Along the Cornish Coast
Although the climate in Cornwall is relatively mild, I tested the water and found I lacked the courage to join the many enthusiastic swimmers at Marazion’s coast. As I sketched instead, these three sisters caught my attention and made me remember how much fun I used to have playing in the water as a child.
This is a 8 X 5 inch gouache sketch on black paper.
St Michael’s Mount
We have stopped for a few days in the small Cornish town of Marazion, known for St Michael’s Mount. St Michael’s Mount is a small tidal island topped off with a large castle. This sketch shows it during high tide. During low tide most of the water between the island and shore moves out and people walk back and forth between the island and town.
This is a 12 X 12 inch gouache sketch.
Last Sunday evening our ship left the Azores Islands and this morning we docked at Brest on Frances’ Brittany coast. Here are five sketches from the last five days.
Watching the Azores Islands Disappear
It was still warm as we left the Azores and I was able to sketch comfortably on deck. I love the way the passengers attentively study the sea during departures and arrivals. Each stands alone yet companionably, and I wanted to capture a bit of this feeling with this sketch.
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Azores Sunset
This sketch is also from our departure from the Azores but a bit later in the evening. Both of these two sketch are with gouache in a 9 X 9 sketchbook with black paper.
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IPad Sketch of Two Musicians
I had my iPad and sketched a bit while I was listening to some of the performers on the ship.
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Bow of the Prinsendam
This and the next sketch are of the Prinsendam’s bow. Although my California bones are finding it cold here in the Atlantic, I was able to sketch the first one while standing up on the deck above the bridge. Later, I retreated to the warmth of my cabin and made a second painting of the bow, using the first sketch and some photos. Both are gouache sketches in a large 12 X 12 sketchbook with black paper. The one below is my favorite because of the shapes and colors.
Bow of the Prinsendam ll
During these past four days at sea, I sketched very little. But here are three sketches, two of people aboard the Prinsendam, and a third sketch, my favorite, of the bottom of a lifeboat.
Looking out the Window of the Prinsendam as the Bermuda Islands Recede
Scrabble
Lifeboat above the Deck of the Prinsendam
This sketch shows part of a lifeboat above the deck. I particularly like this sketch for two reasons. First, it simplifies the light and shapes of this view. Second, it conveys a bit of the feel of the ship’s roll through its uneven horizon and deck lines.
Today our ship, the Prinsendam, is at Hamilton, Bermuda. We got up early to watch the ship come in through the Bermuda straights and then went on a walking tour of this lovely port.
Here are three sketches from our past three days at sea.
This first sketch shows a few people at a happy hour Sunday on a choppy sea. I may have been projecting my own feelings on these three innocents bystanders, but it was hard to find the ‘happy’ in their body language.
Monday was calmer and sunny, and I had fun sketching people sunning around the pool.
This last sketch shows my sister looking out to sea from a bench that is placed at the edge of the highest deck to which passengers have access.
We passed through cruise security and then waited to board, just long enough for me to pull out a small sketchbook.
We are off on a two week crossing of the Atlantic, our first cruise. As a child I was an avid reader and the ocean voyagers fascinated me. I don’t know how many books I read admiring their love of the sea, their bravery and their ingenuity as they faced challenges of a bygone era. I am looking forward to getting a sense of this as I cross the Atlantic.
I will be sketching away and posting as I have internet.
I Was Reminded
There was something about the evening light tonight that reminded me of a sketch I made in 1984 of my daughter that hangs in her old bedroom. That sketch is below.
We were hiking in a Colorado meadow, and my daughter picked a few flowers. She was so gorgeous that I convinced her to pose for me, which she patiently did, and I quickly drew her with a pen on newsprint. I love this old black and white sketch but have always remembered how the sky was lit with a slow alpine glow that seemed to come from within her. I have been meaning for a long time to capture my memory of that moment and light and it felt good tonight to finally give it a try.
Deliberate Sketching 