Nature Sketches

•

A series of drawings in nature, part of a challenge I set myself to do a small drawing every day for one month. The style of these sketches was inspired by the simple yet emotive linework of illustrators such as E. H. Shepherd and Hergé, and the thoughtful composition of Japanese woodblock artwork. The sketches aim to encase the quiet beauty of nature.

~~~

It’s incredible how complex even the seemingly simple parts of nature really are. Everything in nature is so perfectly balanced in form and in function. Only when you slow down to ponder it do you realise this for yourself. To me, drawing is a means of both observing nature objectively and revelling deeply in its unassuming beauty.

I love to draw from what I can see in real life, but I find that landscapes can often change too quickly for me to capture, so I usually draw them from a photograph. Regardless of how I translate these sights onto paper, I feel that drawing is encasing a moment in time and the feeling that came with it. I can always remember the feeling that was present in what I was drawing – the peacefulness of the dusk that enveloped those hills, the surprise at finding that vegetable and succulent flowers make a gorgeous bouquet, the salty air of the breaking waves at the bluff.

Even though recording memories is quicker and easier than ever before, now that most people have a phone camera with them at all times, I find that the longer it takes to record a memory, the longer it lasts and the more meaningful it is.