Richard Bell's nature sketchbook since 1998
In Scott McCloud’s theory of comics, a ‘non-sequitur’ is a transition between panels where there’s no link whatsoever. These are random doodles in Procreate but I definitely haven’t managed a non-sequitur between the last two panels because they’re plainly taking place on a dark and stormy night in some gothic thriller. And I can believe that the feisty chicken is giving the man some pause for thought.
Happy birthday to Huddersfield Town Supporter John (you can tell it’s him by the Terriers scarf).
I did consider taking acrylics and a canvas to today’s painting workshop at RHS Harlow Carr run by their current artist in residence, Hilary Burnett Cooper, but I stuck with my regular pen and watercolour and it was a chance to try my larger watercolour box on location. I recently updated it so that there are fewer strident greenish blues and earthy browns, replacing those with colours that would be more useful for flower painting.
Hilary Burnett Cooper Landscape, scenic and figurative artist
This house at the top end of Queen Street, Horbury, was once the ‘Ring o’ Bells’ public house, later Walker’s butchers shop.
Just across the road at St Peter’s Church as part of the John Carr 300th anniversary celebrations this weekend, we had a talk by Andrew Morrison, CEO, York Civic Trust, on ‘The Impact of John Carr of York’, although in view of where the celebrations were taking place, he went with ‘John Carr of Horbury’ (John Carr was born and brought up here) for his opening slides.
It’s a lovely time to get out walking in West Yorkshire and my friend Heather, now living in exile in Staffordshire (which she tells me is also brilliant for walking) has ordered a couple of my walks books for a friend of hers who lives on the fringe of Pontefract’s liquorice country, as featured in my full colour booklet, All Sorts of Walks in Liquorice Country.
I want the one with the walk from the Chantry Bridge to Featherstone. I think it a splendid walk, and the book will make a lovely present for my friend.
Heather
The Robin Hood booklet, also in full colour, also includes walks around Pontefract and in Brockadale, Wentbridge, where Sayles, a rocky outcrop overlooking the old Great North Road, features in the earliest surviving Robin Hood ballad.
I’m posting these booklets to her friend with a bookmark with a message from Heather and an artist’s impression of Heather on a recent trek she made up a hill.
From the Mighty Aegir . . .
. . . to Ada Lovelace. Happy birthday last weekend to two Notts superstars, Connie and Annabel.
As we’re fairly far north here in Yorkshire and on a north-facing slope, we’ve left it until today to put in the Maris Peer second earlies and these Désirée early maincrop. Drawn here to test out the different virtual pens available in Procreate.
More PenTips goodies: glove, grip and, my favourite, the PenPad Shortcut Panel for Procreate on the iPad. I’ve used Procreate a lot and gone through dozens of tutorials but there are some shortcuts, such as ‘Cut’, that I have a mental block about. There they all are on the pad, so I don’t have to break my workflow by searching through sub-menus.
I’m still searching for my favourite virtual pen in Procreate. In Clip Studio Paint my go-to pen is usually the ‘Real G-Pen’ but in Procreate with dozens of virtual pens to choose from, I’m still undecided.
Perhaps drawing my chitted potatoes with a selection of pens from the Procreate ‘Inking’ section will help me narrow it down.
I like the extra control that I get with the PenTips 2 ‘Soft’ rubber-like replacement tip for the Apple Pencil but I’ve now damaged two of the three that come in the pack.
Although most of the time when I’m drawing my touch is reasonably light, when it comes to adding colour or erasing it’s a different story. I find that it’s necessary to press on extra hard to squeeze a pool of virtual watercolour from a brush. If I’m using one of the subtler forms of the eraser I can find myself pressing hard to remove a stubborn line.
The PenTip can then stick to the glass and split at the end, revealing the metal core.
A big thank you to all the team at the Prince of Wales Hospice, Pontefract, who did so much for Barbara’s brother John and always made us welcome. We’re so grateful to them, although not SO grateful that we’d sign up to be dangled from a rope from the Cow and Calf Rocks in September (see link below if that appeals to you).
Of course, some teams are greater than others . . .
But John really did enjoy their visit.
Ilkley Cow and Calf Tyrolean Traverse and Abseil Challenge
Challenge yourself and conquer The Cow and Calf Rocks by Tyrolean traverse and/or abseil
Date: 09 September 08:00 – 17:00