Richard Bell's nature sketchbook since 1998
Gothic architectural features of Newmillerdam Boathouse, which dates from the 1820s. I’d planned this as a small black and white diagram, but it works better larger and in colour. I’m still struggling with joined-up handwriting, some of these were ‘best out of three’, but I think that it’s worth the effort, as it gives a bit more animation to the captions.
Before I add colour, I’ve scanned this drawing in black and white, which might be useful if I ever use it in a booklet. The Boathouse at Newmillerdam is currently celebrating its bicentenary. Although the date is uncertain, it appears on a map of 1826, which puts it in early Gothic Revival style.
Names of features from the delightfully useful Rice’s Architectural Primer. Matthew Rice makes it look so easy but getting all those terms in without overwhelming the drawing is tricky, however I’ve got my lettering on a separate layer so I might alter that a bit when I add the watercolour.
THE FIRST THING that struck me when I saw this moth in the light trap was the tracery on its wings. Now that I know it is the gothic, Naenia typica, I can see that it resembles the patterns found in the stained glass windows of gothic cathedrals. Its relative the Bordered Gothic dispenses with the pointed tops to the arches and has more of an Art Nouveau look, as if it had been designed by Aubrey Beardsley rather than Hugh of Lincoln or Bram Stoker.
The larvae feed on a range of wild and cultivated plants including willowherb, cleavers, comfrey and sallow.