell and Dodd Fell

16×12 on 140lb Rough, Mixed media/watercolour

This is the view from Thornton Rust lookinNorthwest towards the fell above Hawes.

Weather Fell and Dodd Fell

Old Barn, Addlebrough – Winter Sun

16×12 on140lb Rough, Mixed media/watercolour

I painted this in September (see previous blog) and was keen to capture the same view in another season. It is on the footpath which continues up to Askrigg Pasture just northwest of the village, near Lease House.

Old Barn Addlebrough – Winter Sun

Category: Mixed Media / Tags: Acrylic Ink, Crayon, Landscape, Watercolour, Wensleydale

A Year on Otley Chevin – Calendar 2018

October 9, 2017 / admin / Comments Off

Over the last 2 years I have been visiting Otley Chevin once a month making sketches and taking photographs. I have concentrated on a small number of locations so that it is possible to see them at different times of the year. I have also been exploring mixed media using both acrylic and watercolour paint as the dominant base whilst freely adding in inks, wax crayon pastels. This calendar for 2018 is the result.

January, April and August; this view is from the ridge just to the west of the car park opposite the Royalty (known as the Great Dib) in the first two the contrast is muted, the remains of the bay willow herb are surprisingly tenacious before the new growth comes to a spectacular peak in August. In may ways April looks bleaker than January because new growth is not really apparent and in January the remnants of last years growth are stronger.

February and December; as you walk through the woods to the eastern end of the Chevin and then go up towards the ridge the most striking thing is low sunlight casting long shadows, in terms of growth both of these views are bleak but dramatic. February is mainly acrylic whilst December is mainly watercolour.

March and October; are looking east towards Menston, the contrast is less than would be expected – October gales had stripped the leaves and it was late in the month when I made my October tour.

May; Follow this path far enough to reach the White House. In May the trees are still bare but the gorse looks fantastic. The Chevin is not the place for hosts of daffodils – not something that had occurred to me until this project made me notice it.

June; Full of foliage looking across the valley with the gravel pits around Ashfield House.

July; Dappled sunlight on the path down to the quarry car park

September and November; My personal favourite view, this is from the towards Almscliff Crag, a tangle of bracken and briers below the largest outcrop of rocks on the Great Dib

Category: Mixed Media / Tags: Acrylic, Crayon, Landscape, Pastel, Watercolour

Applying the lessons

September 30, 2015 / admin / Comments Off

These are my first attempts to practice what I learned from Chris Forsey. The first is a view of the Château Grounds which is based on source material from the course. The second is from a sketch made on the North Yorkshire Moors.

A mixed media (watercolour, pastel, crayon and ink) rendering of the grounds at L’Age Baston. Done whist the atmosphere and demonstrations were still fresh and able to be brought to mind easily

This view is looking up towards the studio and main house in the background from the side of the swimming pool

A mixed media (watercolour, ink and crayon) of the main street in Lastingham on the North Yorkshire Moors. The preparatory sketching was done after a walk up to Ana Cross when the sun was going down, and with the benefit of reinforcements from Kates Cafe!

This is the view looking up main street from the seats on the green. The sun was about to go down cast shadows of the chimneys on the end walls of the houses going up the hill.

Category: Mixed Media / Tags: Crayon, Pastel, Watercolour

Style challenge at L’Age Baston

September 10, 2015 / admin / Comments Off

A week at L’Age Baston with Chris Forsey as tutor was just the thing to shake up my style. We had a challenging week looking at mixed media and different colour pallets. The approach was to have an input of theory with demonstrations, then go out and about sketching and, after lunch, do studio work to consolidate and try to put the lessons into practice.

The chateau, which was the base for the week, is itself a great source of subjects for painting. It was also refreshing to be able to have all meals alfresco for a week.

Watercolour, crayon and ink sketch of one of the iconic features at the chateau.

Watercolour, crayon and ink sketch of one of the iconic features at the château.

Another view of the cistern . Materials used watercolour, pastel, crayon and ink.

This arch is a favorite, I have painted it more than once. Watercolour and ink.

This arch is a favourite, I have painted it more than once. Watercolour and ink.

The pigonierre - a somewhat moody interpretation (can you hear the helicopter gunships coming?). Limited pallet, acrylic and ink.

The pigonierre at the chateau; a somewhat moody interpretation (can you hear the helicopter gunships coming?). Limited pallet, acrylic and ink.

The market at Piégut-Pluviers, just inside the border of the Dordogne, is one of the busiest in the area. Markets always provide interest and are an exciting subject (if somewhat challenging). I decided to do a matched pair of studies to explore the differences between front and back lighting.