A little bolder

So the COVID restrictions continue, meaning lots of time indoors to concentrate on new works. I usually have a sense of needing to not spend too long on a particular piece but now I have all the time I have wanted so I've been concentrating more and pushing myself a little.

When I say I've been pushing myself, I mean that I've been bolder in using dark shades to emphasise the light sources. I n this one, "Alpine Stroll", I've filled more near black areas than I would normally be comfortable with to get those lovely pools of light that I love.

More recently, I've completed this untitled work which is, to date, the most involved that I've done. Again using deep shades to emphasise the light, this involved great detail and depth with many tones and textures. Possibly my personal favourite drawing to date, it captures the mood that I was wanting - the sense of a deep quiet forest with piercing rays of light breaking through onto a shimmering pool of water. I've made a number of attempts over the years to do a decent drawing on this theme and this is the first time I've come close to getting the overall effect that I wanted.

One issue that I've always struggled with is to get a sense of movement into my drawings. Many previous ones have always felt a little static to me so I experimented with this one, "Grange". The idea of the lines and patterns is to reflect the distances and contours that I often associate with the maps that I read whilst walking in the Lake District. They certainly add an interesting effect and one that I will experiment with more over time.