Views
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Suur Toll & Piret
This statue of a mythical couple, who once upon a time helped the Saaremaa islanders of old, is just opposite the Kuressaare hotel we were staying in during our tour of Estonia. The legends of these two seem to major on saving the island from invaders and the husbandry of cabbages, although this sculpture clearly…
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Rundāles pils
On our recent visit to Rundale Palace in Latvia the sky was overcast but the flowers in the gardens still had plenty of blooms. This view is from the “French” (ie formal) garden. Taking a photo in which the foreground flowers properly frame the topiary required a certain amount of ungainly stooping, but I think…
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Tallinn’s Towers
Tallinn has many old towers, some of them round and some of them square. For the avoidance of doubt, the one I have drawn here is round, and goes by the name of Kiek In De Kök. Two things in particular caught my eye in this view. The first is that, having just arrived in…
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Avenue of Trees II
We returned to Ichi-Coo Park today, this time in glorious sunshine! I decided to have another go at drawing this lovely avenue of trees, this time using coloured pencils – a medium which I am not that used to. The result is both colourful and “sketchy”, which is actually what I was hoping for. That…
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Meadow
The path along Hadrian’s Wall passes many meadows, which at this time of year are a riot of colour. Some meadows are mainly dominated by buttercups, and so are a vivid yellow. Others have a much redder hue, which my trusty AI app tells me is normally due to common sorrel, along with grasses such…
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Foxglove
For many years I have taken a walking holiday at this time of year, and every year without fail we have passed large numbers of these impressive flowers. This example is growing in the ruins of one of the earliest successful infrastructure projects in our country – Hadrian’s Wall. I was slightly concerned that with…
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Three Bridges
I have come across a number of places called Three Bridges. One of these in West Sussex is the source or destination of many of the Thameslink trains that pass through our town. Another in southern Belgium (and therefore in fact called Trois-Ponts) has a superb local beer, quite the find of that particular trip!…
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Lily in the Valley
A doodle in the proper sense of the word, which started out in my head as another art deco panel, but which has turned out to be rather more of a cartoon. Still fun to draw though! Of course, this flower is not to be confused with “Lily of the valley”, which is another plant…
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View of London …
… from Reigate Hill. Hence quite a distant view, in which only the tallest buildings in the city feature. Some would say that London looks better from this distance, although I wouldn’t agree – there are some very nice sights right in the centre of town. However, I rather liked the way that the horizon…
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All Flat & Wide
These flat-crowned trees were a common sight during my recent safari experience. Other (to my eyes more normally proportioned) trees were more abundant, but because these flat trees tended to stand on their own they were much more noticeable. In pictures of the African bush these trees often appear as silhouettes, so it seemed natural…
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Room With A View
This view was a surprise! I had recently seen Robben Island from the top of Table Mountain, but it never occurred to me that the prison on Robben Island would be built to allow clear views of the mountain directly from any of the cells. Having recovered from my surprise, this view struck me as…
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Snow
It snowed here today, so I drew this little scene from my head before the inspiration faded along with our thawing snow …
