Some years ago I went on a painting trip to Mersea Island in Essex, and whilst there paid a visit to nearby Wivenhoe on the River Colne. The lane dropped down towards the water and stopped abruptly at the muddy bank. There, facing me across the river, was Wivenhoe's pretty waterfront. ~ Wivenhoe is a town with a strong maritime history. In AD 43, a battalion of Romans came here, complete with elephants, and established a fort at nearby Colchester. Their ships couldn't make it up river as far as the fort, so they established a port at Wivenhoe, beginning a maritime tradition that was to last through to the 20th century. ~ As you can see from the painting, on the day of my visit Wivenhoe rested under a soft, greyish light. The tide was out, the boats were all akimbo. I stood for a while, taking in the atmosphere of the place, the profile of St Mary's Church with its distinctive cupola, the muddle of quaint colour washed cottages and the masts and hulls that partly obscured them. ~ Then I set to work with sketchbook and pencil, recording, distilling, and laying in the groundwork for my chosen subject and future studio-based work. In this sketch on A4 copier paper, I was interested in tonal relationships and the light on the water. ~ When I was ready to paint I set up my easel on the river's muddy edge and began laying a loose sky wash of ultramarine and raw sienna, pulling it down over the pencilled-in waterfront, swilling a deeper tone of it into the foreground river, and laying swathes of violet greys and warm earths to capture the glistening mud. With the broad washes drying fast, I began to superimpose the muddle of buildings and boats. My only concern was whether the sky wash had yet dried enough to get the crisp edges of the rooftops. ~ A preliminary watercolour study from my sketchbook. My aim here was to record colour qualities, especially the pearly pink-grey of the mud. For this little sketch I used the same A4 copier paper as for my pencil work. It is amenable to a light watercolour wash, but being only around 60gsm it does buckle, so you have to use a light touch and not fiddle with it! ~ The morning went by and I was lost in my work - so lost that if Claudius and his elephants had marched past behind me, I would have been quite unaware of their presence. What I was also unaware of was the fact that the tide had turned and was creeping in. And in these parts it doesn't half creep in fast. I happened to glance down as I changed brushes and thought nothing of the fact that there was water lapping my hiking boots. A couple of minutes later, I noticed my feet were suddenly wet through and if I didn't move fast I'd soon be ankle deep. I packed up, collapsed the easel, and hurried back to the car, the water following hard behind. By the time I'd chucked everything aboard and jumped into the driving seat, the water was lapping the car tyres. I set off in reverse with the tide channelling eagerly up the lane in pursuit. I had a lucky escape. Coming from the Norfolk coast, of course, I should have known better than to get caught out! ~ If you're planning a painting trip to the coast, do check the tide tables beforehand, and once you're set up and working, remember time can fly while you're busy, and keep an eye open for advancing water... If you are interested in joining me for a plein air painting day this summer, on either a group or one-to-one basis, please use the Contact page to enquire. ~
23 Comments
|
Judith Key
Judith Key is a Norfolk based artist, working in watercolour and pastel. She has exhibited with the Society of Graphic Fine Artists and New English Art Club at the Mall Galleries, London. Her paintings are in collections worldwide. Categories
All
Archives
May 2018
|