Walking in South Devon: Kingston on the South West Coast Path

Hope you've all had a fantastic Christmas, we've made it out the other side!

We've had a lovely few days with family and friends; eating too much, drinking too much and playing a whole year's worth of games!

Today I definitely needed to get a bit of fresh air so I went for a walk in the South Hams with Mum and Dad. I know that a lot of places have had snow, but down here in Devon it's been a beautiful crisp sunny day - not a snowflake in sight!

This is a map of our route, the only thing I've sketched all week.

Our walk started in a little village called Kingston near the River Erme, not far from Bigbury-on-sea. From the village we walked down across fields and through woodland to the Erme estuary where there were beautiful views over the river valley and out to sea.

The track led down to Wonwell beach before climbing up along the South West Coast Path.

The views more than made up for the ups and downs along the undulating cliff top path!

Just before we turned inland, the path went very steeply downwards to Westcombe beach. There's me, hanging on!

From there, a very muddy path followed a little stream and series of ponds all the way back to the village.

We're all going to sleep well tonight after that!

Painting the rooftops

It's going to be an ultra speedy post this week as I'm right in the middle of painting trees on the Thames map!

Here's a little peek of how the colours are going on so far. The green was by far the hardest, because to get a smooth colour with watercolour you can't let it dry in the middle when you're painting a large section. I had to work steadily from one side of the map to the other, painting around each obstacle as I went.

It took a solid five hours to paint all the green! Tonight I've been working on the red rooftops of the houses.

Last week we were in Cornwall and in the evenings it was lovely to relax and doodle something which didn't require any thought. I created a mandala which I shared in my last post, and since then have drawn another one in biro.

This time I used a compass to draw the rings and sketched out spokes underneath to give it a more symmetrical structure. You can just about see them in this photo.

I like the biro as it's possible to achieve different tones, but I think I prefer solid ink lines, like the very first one I did below.

I did this one completely freehand, starting in the middle and working outwards by eye, hence why the spacing is a little dodgy in places!

Finally I'll leave you with these photos from Newquay Zoo which we visited on Friday on our way back up from Cornwall.

These capybaras are actually a lot bigger than they look in the photo!

The zoo was really quiet and most of the animals were snuggled up inside - who can blame them really! These mongooses (mongeese?) were very inquisitive though and came out of their little hut to observe us watching them!

I remember the red panda's at Paignton Zoo being very elusive one time we went, but this little guy just sat around while I took his photo.

Last but not least, these were my favourite little critters of the day; the otters. They were playing tug of war with their straw bedding in their little hut, tumbling and squeaking. Then they went outside for a swim!

Thank you to all of you who voted for my blog in the UK Blog Awards, voting is now closed and you will be the first to know when I hear anything!

Today I'm linking up at Handmade Harbour and Paint Party Friday.

Cornwall, the Thames and mandalas

Right, I wrote this whole post out before remembering that tomorrow is the last day you can vote for my blog in the UK Blog Awards! For those of you who don't know, I've entered in the Arts and Crafts category. I have no idea what happens if you win and I don't expect to find out, but it would be lovely, if you enjoy reading my blog, if you could pop over and vote. Thanks peeps, now on with the post...

This week we're on our holidays in Cornwall, yippee! We're staying in a beautiful little cottage called Phillack in St Erth, close to Hayle on the West coast. It's welcoming and homely, and lovely and warm which is a real treat considering we spend most of our time at home layering jumpers to save on the heating bill!

It's part of a barn which has been newly converted into three cottages and is just the most peaceful and cosy little place. I ran around taking these photos when we'd just arrived, before we could make it untidy!

It was a beautifully sunny day yesterday, too hot for a coat, even, which is surely unheard of just a few days before December. First stop on Saturday morning was Gwithian to check out the waves - brace yourself for a very photo heavy post today!

Then we went into St Ives where I sat and painted overlooking the swathe of golden sand and turquoise water that is Porthmeor Beach while Sam went in for a surf.

If it wasn't for the long shadows, I think these photos look like they could have been taken in summer!

My painting still needs quite a bit of work and I'm not sure I'll ever get around to finishing it, but here's a peek.

When Sam finished surfing, there was just time to squeeze in a pasty stop before heading back for a cosy evening in the cottage.

This morning we got up early as Sam went off to check out the surf in Gwithian while I spent a couple of hours working on the Thames map. Yes, I did bring it along - there's no rest for the wicked! My workspace was a little different from normal!

I can now reveal that the client is Le Boat, a fantastic company which hire boats on the Thames and many other rivers across Europe. I have to say that working on this project has been very inspiring; there are so many lovely places to visit along the river. Before, I very naively thought of the Thames as just the section which runs through central London, but in reality it offers so much more, from peaceful countryside stretches to wonderful riverside attractions.

The part which I am illustrating is from Oxford right the way through to Teddington Locks, as this is the section navigable in the company's boats. I've finished outlining the whole map now, and am feeling excited about starting to paint, if a little nervous!

After a morning indoors, beavering away, it was nice to get out for a walk near Godrevy this afternoon. It was a little shorter than it could have been as dark grey clouds were threatening rain, so we thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

I always think 'people' photos are far more interesting than landscapes, so just to prove I was there, here are a few Sam took.

There are those clouds!

I'll end this post with a photo of a mandala I doodled last night. My Mum has been working on some gorgeous crochet mandalas in vibrant colours and I've seen quite a lot on Pinterest recently, so wanted to give drawing one a go.

Not as neat or precise as it could be, but I've started another one with some lines underneath as a guide, so hopefully I'll have that to share next week!

Have a lovely week everyone! Over and out...

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour, Paint Party Friday and Blue Chair Diary Illustrations!

Mapping the Thames

This weekend has been an extremely busy one, not least because I've had confirmation of a really exciting commission!

I don't want to say too much about what it's for until I've made a bit more progress, but I've been asked to produce an illustrated map of the River Thames.

Now, I have ALWAYS wanted to draw maps. When I was at school I wanted to be a cartographer. The fact that maps can be both attractive and functional interests me and the detail really appeals to my love of intricacy.

So, when I got asked to submit a small sample for consideration, I jumped at the chance.

This is just an example of a tiny section of the map and it's going to be changed slightly, but you get the idea.

I decided to use watercolours because I love the way they highlight the texture of the paper (and they're so fun to paint with)!

I had a go at painting Windsor Castle, using some of the same techniques as I use in my doodles.

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed doing these paintings and I'm so excited about getting stuck into this project.

It's the first time in a while that my drawing board has actually looked like there's some drawing going on! Today I've been sketching out the curves of the river, which is definitely easier said than done.

I've invested in some new Winsor & Newton watercolours as I used my old school set for these paintings and thought it was about time I get a 'grown up' set! I felt like a child in a sweet shop buying these!

Back to the drawing board now!

If you'd like to follow this project as it progresses, please follow my blog using one of the buttons on the right and pop over to my Facebook page where I'll be posting regular updates.

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour and Paint Party Friday.