I go back to finish a bamboo pen drawing of an
old wild cherry that I started yesterday but gave up when I was
lashed by hail. It's a better afternoon for drawing; still cool
but, with about five layers on, and a fingerless glove on my right
hand, I can cope with that. |
There are hosepipe bans in the offing elsewhere in England but
Ladybower reservoir is full to overflowing, so
Severn Trent Water customers shouldn't be on standpipes for a while
yet. I tried to draw this overflow a month or two ago, before the
water levels had risen, but I didn't get far with it; it proved
such a regular, mechanical kind of subject, so not really
what interests me.
It's more dramatic today, like a Hokusai whirlpool, but it's still
too much of a spectacle to express the way I feel about the Peak
District. The familiar, organic look of the old tree (left)
is more what I'm after.
I'd taken the camera to take some macro-shots of the liverworts
and mosses in case I need to consult a botanist to identify them
but I stuck to field sketches, drawn with the aid of my reading
glasses and where necessary a hand lens.
But I couldn't resist taking out my camera as I walked past the
overflow this morning. 
Richard Bell, richard@willowisland.co.uk |
