Tree near Shap Abbey

I've pogressed quite a bit with my pen and ink drawing of the tree near Shap Abbey. I've been posting work in progress at my Facebook page, and also at Twitter.

There's just a little more to do, I go a bit lost in all those leaves, and confess to making most of them up. I'm quite pleased with the texture of the tree, but the water needs knocking back a little I think.

I've also begun another drawing, another experiment so I'm not sure how this will progress. It's pen and ink on a small pre-prepared board (for acrylic or oil) which I've liberally coated with gold acrylic paint.

I've been away for a few days to Minehead with my good friend Mr G. We spent most of our brief time there walking on Exmoor and in the Exmoor National Park, which was bliss. The colour of the moor in full bloom was stunning and I took loads of photos for inspiration and to base future artworks on. While we were away Mr G bought me a book, it's just a light read really but it's a favourite subject of mine, a novel about an artist. It's called An Equal Stillness by Francesca Kay, and I'm quite enjoying it.