St Peter's for Bob

St Peter's For Bob
Watercolour On Paper
26cm x 18cm (10" x 7")

It is over 2 years since Bob asked me to paint a view of East Bridgford church. Unfortunately, his request coincided with a shift in my interest towards sketching and away from creating "finished" works. The problem was compounded because Bob wanted the scene to include the copper beech – which became a compositional challenge. I tried a variety of ideas without finding anything that worked.

When Elaine and I sold our house, this gave me the extra impetus to finish. Especially when Bob and Angela invited us to lunch on the Sunday before we left the district. I was pleased (and extremely relieved) to be able to deliver the framed painting before joining them for our last meal in the village.

The Five-Value Monochrome Study and Two-Layer Geometric Sketch from Watercolor Painting by Tom Hoffmann helped to clarify what to include in the picture and what aspects of the painting were going to be the most challenging.

I’ve not found time for any other drawing and painting since we sold our house. It’s weeks since I’ve picked up a pencil or brush. The process of buying, selling and moving house seems to have taken for ever. Thankfully, we are now settling into our new home. In the next week or two, I am planning to restart where I left off with Expressive Drawing by Steven Aimone and to retake Liz Steel’s on-line sketching class - SketchingNow - Foundations.