Tags
Art, Cantabria, Castilla, Cepeda, Covarrubias, drawing, Isla, landscape, Sepulveda, Spain, stitch, sunshine, textiles, thread
Four weeks away from home in our favourite Spanish haunts gives plenty of time for drawing, absorbing and thinking about art. Each area we visit has its own charms, from the sierra south of Salamanca, to Sepulveda and Covarrubias, both stunning little medieval towns, and finally to Isla in Cantabria in the north. Here are a few drawings that might simply act as my visual diary, or could lead to further work on stitching on my sewing machine. I have 35 years of sketch books in my studio. Maybe in my next post I will revisit some of those.
Las Batuecas, parque nacional de la Sierra de Francia
Sepulveda
The road from Santo Domingo de Silos to Covarrubias
and our favourite beach in Isla in Cantabria
Carol Naylor 
Carol,
Your Spanish studies are wonderful. I love your use of color!
I’ve only started sketching in the last year, and I follow your blog for inspiration.
Would you mind sharing about your technique and materials?
Thanks,
Dory
Thank you so much Dory. I forgot to do that didnt I?! There are two pencil drawings, using HB and 2B the other two use watercolour pencils, then sometimes I use pastel, smudged over, and on these two drawings I added coloured pen lines to finish. I sometimes add additional colour with the watercolour pencils but dont let them down with water. Hope that helps
Carol,
Thank you! It does help. Two more questions if you don’t mind?
Do you have a favorite kind of watercolor pencil to get such bright colors? And if you use the pastel in a sketchbook, do you have a problem with it smudging on the facing page?
If I was in Great Britain I would certainly take a sketching course from you!
Thank you,
Dory Rice
I use Caran d’Ache supracolor. I have used inktense pens but the colours are very strong and sometimes hard to control. I fix drawings after completion ( if Im away from home I use hairspray!) but pastels and indeed heavy pencil tend to leave marks on the facing page so I dont always draw on these. If its a light drawing then thats ok
Just what I wanted to know!
Thanks!
I am so impressed that you have 35 yrs. of sketch books in your studio … how I wish I had started the process long ago ! That takes true dedication, in my opinion. Good on you !
The previous years got lost! I’ve drawn all my life. Had ot have a drawing book and colours as a child and even then I was methodical. Did a drawing, turned the page, did another and so on. They are my diaries though. I will do a post about them as my stle and approach has changed so much