Tag Archives: autumn

Watercolours in the woods

The rain and mist seemed to add to the wonder at Dalkeith Country Park.

You don’t have to go far from the city to find huge woods to walk through and wonderful autumn colours to get lost in. Today I took a walk though Dalkeith Country Park just as the rain was falling and the mist was lifting.

Despite the heavy rain fall the forest seemed to be alight with flames, the oranges, reds and yellows were that intense. I could of stayed there all day but my paper pad was getting soggy.

I passed a happy group of toddlers in their waterproofs exploring the muddy forest floor as I headed inside the Restoration Yard for a hand warming americano.

I look forward to returning soon, hopefully before the colours all fall to the ground!

Dalkeith Country Park website.

Post Box Hues

A red letter box mixes with the yellows and oranges of the falling leaves.

A beautiful day in the capital today, so lucky it’s a Sunday. One of my favourite postboxes here in it is autumn look. I have a lovey photo of it covered in snow somewhere. 

Always my favourite pieces of street furniture postboxes provide a welcome splash of colour in my sketches. And also to me personally evoke a feeling of communication, friendship and hope!

Enjoy your weekend.

The heater is on

As October kicks in the temperatures are falling in Edinburgh

It is freezing today in the studio and this wee heater is working overtime keeping my fingers nimble enough to draw. October has started with wind and rain and a proper chill in the air. Time to layer up 🙂

Plus have a big job to finish so I am sketching anything in sight rather than get the job done. Not good enough, I will get back to it now I promise!!

Autumn colours on London Road

Click on the image to zoom in

After a break away it was good to be back on the streets of Edinburgh today.

This morning I had a little more time to myself after the kids returned to school so drove through town taking in all the falling leaves and low sun shadows of the cities fine buildings.

I parked up on London Road to capture this view towards the top of Easter road, with the London Road Church seen on the left. The orange and yellow leaves were falling from left to right and the sky in the distance changed from white to grey and then a slither of blue shone through.

Above shows the street I sketched and below a square crop of the painting which I like the look of. Maybe a print for the shop?

Autumn inspiration has arrived

Shiny, reddy brown conkers mark the arrival of my favourite month

Yesterday I spent a wonderful morning workshop sketching leaves and plant life in Edinburgh’s Royal Botanical Gardens. The sun shone between heavy showers and my sketcher and I took cover in the cafe, drawing leaves and sipping tea for a blissful couple of hours.

This morning I was still inspired by the woody bits and bobs I had picked up and so arranged a few conkers to draw.

Using only the watercolours I layered the colour from light to dark, and for once I remembered to take photos of each layer so I could share them with you here.

Have a go yourself, draw the whole shape first with the lightest colour you can see. Then add each slightly darker layer until the final line of dark shadow to finish.

First frost on the Harbour

This morning I saw and sketched as the ice melted away in Granton Harbour

On the school run the kids and I noticed how the masts of the boats were all at wonky angles and the water was frozen over.

The sun was strong and although it was bitterly cold I headed out onto the Granton breakwater, a small stone wall in the sea that protects the boats from the strong waves from the east.

Inside the harbour there was a thin layer of frozen water and all the boats and buoys were sitting on top, as if placed there by a giant.

I sat and sketched for about 20 minutes until the water had thawed and my fingers had frozen!

Autumn colours from Inverleith Park

Today I had a walk back from the city through the park and picked up a few items to draw once home.

This autumnal still life was so rich with colour and I took my time with the cross hatching catching the dark and light tonal work.

I than added the watercolour wash trying my best to capture the rich hues on show, which changed as the afternoon went on in front of my eyes.

Have a go capturing the wonderful colours that are all around us this month.

These sketches are available as both prints and merchandise and also in some cases as original artwork. If you can’t find a particular item in my shop then you can contact me at contact@www.edinburghsketcher.com

Autumn arrives in the capital

I may be late to the party but Autumn has caught me by surprise this year. And now my walks are filled with every shade of orange.

This time of year has always been my favourite, I’m a sucker for Christmas and favour a snuggle in front of a warm fire to stripping off in the sunshine!

But mostly I love the colours that envelope our land through the month of September and turn everything a gorgeous burnt shade of orange. I long for a trip into the Highlands or to be honest any close countryside just for a day or a few hours so I can soak up the wonder and inspiration of mother nature.

This may be the first of many crispy leaf drawings 🙂

These sketches are available as both prints and merchandise and also in some cases as original artwork. If you can’t find a particular item in my shop then you can contact me at contact@scotlandsketcher.com

Sunshine on the Meadows

I met a client at Summerhall the other day and had to walk through this gorgeous park at its best, full of colour just now.

This watercolour was drawn whilst leaning against a tree in the Meadows park, on the South side of Edinburgh and just over the road from Edinburgh’s Childrens Hospital.

The sun was still just peeking over the rooftops behind me and shining through the thick trees causing great dark and light streaks across the playing fields.

The many paths that run across the park can be seen with each layer of colour. I didn’t capture the colour I wanted but will have to return and try again soon. Before the colour has fallen to the ground.

Autumn colours, as best as I could capture them

The beauty of Edinburgh’s green spaces are currently transforming into a wonderful colour show to rival anything our festivals can offer.

Today I enjoyed a peaceful walk along the cycle paths of North Edinburgh, the old railway lines run beneath the roads of the city providing a traffic free and nature filled way to get from A to B.

This mornings walk was full of colour and as I kicked my way though piles of fallen leaves every now and then I stopped to pick up a particular pretty leaf. I like to sketch the leaves this way each year, taking time to appreciate just how wonderful mother nature is.

Once home I arranged the leaves and created this colourful sketch and although capturing the autumn colours will remain my holy grail of watercolours, I am pleased with this years sketch 😉

This sketch was created in the warmth of my studio, with a Uni Pn 0.3 and watercolour brush/pallet.