just singing a song

 Jeez, I haven't blogged for ages. In fact, it's taken me over a month to post these drawings. I made them on July the 14th which was International Sketchcrawl day, or Worldwide Sketchcrawl day, or something like that. Our drawing group, Sketchcrawl North, were in the gorgeous village of Tideswell for the day. For some absurd reason I was to organise the day and the weather was not looking good. So, before everyone else arrived I went to the church (or Cathedral of the Peak) to check that it would be okay to sketch in there - should the sun not come out.

When I got there I found a group of musicians practicing for a rehearsal they were giving, as part of Buxton Festival, later that day. They said that as long as we were quiet we could sit in on the rehearsal. Well, there's nowt quieter than sketchers.

The musicians were called The Frolick, a Baroque band, and they were amazing. I must say that I've never really heard this kind of music, and to be honest would never have chosen to listen to it (well, you know, I'm a Neil Young kind of gal) but it was an absolute privilege. And it was a lesson to me to not dismiss things before giving them a go first.

Needless to say we didn't move from the church the whole afternoon.

Some quick sketches of members of the band;

I absolutely love drawing to music. I always have but there's something about live music that is so exciting to draw to. I love the way the music becomes part of the drawing to the point, sometimes, when you lose yourself in it, the subject no longer matters. I dn't know how to explain it. I'm not so good with words, that's why I draw.

A big thanks to The Frolick for letting me, and my drawing friends, experience that.

and we were rolling, rolling, rock and rollin'

Saturday the 14th of July was International Sketchcrawl day and whilst most of the world's sketching population were in Santa Domingo some of us (Sketchcrawl North, specifically) were out on the mean, and equally exotic, streets of Tideswell.

Well,actually that's a bit of a fib.

No, we weren't on the streets at all. We were mainly in the church where some (amazing) musicians were practicing for a concert. So we spent most of our time there. I did, however, sneak this little drawing of some architecture. Just to prove that we did actually go out sketching on the big day.

The rest of the day we just spent in the cafe eating. Now, that's one thing Sketchcrawl North are VERY good at.

might take the car up to the hills

Well, guys, I seem to be passing these milestones at great speed at the moment. Here's another; 2000 followers of my little ol'sketchblog! Thanks to each and everyone of you. You make me very very happy.

I should have come up with a giveaway to mark this occasion. I will. Just give me a few days to come up with something.

For now, here's some little sketches I made while in Tideswell yesterday. I love this village for drawing (and eating). I love the houses. Each one is different from the next. Many are ancient. I went a little wrong with the composition of this so, as I said in the last post, the best way of dealing with that is to throw everything you've got at it. That way, nobody'll ever notice a slip up.

And, one more thing; can you spot the three cats chilling out around Tideswell? Click on the drawing to find them.

every day, once a day, give yourself a present

Bowl of chips and malt vinegar, Vanilla Kitchen, Tideswell.

I love Tideswell village. Recently I've been making the trip at least once a week to do some drawing. I love drawing so much. I want to keep learning. I want to learn how to draw buildings and landscapes. And, for me, there's no better place than Tideswell. It's a gorgeous village. Hopefully, one day soon, I'll show you some of the drawings I have made there. Drawings, that is, of the views, rather than the things I am comfortable drawing. Like chips.

Wooden Owl, charity shop, Tideswell.

My buddy Tim and I spent the most perfect day there recently. Apart from a gorgeous meal at Vanilla Kitchen (which is one of the best places to eat in the whole of the Peaks) the whole town was gearing up for Wakes week so there was all sorts of stuff going on. And, my favourite little charity shop was open. It's very rare to find it open. I've blogged about it before, and if you don't have much of a life you might want to read about it HERE.

I got this little wooden owl, a tiny padlock and 6 used German stamps for just 50p. Bargain. Actually, Tim treated me to them, as a birthday gift.

To be fair, he did also treat me to Neil Young tickets, a bed settee in a Travelodge and dinner at Ikea. He sure knows how to treat a lady. Thanks, chuck. This note's for you.

you're missing

Click on drawing to view.

There's a little village, not too far away, that I love to visit. It's a brilliant place to go and draw. Every house is different. Some are hundreds of years old, actually, most are. Some are so tiny you can't imagine how people actually stand up in them. I collected all the items for this drawing from the churchyard in this village. It also has one of the best tea rooms in the whole of the Peak district. Yes, I believe I visited them all.

There is also a little charity shop there which I've never seen open, until last week. It's just a tiny room in a very old stone building. FULL to the brim of stuff. Like some other shops in this area it has the oddest of opening times - every second Tuesday after a full moon from about 9:45 to 11:15am. So I was really excited to finally find it open.

Inside there was enough room for two customers and the lovely old lady that runs it. She told me how she'd raised £95,000 for the charity since she'd started it. How the row of shops had belonged to her family for generations. How her grandparents and great grandparents used to be a butchers and bakers in the village. How that had all changed since supermarkets had taken over the world. How all the old shops were now all being turned into luxury apartments. After about an hour I had to be on my way. I couldn't leave without buying something but there was nothing really calling out to me. I was looking for something to draw but even though I was surrounded by so much stuff I was feeling uninspired. Of course, that was nothing a rummage through an old rusty tin of buttons couldn't fix...