Henry Moore

I attended a sketchbook art class run by the lovely Jackie Binns in Steyning, West Sussex.  One of the sketches we considered during the class was Henry Moore's 'Pink & Green Sleepers' (shown above) drawn during WW2 as he observed people sheltering in underground stations during an air raid.  His sketches were made using wax and then coloured; the wax lines acting as a resist to help create form. To try this style, we used a wax candle to sketch, which was difficult to control, before applying a watercolour wash - so our various attempts had mixed results.  However, I was captivated by Moore's sketch and the method he'd used, so back at home I tried the technique again.

Out for a late winter afternoon walk with our dog, I was inspired by a tree caught in the rich coloured light of the setting sun.  This is my effort to capture what I saw, this time using iridescent oil pastels.   I drew a section of the tree and some branches, applying the oil pastels in quite thick layers.  I then scored into the pastel with a wooden skewer to create the rounded form of the branches and to add texture and form to the tree trunk.  Finally I applied washes of watercolour paint across the whole sketch to capture the sunset, allowing the different colour washes to blend on the page.  The oil pastels acted as a resist allowing watercolour to seep into gaps and create the effect of coloured light on the tree.  I was quite pleased with the final effect and really enjoyed the process.