Lindisfarne
These sketches are of our visit to Lindisfarne & Bamburgh Castle. I’m sketching in a Arboreta 160gsm off-white cartridge paper pad. I find the paper does not cockle too much when I apply a watercolour wash.
We are on holiday in and around the Scottish Borders, but have come back into England to Northumbria‘s Holy Island – Lindisfarne. Crossing the causeway at about 9.30 am. As it’s a school holiday and a lovely sunny day, lots of other people are arriving too. On mass, we are all heading for the toilets, Priory and the Castle (not necessarily in that order!)
The Priory had an interesting exhibition explaining the history of the Priory, Saints and the Island. With many artefacts. I love the Anglo-Saxon carved stone cross stems with their intricate Knotwork. In the ruins of the Priory, we watched ‘Time Will Tell’ who were three actors bringing the history of Lindisfarne to life for us all – Great fun!
Lindisfarne Castle
A4 ~ Watercolour sketch with watercolour pencils (Black & Blue) over the top of the washes.
We then left the crowds behind by going for a walk around the island and ‘The Lough’. Watching out for birds & seals. Back in the village, we rejoined the crowds who were now streaming back to their cars. It was a mass exodus of the island before the causeway flooded. It must be lovely to stay on Lindisfarne with the tide in and have the island more to yourself. Have to try and do that next time!
Sketching & Materials Used
For these sketches I’ve used an A4 Arboreta heavy-weight 160g/m sketch pad. 6B pencil, Winsor & Newton, watercolour field paint box, with a couple of round brushes – sable no.6 + no.1 and watercolour pencils.
Bamburgh Castle
We all thought that the entry fee was very good value for money and found it equally interesting.
The above A4 sketch was hurriedly drawn on the beach, with an incoming tide. So I only had time to draw in the pencil lines and take a long look at the colours (taking a photo with my mind). Adding the watercolour when we arrived back at our holiday cottage.
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