Richard Bell's nature sketchbook since 1998
Pumpkins drawn on my iPad Pro in Clip Studio Paint, using the ‘Real G-Pen’ and the lasso fill tool for the colour, and Adobe Fresco using the ‘Natural Inker’. The difference between the blotty line of the bottle and watch and the softer line of the pumpkin drawings is just because of the pressure applied when using the Apple Pencil.
After recent heavy rain Newmillerdam is cloudy and khaki. A great-crested grebe pops up just yards from my table at the water’s edge at the Boathouse Cafe with a small silvery fish in its bill.
Down by the outlet a heron is watching, waiting and stalking its prey, so intent on fishing that it allows me to rest my iPhone on the railings just 10 yards away from it to take this photograph.
I’m currently catching up with a free FutureLearn course Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree from the University of Strathclyde and thought that this oak in the Capability Brown parkland (drastically remodelled by the National Coal Board Opencast Executive in 1975!) at Temple Newsam this morning was perfect for a basic family tree.
On the course we’ve been warned about the dangers of getting sidetracked – in my case that would be my Truelove great uncles – especially one particular Great Uncle Joe who had a rather colourful life. Coming back to this basic tree with aunties and uncles excluded makes me realise where I need to put in a bit more research into the basic structure. I’ve probably got most of those missing great grandparents covered in my folders of research but this is all that I remember without riffling through the various census forms and birth, baptism, marriage and death certificates that I’ve accumulated.
But I do look forward to getting back to my ‘bad’ Great Uncle Joe and the wife, Mary Tinker who attempted to murder him . . .
More pen and ink sketches from my pocket sketchbook.
I’ve been struggling to use the mouse as a brush or an eraser in Photoshop on my iMac Retina with any accuracy but I’d forgotten how to set up Sidecar – the facility that enables you to use an iPad as a second screen for your Mac.
For screen mirroring, this is how it works:
At this stage the screen on my iMac transforms itself to fit the narrower proportions of the iPad and the whole set up works as I’d expect it to: I can use the Mac’s mouse pretty much as normal and I can use the Apple Pencil on the iPad for the brush or eraser in Photoshop.
Note: Mac and iPad are connected to the same wifi network. In the settings the iPad ‘Handoff’ is enabled.
As so often, there’s spontaneity about the roughs that I struggle to carry over into the finished artwork.
The final version included cheering crowds lining the streets and bunting, but I forgot to scan it but hopefully Abby- happy birthday Abby – has it standing in pride of place on the mantlepiece and can send me a photo.
And she has. It’s not on the mantlepiece though but it is looking good on the kitchen windowsill.
Abby was hoping that she’d entered a prize-winning butternut squash in the Vegan Marathon but it got stuck behind a group of country pumpkins from the slow food movement.”
Happy birthday to Peter.
Curlews and tree sparrows at the Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s Hauxley nature reserve last week.
And some grazing teal from our return journey via RSPB Saltholme reserve.
You wouldn’t think it this morning but we live in a rainshadow area. This OS Rainfall Map from 1915 records over 60 inches average rainfall on the crest of the Pennines above Holmfirth and less than half that amount, around 24 inches down in Wakefield just 18 miles away.
So that’s about 5 feet of rain per year on the moors, 2 feet in Wakefield and getting on for 3 feet in between around Emley, where we’re heading this morning.
A rainy day proved a good opportunity to catch up with my Wild Yorkshire nature diary for The Dalesman but a trip to the Thorncliffe Farm Shop at Emley, gave us the excuse to see the outside world.
I drew these sycamores, almost devoid of leaves now, from the cafe.
I put the Chicken Superheroes artwork this morning but there were some familiar looking characters in the farm shop cafe . . .
Voles with impeccable taste for [milk tanker driver] Wayne’s birthday card.
Other dairy products from international farmers’ cooperatives are available but we’re with the voles, we like Arla.