Connections are surfacing everywhere in my life this phase. Without going into a long explanation right now on that topic, (but I will soon!), let me share some images from my two weeks on the Lleyn Peninsula and on Anglesey, two very different, but equally magnificent places.
Walking along the sandy beach on Abersoch Bay, I saw several luminous blue mounds and wondered what they were. They were Velella jellyfish, washed up on shore, a phenomenon that has occurred on the various coastal regions of Wales often recently. Here I started with the Winsor & Newton tube gouache I took along and finished with crayon since the paint took so long to dry.
Tea time at the beautiful house and gardens Plas yn Rhiw on the Lleyn Peninsula was a great treat. My husband and I were able to sit on the terrace and have our tea, a rare occasion on this often blustery, rainy, chilly trip. Here I used watercolor crayon and Pentel brush pen on site, adding colored pencil green later at home.
Traveling light as I do, I had pared down my paint and crayon palettes to just a few colors, one of which was not green, so I used my blues and yellows to make this sketch of the Italianate garden on the grounds of the house we stayed in at Abersoch. I ended up being glad I had no green; I like the retro Technicolor effect I got from those limited colors.
On Anglesey, at the café of the art gallery Oriel ynys Môn, I had for lunch, what else, Welsh Rarebit. It was warm and comforting on another one of those chilly, blustery days. Again, here I used Pentel pocket brush pen, watercolor crayon, and a blue colored pencil. And you can't tell this from the sketch, but that was wonderful Welsh sparkling water in the small glass.
On the many, many walks I took on Anglesey, taking advantage of the lulls in rain and high wind, I often started by walking down a magical holloway, or sunken lane, behind our house, leading to the Anglesey coast path. Here is one of the parade of venerable trees that line that old way:
I don't have landscape sketches per se, because I was concentrating on a different way of looking at land forms and that was the underlying reason for the trip. This has to do with the Caledonian Orogeny and it has to do with connections and you've read some about that here before. Here's just a snippet of the 12' drawing I made this time of the rock outcrops I found on LLigwy Bay, rocks that are 450 million years old, give or take a few million.
The story is longer and so is the drawing and so is the time it would take to tell it. But it's an important story to me and I will be back soon!
A very tardy thank you, Sue!
Posted by: Laura | January 09, 2018 at 10:13 AM
Beautiful sketches.
Posted by: Sue Pownall | December 24, 2017 at 06:15 AM
Thank you, dear Jeffery!
Posted by: Laura | November 19, 2017 at 04:45 PM
So happy to see these beautiful images from the recent Wales trip. And another excited accordion drawing!
Posted by: Jeffery Beam | November 13, 2017 at 01:34 PM
Why, thank you, lovely friend! I felt a lot of happiness there and I do think that shows through. I look forward to more talks and writings about connections! Connection is the key to everything.
Posted by: Laura | October 31, 2017 at 08:05 AM
Oh --this is so wonderful, Laura. These are some of the most beautiful sketches you have done--so lyrical. I too am in the "connections" phase of my life--the awareness of how many of our life experiences and people in our lives form an intersecting pattern brings me joy and the series of these connections happens more frequently for me at this time. I look forward to hearing more about your connections
Posted by: Robyn Mixon | October 31, 2017 at 07:40 AM