I was delighted to be invited on a short road trip by Wine Cellar Door, to explore a few more English vineyards in Sussex. Our journey took us to the impressive Fox & Fox vineyard, set amongst rolling hills in a designated ANOB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). I felt like a kid in a sweet shop and didn’t know which way to turn. Entrusted to roam the vineyard alone with my sketch book in hand, I found an elevated view point that offered me sight of the impressive regiment of vines, with the rolling hills and landscape beyond. Trying out a new ‘concertina’ sketch book, I unfurled four pages at one time, enabling a nice long panorama. Our host for the day was so taken with the sketch that she asked if she could buy it.
I was not in favour of money exchanging hands in this instance, as we had enjoyed such wonderful hospitality at the vineyard. Could we consider an exchange of one creation for another? It sealed the deal, and a few days later I received three wonderful bottles of sparkling wine made from classic Champagne varieties. The purpose of many sketches is to work them up into bigger paintings later, which is what I intend to do with these vineyard doodles and I’ve promised Fox & Fox that they can be the first to see the more developed paintings that I intend to work on in the early autumn. Watch this space….
other sketchbook outings from summer 2019 …
‘Poet’s Walk’ in Clevedon (not far from Bristol) offers up a stunning panorama that, you guessed it, was popular with poets back in the day. With Wales in the distance across the estuary, one can see Sand Bay, leading to Weston Super Mare, all the while with a 12th century church and graveyard in the foreground. It was hard to know what to focus on first in this sketch, but the elongated sketchbook was ideal for the job, allowing a brief summary of this extraordinary panorama.
This final sketch is of gentle evening light over a rolling Dorset landscape. With no time to think, due to fading light, it’s important to work quickly and freely.
It’s not so much about capturing each detail, but picking what is of interest to you, so the memory of that moment will come flooding back when flicking through the sketch book.
Thanks for reading this update, and if you are off on your holidays maybe you could be tempted to bring a sketch book with you. Just making a few marks – with no particular outcome expected, can unleash a sense of achievement, enjoyment, and of course memories of a special place.
