A love for plein-air sketching

Drawing what you see outside is a fantastic way to develop your observational skills, which is why I try to do it as much as possible when going on trips or days out! Having done it for many years now, I have found the confidence to just draw where and when I want, not letting the fact that others might see me, faze me!

My latest day trip was visiting a town near mine, over the Welsh border, called Monmouth. The place is quaint and full of history. I loved finding the details on the Monnow Bridge, the only remaining fortified river bridge in the UK, constructed in the 1200s. Stopping to draw makes you really look at things and notice details your eyes would otherwise sweep past. Finding the tiny doors on the sides and wondering where they lead to, or noticing the huge flock of pigeons perched on the old roof makes visiting places like this all the more exciting.

Monmouth also has a castle! Though it is left in ruins, and half of it is on someone's property (imagine having a castle in your garden!!!), it is sat in a quiet, overgrown part of the town, which was a lovely place to draw in.

Here are the sketches I drew on that day! The technique I used to draw the castle - drawing every single block - was not something I planned, but the more squares I drew, the more therapeutic I found the process. Although, I still felt like I never wanted to draw another square again once I had finished!

I like to show my plein-art journeys in my vlogs. Click on a random video and there will likely be at least one venture outside to draw! I especially challenged myself to draw from life when setting a '10 day sketchbook' challenge for myself, where I filled a sketchbook within 10 days. You can see my documentation of that week here:

I hope this gives you some incentive to go outside and draw!