December Days

The original drawing is on Daler Rowney pastel paper (acid-free) using natural pigment, charcoal and pencil. Rembrandt pastels were then used to bring colour and more tone to the subject. The Sharpham Marsh is a hauntingly beautiful site on the River Dart in Devon. Drawn on a cold winter day at the end of 2021, looking East across the River in the middle of the reeds. 

December Days is part of a large body of work that documents the changing landscapes throughout the seasons. I make visual diary as I observe what has changed from year to year, marking the down the first buds that open or spring flowers that arrive. In December I notice how sound travels differently through the cold air. I hear my feet crunching on the frosted ground or see a skein of geese across the sky.