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Sunday, 30 June 2019

Kerry Sketchbook




Skellig afternoon
Inktense pencil sketch by Teresa Newham

It's hard to believe that just a month ago we were on holiday in County Kerry!  I took a watercolour sketchbook with me, along with my Inktense pencils and a waterbrush, determined to make the best of whatever the weather could throw at us.


the Skelligs from Valentia Island
© Teresa Newham

The notes say that the Skelligs sketch was made "on location".  In this case, that meant "sitting in the car" - it was breezy outside, and I made the most of the opportunity to spread out my equipment in the warm, while my husband had a little doze.


Ballinskelligs beach
Inktense pencil sketch by Teresa Newham


The following day at Ballinskelligs beach, the weather was changing all the time from moody clouds to sunshine and back again.  I sat on a rock to make this sketch , and only just made it safely back to the car before the heavens opened.


McCarthy Mor Castle, Ballinskelligs
© Teresa Newham


The Inktense pencils were perfect for holiday sketching; I was able to get outlines down quickly and fill in details afterwards, adding extra touches of colour as necessary.  Even in damp weather they dried promptly on the page, and the waterbrush was a joy to use.


Rossbeigh Beach
Inktense pencil sketch by Teresa Newham

At Rossbeigh Beach the tide was in, but it didn't matter, as a howling gale meant we had no desire to get out of the car.  I didn't do justice to the stunning scenery, but it's an excellent rendition of how I was feeling after two glasses of Guinness the night before.


clouds at Rossbeigh Beach
© Teresa Newham

My final sketch was done indoors, looking out of a window at the fields beyond.  Until you looked closely there didn't seem to be much going on, but I found quite a lot to put down on paper, especially when I imagined it from a different angle.


Millie's view
Inktense pencil sketch by Teresa Newham

We came away fully refreshed, with many happy memories, a bunch of souvenirs, a few sketches and a lot of photos -  so I suspect I'll be making some more Kerry-based artworks before too long!


the foot of the mountain
© Teresa Newham




Saturday, 15 June 2019

one-day wonder



All set on the Sunday morning
© Teresa Newham

Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with the challenge that Art on the Common poses to its exhibitors. Will the weather set fair? Will the wind blow the artwork /gazebos over? Will we get soaked this year or suffer from sunstroke?


our pitch right by the road sign on the A1081
© Teresa Newham

The forecast wasn't looking good - rain on the Saturday morning while we were due to set up and high gusts of wind in the afternoon.  Then the Council decided to ban inflatables and gazebos from the Carnival for health & safety reasons. Art on the Common couldn't take the risk . . .


my display included a couple of watercolours, safely sheltered from any rain . . .
© Teresa Newham


So it became a one-day event, Sunday only, and a lovely day it turned out to be, too - the only lovely day, in fact, in a series of pretty stormy, cold and wet ones.  Hillary and I set up our display on our usual pitch next to the road sign - a useful landmark!


Hillary's prints displayed in card racks
© Teresa Newham

We had a good mix of paintings - no rain was forecast so I brought along a couple of watercolours, prints (linocut and giclée) and photographs, plus a lot of greetings cards. There was certainly plenty for our visitors to look at . . .


Never knowingly short of a greetings card - Hillary's (middle) and mine
© Teresa Newham

And we had a lot of visitors - from before we opened until the very end of the day when the weather started to deteriorate. By the time we closed, Art on the Common had managed to raise £3000 in a single day for Cancer Research, with 15% of all artists' sales going to the charity.


cheerful display at the Cancer Research stall - thank goodness the weather stayed dry!
© Teresa Newham


We had a great time chatting to people, making sales, and admiring fellow exhibitors' displays; despite the loss of the Saturday, everyone agreed that the event had been a great success.  So we put our names down for next year!


visitors enjoying the Photographic Society's display
© Teresa Newham


Huge thanks to David Whitbread and the team from Harpenden Photographic Society for organising Art on the Common so efficiently once again.