Spring is round the corner!

Acer bud
© Teresa Newham

It might seem over-optimistic to start thinking about Spring in January, particularly when snow is forecast!  But the days are now a whole hour longer than they were at the start of the month, and things are starting to happen in the garden:

Sedum just starting to show
© Teresa Newham

A recent sunny morning beckoned me outside with my camera, and almost at once I found signs that Spring will soon be here, whether it was plants pushing up through the earth, or buds starting to show on the shrubs and trees!

forsythia with buds
© Teresa Newham

Last Autumn I hastily shoved a whole host of Spring bulbs haphazardly into a couple of tubs, in the hope that they'd overwinter.  And here they are, promising to bloom in the fullness of time:

Spring bulbs peeping through
© Teresa Newham

The rose bushes are also waking up, highlighted here by the wintry sun.  And that sun has a different quality about it now, compared to a few weeks ago:

rose stems showing signs of life
© Teresa Newham

This hyacinth looks as though it's almost ready to burst forth, in the way that hyacinths do.  In the middle of winter it's good to remember that Spring will always come!

imminent hyacinth
© Teresa Newham

out & about

Artists, we're told, should always carry a sketchbook and pen. So when I had to leave my car at the garage for a few hours the other day, I decided to while away the time by making practice sketches in the park.  I gathered my Zig pens, Hahnemuehle sketchbook (last used in September!) and - very important this - fingerless gloves - and drove to the town centre.  At 8.30am it was bitterly cold, but to my surprise there were plenty of dog walkers about; unfortunately they were walking so briskly to keep warm that I had trouble getting anything on to paper, and didn't manage to draw any of their dogs!

sketches of dog walkers (minus the dogs!)
© Teresa Newham

I hoped it would be warmer when I came out of Mass at quarter to ten.  It was; and drizzling. When I originally had the idea to sketch while the car was being mended, I'd imagined a cold, frosty morning with sunlight filtering through the trees, and folk enjoying a morning walk in the crisp, clear air.  Instead, there was nobody about at all:

Rothamsted Park (minus the dog walkers!)
© Teresa Newham

Gloomy, damp and deserted.  There was always the trees, of course  - but I'd sketched them many times, and besides, drizzle is not the best environment to be putting anything onto paper.  Eventually I wandered into the rose garden, which I thought might be more sheltered.  It has an interesting layout which is quite striking when the flowers are not in bloom:

the rose garden, Rothamsted Park (minus the roses . . . )
© Teresa Newham

It was sheltered enough for me to attempt a quick sketch which was fun to do but frankly a bit of a dog's dinner to look at (in lieu of any actual dogs, who appeared to have deserted the park in disgust at the weather).  I really must remember that I don't have to include everything in a sketch, or use all the colours I can see!!

sketch of the rose garden
© Teresa Newham

Thoroughly chilled by now, I retreated to a local coffee shop to warm up, and managed to secure a discreet table by the wall.  To my relief, nobody batted an eyelid when I took out my sketchbook and pens; they were far too busy chatting to notice I was drawing anything!

warming up in the coffee shop!
© Teresa Newham

A couple of days later, I took a walk to the local shops.  This time I took the sketchbook and pens with me, but left the fingerless gloves behind; which was a mistake, as in the ten minutes it took me to walk there, the sun which had tempted me out in the first place had vanished:

shopping parade, Southdown
© Teresa Newham

Despite the cold, I managed a quirky little drawing and this time remembered not to include all the colours I saw in front of me.  I was attracted by the red blinds, and looking at the sketch now I wonder if I should have left it at that and not used any brown.  Still, I can always go back to make another one!

sketch of the shopping parade
© Teresa Newham

the ones that got away . . .

As 2014 draws to a close I've been looking back through the photos I've taken this year. A few never made it to the blog for one reason or another - perhaps slightly out of focus or over-exposed, but interesting in their own right.  This picture of a blue geranium is just a random shot taken in my garden; it's one of my favourites and became a greetings card:

Blue Geranium
© Teresa Newham

 Earlier in the year I visited Sharpenhoe Clappers, near Luton, for the first time; in this next photo I've tried to capture the atmosphere there, which is very special.  Trees are so much more interesting in Winter and early Spring than in the Summer!

Sharpenhoe Clappers - March
© Teresa Newham

We found this ladybird basking in the May sunshine on the nettles by the railway line which runs near our house.  I like the contrast of red and green in this photo, which is, of course, entirely fortuitous. . . .

Ladybird on a nettle
© Teresa Newham

The cornflower was one of several species of wildflowers thriving on an uncut plot at our local allotments last Summer:

Cornflower
© Teresa Newham

My hydrangea bloomed this year for the first time since we moved here three years ago.  This shot was taken early one morning when the light was quite subtle:

Hydrangea
© Teresa Newham

The butterfly photo was taken on a trip to Hinton Ampner, near Alresford in Hampshire, in the splendid gardens surrounding the house.

Butterfly
© Teresa Newham

The same visit produced this shot of an ancient and atmospheric tree in the churchyard of the parish church of All Saints, close by:

churchyard, Hinton Ampner
© Teresa Newham

This is a late-Summer photo of the strip of sunflowers which borders the lavender fields at Cadwell Farm, home of Hitchin Lavender. They are all resolutely looking away from the camera towards the sun!

Sunflowers, Hitchin Lavender
© Teresa Newham

The last photo - also taken at Hitchin Lavender - is an evening shot where again I've tried to capture the atmosphere of the place.  In late July and early August it really is a sea of blooms, and well worth a visit.

Hitchin Lavender
© Teresa Newham

When the weather's frosty outside it's good to remember sunnier times and look forward to those ahead.  I hope you've enjoyed this little retrospective as much as I have!

Gabriel's Message

annunciation
hand-pulled linocut Christmas card
© Teresa Newham 2014

The angel Gabriel from heaven came,

his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;

'All hail,' said he, 'O lowly maiden Mary,'

most highly favoured lady: Gloria!

This year my Christmas card is based on Luke 1:26 - 38, where the Angel Gabriel appears to Mary and tells her she has been chosen to give birth to Jesus, an event known as the Annunciation. Inspiration came to me on the feast day of the Annunciation itself, which is 25th March;  and it took almost the whole nine months between then and Christmas for the cards to be cut and printed.

For know a blessed mother you shall be,

all generations praise continually,

your son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold,'

most highly favoured lady: Gloria!

In this picture, the Angel Gabriel is handing Mary a lily -  a symbol of her purity.  She is holding out her hand to receive it, indicating her willingness to do God's will.  Thanks to Mary's 'yes', Jesus our Saviour  is able to come into the world.

Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,

'To me be as it pleases God,' she said,

'my soul shall laud and magnify God's holy name,'

most highly favoured lady: Gloria!

The carol known as Gabriel's Message, or The Angel Gabriel, tells the story of the Annunciation, and is one of my favourites.  The version we know today is based on a Basque Christmas carol and was translated by Sabine Baring-Gould (a name familiar to anyone who enjoys leafing through hymn books). You can listen to it by clicking on the first verse above.

Of her, Emmanuel, the Christ, was born

in Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn,

and Christian folk throughout the world will ever say:

most highly favoured lady: Gloria!

Wishing you and your loved ones peace and joy this Christmas, and every blessing for the New Year.

self portraits at speed

It's an interesting exercise, drawing yourself.  The model is always available, and does what she's told; that's one of the reasons I tried it in the first place.  But the main aim was to have fun, and hopefully learn something along the way!   The first sketch was drawn standing in front of my bathroom mirror using Zig pens. It took about five minutes, and looked quite like me; an encouraging start . . .

 first thing in the morning!
© Teresa Newham

Not all the portraits turned out to be so accurate, but I wasn't too concerned about getting a likeness - the important thing was the practice.  The problem with staring at yourself in a mirror is exactly that - staring - and several goggle-eyed versions later I managed to produce the drawing below.  At least I'm not in my bathrobe this time:

properly dressed  . .  .
© Teresa Newham

My sole effort in pencil demonstrated another pitfall of self-portraiture: I'm looking fairly grim-faced here because I was concentrating so hard -  possibly because pencil is not my favourite medium.  It really wasn't as harrowing as you might think  . . .

my 'concentrating' face
© Teresa Newham

I had several trial runs with chalk pastel pencils before I produced anything I could share.  I took my time over this one - around half an hour.  Not quite in the spirit of producing a quick impression, but it's my favourite and arguably the closest to how I really look, although I have slimmed my face down a bit:

playing with pastels
© Teresa Newham

At this point the whole project ground to a halt because I developed pneumonia.  As a result I didn't touch a pen, pencil or brush for nearly two months, until a few days ago, when I dashed off the pen and wash below in about fifteen minutes. At this point I should reassure the squeamish that although I'm still recovering, I don't look quite this bad;  I could put the result down to my drawing being a bit rusty, or maybe I was just channeling how I felt about my recent illness . . .

speedy pen & wash - well, I have been ill . . . .!
© Teresa Newham

So I won't be putting myself forward for Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year just yet, but, as I thought, I've had lots of fun making these quick sketches, which is what it's all about.  I love playing!

painting the park

My favourite painting amongst those I've produced this year has to be Rothamsted Park.  Like much of my work, it started with a feeling and a photo, and took almost a year to bring about.  The photo was taken at ten to nine on a lovely early September morning in 2013.  In my previous life I would have been halfway to London on the train; yet here I was with sunlight streaming through the leaves and not a soul about.  I've taken many photos of the park since, but I'm most fond of this one, largely because of the way I felt when I took it.

initial photo of Rothamsted Park
© Teresa Newham

It was July this year before I got round to making anything from the photo; I started as usual with a couple of wet watercolour washes and let them dry more or less as they wanted, runbacks and all:

first washes
© Teresa Newham

I didn't want to stick too closely to the photo, so I added in some fairly random splodges of green and red to suggest where the grass and the path might be.

adding colour
© Teresa Newham

Now for the trees - to get the effect of sunlight I blocked these in using yellow and red first, and hinted at the first of the fallen leaves beneath them.

blocking in the trees
© Teresa Newham

The next step was to firm up the trunks of the trees and give them some leaves, without losing the effect of the sunlight.

trunks and leaves
© Teresa Newham

Finally I added the shadows at the base of the trees, which gave the painting the atmosphere I wanted!

Rothamsted Park - the finished watercolour
© Teresa Newham

This painting makes me smile every time I look at it; I've shown it at Herts Open Studios and the Harpenden Art Club's annual exhibition.  I hope it's had the same effect on everyone!

Another walk round the corner - August, September, October

So . . . having finished the photo diary of our walks across local fields, I find we are still taking the walks and I'm still taking photos.  Seems a shame not to share them!

the first field - August
© Teresa Newham

The August walk took us through fields of ripened wheat bordered by lush hedgerows.

the old oak - August
© Teresa Newham

Everything was waiting for harvest and the summer skies were full of fluffy white clouds:

the second field - August
© Teresa Newham

While the blackberries faded in the hedgerows, new berries were to be seen - heralding the Autumn soon to come.

first of the berries - August
© Teresa Newham

By September, everything in the first field had been cut down to stubble!

the first field - September
© Teresa Newham

The oak tree was still in full leaf at the far side of the field.

the old oak - September
© Teresa Newham

They were ploughing the second field; we could hear the tractor going back and forth as we took our walk, and the driver gave us a cheery wave!

the second field - September
© Teresa Newham

We spotted this tiny snail basking in the early Autumn sunshine - it was still quite warm:

snail on a fern - September
© Teresa Newham

October, and the first field is looking somewhat unkempt.  I wonder what the farmer will be doing with it next?

the first field - October
© Teresa Newham

The leaves on the old oak are thinning out - earlier than last year, I think.

the old oak - October
© Teresa Newham

The second field, all ploughed, with ferns and bracken collapsing at the entrance:

the second field - October
© Teresa Newham

And finally, deep in the ancient woodland at the far point of our walk, we found some fungi pushing up through the leaves:

fungi - October
© Teresa Newham

pen & wash: Asters

So, #HertsOpenStudios 2014 is finally over! The feedback I've received this year has been "you really should make more pen & wash pieces", and my final demo piece was exactly that.

no asters were harmed in the making of this drawing!
© Teresa Newham

I brought some asters in from home and tried various ways of drawing them in pencil, until I was satisfied I had the right approach - quite graphic and not too detailed.  The essence of the aster, you might say!

adding more and more colour to the drawing
© Teresa Newham

I went over the drawing in pen, then coloured in the flowers, using a thinner wash to portray the lighter areas. I did the same with the stems in sap green, then added some of the pink to the stems, referring back to the original flowers all the time (I popped the flowers back into water as soon as I could, and they made it safely back to their vase at home with no ill effects).

asters - plain background
© Teresa Newham

One visitor, peering over my shoulder just after I'd painted the flowers, reckoned I could have finished the picture right then, and although I felt that was too early, I was tempted to leave well alone once the stems were completed.  But there was still one Open Studios session to go . . .

adding colour to the background
© Teresa Newham

In the end I decided to add a background, just to see what the effect would be, and after laying down a yellow wash with lots of water sloshing everywhere, I dropped in some of the original pink and green to add more interest and tie the various elements of the painting together.  I rather like the result, and have found a mount for it already!

the finished piece, as it will be mounted
© Teresa Newham

A huge thank you  to the two hundred or so visitors who came to see our exhibition at Artscape and to meet us during our #HertsOpenStudios sessions - and to Gurmeet and his staff at Artscape in Harpenden for making it possible!