While I was drawing a daffodil as part of a 'One Thing' walk the other day, I started thinking about past walks in which I chose just one thing to draw. As a blogger, not only do I have my sketchbooks to refer to, but I also have this blog. I've had a look back and selected some of my favourite sketches and paintings from the last two years and collected them together in this week's blog post.
The principle behind 'one thing' walks is simple. Just go out for a long or a short walk and choose one thing to draw. It could be a stone, a leaf, a tree or a whole forest or mountain. The trick is to choose something that really makes you feel happy or intrigued or some kind of emotion when you look at it. Then sketch it and try to really express the thing that sparked that emotion. When I drew the daffodil, I felt happy at the bright yellow colour and the curves at the top of the flower where it joined the stem. I made sure these were a part of the final sketch.
When I looked back, I realised that my 'one thing' sketches started when I was 6. I still have my first nature scrapbook and remember spending time in my garden in Cornwall sketching insects and flowers on individual pages of my notebook.
Much more recently, just before I started the Isle of Man nature Journal, I returned to sketching after an almost 30 year break.
One of the first things I sketched on a walk was a tree that interested me at Ballaglass Glen. It was growing right on the edge of a stone outcrop and had almost become one with the stone. I really wanted to capture the part that interested me the most, so I concentrated on the base of the tree and the way the three trunks seemed to grow right out of the rock.
Just after I started the IOMNJ blog, I found myself walking along the river at Tromode exploring the wildflowers that grow there. As I was taking photos of the flowers, a rather beautiful ivy leaf grabbed my attention. It was so perfectly shaped, with such gorgeous colours that it really stood out from the many other ivy leaves around it. I emphasised this in my sketch by only colouring the main leaf and keeping the background monotone.
I've always loved lichen and moss, so I sometimes pick up a suitably adorned twig and bring it home for closer scrutiny. When I took a close-up photograph of a twig I brought home from Laxey Glen in the late summer of 2023, I was delighted to see wonderful colours of acid green, turquoise and purple. I had to paint it, so I started a detailed graphite sketch in preparation for a painting.
Not long after I'd started the graphite drawing, the topic of the next open exhibition at the Hodgson-Loom Gallery was announced. The theme was 'Fungi, Lichen, Moss...', so I knew what I was entering!
Sometimes, you can walk past something regularly and not notice it, until one day the light or some other factor is just right and it really pops into your attention. This happened to me in the autumn of 2023, when I suddenly took notice of a copper beech tree that grows not far from my house. It was the glorious autumn colour of the leaves against the bright green ivy that caught my eye and caused me to make this tree the drawing for that 'one thing' walk.
Ok, so this isn't exactly just one thing, but it is one type of thing and that's allowed too! I had so much fun painting and drawing these pebbles from Ramsey Beach, that I ended up creating similar artworks from beaches in Laxey, Castletown and Peel too.
It was a cold, January day when I ventured out to Mooragh Park to see if I could spot the Little Egrets that I'd heard were feeding in the partially emptied lake. I wasn't disappointed and I spent a lovely 15 minutes photographing them so I could sketch them later in the warmth of my home.
I was getting a bit sick of the rain in February 2024 (it had been raining for weeks) and was desperate to get outside and find some nature to inspire me. I didn't want to go far, so I stuck to my garden and decided to find as many types of moss as I could. This was one of my favourites, and it just goes to show that you don't have to go far for a 'one thing' walk.
I think it was still raining when I visited Laxey Glen with a friend, later that month. I took my camera and was glad I had when I saw this glorious bracket fungus growing from a tree stump. I really enjoyed trying out my Graphitint pencils on this one. If you'd like to see a video of me colouring this ink drawing, take a look at the 'Sketches from Laxey Glen' blog post.
In June 2024, I spent a lovely afternoon with textile artist Pat Kelly in her forest garden. It's an amazing and inspiring place, with so many beautiful plants. This yellow flag iris was growing next to the pond and it really stood out from the other plants surrounding it. I actually did a few sketches from that day, but I had to choose one thing to draw it would have been this!
In July, I wrote a whole blog post on the delicate colours found in this bramble blossom. The colours were so beautiful and delicate, but I wanted them to be the focus of the sketch, so I made them grab attention by not colouring the background of the drawing. It's also very relaxing to take the pressure off drawing the background, by keeping it simple.
I just love the colours of autumn, so I had great fun colouring this leaf drawing in this gorgeous copper-coloured ink. There's a video of me completing similar leaf drawings on the 'Autumn Leaves in Ink' blog post. Using inks with water is the best!
The next drawing is actually from someone else's walk. In November last year, I completed a drawing of a migrant hawker dragonfly from a photo that had been sent to the IOMNJ by Marc Logan. Marc had been on a walk at The Raggatt, along the River Neb and had spotted this beautiful insect. I was so glad he sent the photo in and that he agreed I could draw it, as it's made a great addition to the IOMNJ map and is a brilliant example of a 'one thing' walk subject.
I hope this post has inspired you to do your own 'one thing' walk. We need many more artworks for our map before we'll be ready to go into local schools to deliver workshops. Sketches and artwork from adults, children, amateurs and professionals are all welcome. We want to celebrate the beauty of our island and the individuality of each and every one of us, so send in your sketch today!
See you in a fortnight!
Emma
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