Cover 2 Cover 2017 - sketchbook six - In the forest

Imaginary treescape, acrylic (knife painting)

Lone Hudson's In the forest theme was the last book I worked in. I do like trees, and I had been looking forward to this theme. The book was a smallish hardback guide to trees, with plentiful pages of nice quality paper. The text and line drawings made an interesting counterpoint to work placed directly on the page, and others in the group had made inventive use of the colour illustrations as well as doing some marvellous cut-work and additions, including manipulated leaves from trees.

We had recently visited Sherwood Forest, which had featured strongly in my midlands childhood, but was new to my own children.

The Major Oak, fountain pen

Statue of Robin Hood and Little John, at the Sherwood Forest visitor centre, graphite pencil

Two merry men from imagination, Molotow One4All Markers

And then I moved on to a theme that I have worked on several times recently, and which I may investigate further: the enigmatic green man...

An imaginary, doodly green man, assorted fountain pens and inks

Some foresty doodling in fountain pen ink

More foresty doodling: a green man in fountain pen and something more abstract using fountain pen inks and pens

The Victorian green man from St. Peter's, Woolhampton, Berks, acrylic.
See also pencil sketch and inky interpretation