A little bit of serendipity here. I did a precise drawing of a rose window as a component of an ongoing project and added some watercolour to supplement the pen and ink work.
It simply wasn't going to work so I left it and next morning in a half-hearted effort to salvage it I (almost) threw some ultramarine at it then mist sprayed it with water and went to the studio coffee room. 
On return to my workspace the painting had dried out and actually struck me as not too bad and is now something of a work in its own right rather than a component part.
300 gsm smooth cartridge 35 x 50 cms
Serendipity indeed.

Dream of the Rood update

Detail of the latest development in the right hand panel of Dream of the Rood. Note the vertical ans horizontal cross hatching.

Current Sketchbook Pages

 The most Recent Detailed Drawing in the current sketchbook having worked from a photograph taken during a holiday in Gatehouse of Fleet a couple of years ago.

 Pein air pen and watercolour sketch done during a recent visit to family in South Wales just twenty minutes walk from their house.

Plein air pen and watercolour sketches in Arnside near Lancaster on a glorious Bank Holiday weekend.

From the New Sketchbook

The start of a new sketchbook. Actually it was started back in January this year exploring ideas for "Not all who wander...".  But after the first few pages it has settled down into being a series of studies worked from photograph taken over the last few months. Often in our great British climate it is too cold to stand around too long doing detailed drawings on site so I tend to make rapid sketches then back them up with a photograph. These sketchbook drawings have been made in the comfort of home where its warm and gallons of tea are available. Sketches are on A5 paper.

The process of drawing like this has me reliving the time I was there and perhaps this particular sketchbook will evolve into a journal of my travels both near and far.

 A doorway in a ruined building in a mixed forest near Gatehouse-of-Fleet on the Scots side of the Solway Firth. The greystone walls form a natural frame to the greenery beyond. A picture within a picture I might say.

 A study  of some weathered stonework at Jedburgh Abbey about midway along the A68 between Newcastle and Edinburgh, About ten or so miles into Scotland.

Near Bargoed in the Valleys of South Wales there's a stretch of mainly broadleaf forest which has been left to grow wild though its close proximity to the town means wildlife is relatively scarce. Many of the locals walk their dogs here. However there are a few paths though this which are relatively unfrequented, like the one shown here. I like this area because it has something of a "Middle-Earth" flavour to it. Autumn leaves strewn along the path like golden paving. I mainly draw with graphite pencils of varying grades and use inks or watercolour to highlight features that stand out when seen with my own eyes but may become obscured when in a photograph.

Sibelius' Fifth Symphony

The Symphonic Music of Jean Sibelius invokes the spirit of the landscape of his native Finland. Extending northwards from the northern edge of the Baltic to deep into the Arctic Circle and is a wild landscape of moorland, lakes and coniferous forests and for much of the year, snow. Sibelius is reputed to have said his Fifth Symphony described a walk in the snow with the empty  sky relieved by a flight of geese (or was it swans?) passing overhead and he felt his spirit soar with them.The final ten minutes of the work strongly alludes to this.
When I was younger I often walked through a similar landscape in the Border Forest area of Northumberland; especially in winter. Granted the Sitka spruces in Northumberland are an imported species, making up a much younger forest than its Finnish counterpart. Another essential factor is that unlike the Scandinavian forests, Northumberland's is man-made. It is arguably one of the the largest, if not the largest  man-made forest in Western Europe.
Needless to say it has the same "feel" about it as the Nordic pines; - especially in winter.
The above black and white line drawing is a layout of the idea. The elements of the picture are meant to echo the  musical structure of Sibelius's work. This layout is on a sheet of A4 cartridge paper. Another sheet of Fabriano 50 x 70 cms  is stretched on the Artech  board and the first pencil lines drawn. I will show this as "work in progress" at a later stage when some of the lines have been inked-in thus making it easier to see on a screen.

Meanwhile, some satellite pieces are evolving as I work out some of the detail. Some of these could, I suppose, be little works in their own right. These are postcard(ish) sized being 11 x 16 cms and on Bockingford paper in some cases or Fabriano. This one here is made with Daler's FW acrylic inks using a watercolour technique. The stave is the opening bars of the finale as played by violins played at allegro (fairly fast).

Then the flight of geese. Played at the same speed but each note is double the length of the quivering violins' [notes]. This majestic scene is played by the horns in the orchestra.

The tall pines reach up and point to the enormous sky. The musical stave is in place but I have yet to add the notes. Likewise these foreground trees need to be developed further. This post card is far from finished. A work in progress within a work in progress. I was working on this particular piece late on last Tuesday afternoon when I had to leave it. Dinner would soon be on the table and I had to catch the bus home across town.