The pleasures of drawing in the garden…

Posted:16 August 2013

At this time of the year there are so many things to be doing in the garden – clearing collapsed areas, sprucing up containers, summer pruning, laying turf – better still drinking Pimms with friends or even drawing!

On our latest workshop there was no Pimms involved, but there was plenty of creative sketching going on as a small group worked with chalk pastels under the watchful eyes of Brighton-based artist and illustrator Debbie Hinks.

Taking inspiration from the beautiful Garden House garden Debbie demonstrated how to use chalk pastel to create light, tone, colour and texture.  Also how to carefully observe and compose a drawing, whether taking in a wider landscape or homing in on a smaller area or detail.

The results were fantastic, by experimenting with different papers and using pastel sticks and pastel pencils everyone managed to create the most amazing and spontaneous drawings.

Debbie has been an illustrator for over twenty years, she also teaches life drawing and mark making at Northbrook College, Worthing. To find out more go to www.debbiehinks.com and www.debbieportraits.com