Beschorneria yuccoides

Beschorneria yuccoides and a Yucca
11.5" x 17", pencil and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Do you know how long it took me to identify this plant? Do you know how completely unhelpful the RHS website is at identifying and providing images of plants in its own gardens? Can you tell I got more than a bit frustrated while trying to identify this plant? That will teach me to forget to photograph the name plate of the plant I'm drawing!!!

After nearly an hour of searching on the web and trying out various search terms and plant directories, Ifinally came up with Beschorneria yuccoides - confirmed by the Cambridge Botanic Garden and this site - Cool Tropical Plants which was the most helpful in terms of telling me what it is and how to look after it in layman's terms.

Anyway - it's a very spectacular plant and I found it on Weather Hill at Wisley, just near the top entrance to the Vegetable Garden. They've got about 3 or 4 growing up there and it was very spectacular at the end of May when we visited Wisley on that hot bank holiday weekend.

I'm toying with doing this one as a formal drawing for next years botanical artists exhibition. You may see it again!

Sketchercise and gardens - I find that visiting large gardens is a really great way to combine walking with sketching - and the bigger the garden the more walking gets done. RHS Wisley is a fabulous garden from this perspective. However I wasn't too keen on the bit where I couldn't get reception on my mobile phone so I could ring "he who must not bored while I sketch" who was having a very nice time sat next to the lake with the Sunday papers. I had to scoot all the way down the hill and across the stream and across seven acres to tell him that we needed to reschedule the planned meet-up....and then had to scoot all the way back up the hill again to get back to my spot for drawing these plants. But I just kept thinking about how it was probably doing me the world of good!

Sketchercise on 31st May 2009: 7,409 steps and 3.5 miles

It's a watercolour.........

Willow Pond 14th June 2009 5.00pm
watercolour and coloured pencil in Conté à Paris sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

.....but it's got coloured pencil on top as I'm not great at watercolour!

I was trying out a new sketching kit during a late afternoon sketch of a weed covered Willow Pond while sat on my new sketching stool on Heron Bridge. (See Ecology Park Pond series)

• set of 12 large pans of Schminke watercolours
• enormous brush - specifically chosen so I wasn't tempted to get detail oriented
• Conté à Paris sketchbook - an old favourite, great paper for watercolour sketches
• 2 pill tubs for water - haven't tried these before but they work fine
  
• a few coloured pencils
• pentel HB mechanical pencil - for initial layout

The big brush worked in terms of avoiding detail. Mixing watercolours was much faster as well plus it was great for working round edges and softening them up when used with clean water, however I think it'll take a bit of practice before I can use it really effectively.

The most difficult bit was trying to work out the mix for the very dark water. I was mixing complementary colours for quite a while before I hit on the perfect mixture which of course I now can't remember as I didn't write it down!

I did write a blog post A few tips about watercolour last year - such a pity I can't always remember them. It was originally written as much as a reminder for me as anybody else! I think I might need to print it out before I have another go.

Sketchercise: 5,509 steps 2.608 miles

Horse Guards Parade and the Lake in St James Park

Every evening in St James Park in London, round about 6.00pm, a very small lady arrives next to the Inn in Park to feed the birds which live in and around the lake. She brings her trolley and lots of bread and the pigeons and ducks and coots and geese all love her.

The Bird Lady and the St James Park (with Horse Guards in the background)
8" x 10", pen and ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This is a sketch I did about 6.00pm yesterday after the pastels workshop with Felicity House at the Mall Galleries and a stroll around the park.

It's a rather nice view with the buildings of Horse Guards Parade peeping out inbetween the trees at the end of the park which flanks Horse Guards Road.

A very long time ago, the Parade ground used to be a tilt yard where jousting festivals were held in the time of King Henry VIII.

Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London, at grid reference TQ299800. It was formerly the site of the Palace of Whitehall's tiltyard, where tournaments were held in the time of Henry VIII. It was also the scene of the annual celebrations of the birthday of Queen Elizabeth I.
Wikipedia - Horse Guards Parade

Today Horse Guards Parade is being used for Trooping the Colour - here's the BBC news page. They were getting ready for it yesterday - huge Union Jack flags lined The Mall and banks of seats surround the parade ground - which has got a very nice top surface of pea shingle at the moment - which I know because I walked across if on my way home to Embankment tube station!

You can read more about Horse Guards Parade, the buildings and Trooping the Colour on this website.

I came across an interesting picture on Wikipedia which shows you the view I was sketching from a slightly different perspective.

The Prospect of Whitehall from the Park of St James, by John Stow, published under licence dated 1755. This picture is problematic as it shows only the central block of Horse Guards, and even that is not the final design as built. It may have been prepared a few years before publication and based on preliminary designs seen by Stow. Despite the title Horse Guards is the focus of the picture, rather than the main section of the park, which is behind the artist, or the street Whitehall, which is behind the buildings.

The RWS Friends Sketching Group are going to be sketching in the Trafalgar Square/St James Park area next Sunday - so I'll be back sketching here again on the 21st. If you're interested contact Libby Tomlinson - details in the link.

Sketchercise: yesterday I did 8194 steps and walked 3.88 miles

[UPDATE: here's a slideshow from the BBC of Trooping the Colour on 13th June 2009]