Sunday 21 June 2009

The swan and I


The Swan.

... could be the start of a fantastic short story. But it isnae (at least for today).


It's much more prosaic. Encountered when trying to sketch the grassy, watery, boggy inbetween land that is the bay of Lochranza on the Northern tip of Arran. This was at high tide and the swan was toddling about, munching a bit of grass here, flapping its wings there. Well... until it discovered me and my pastels.

After a standoff (yes, I know... I wouldn't have won) I got saved by a hoard of sheep moving in fast and - probably joyfully oblivious to the mighty swan - made it retreat back to the river bank.

Phew...


Did I say it was about to rain? This is what I did anyway:

Lochranza Bay_3
Lochranza Bay, 3
Graphite and neo ii in A4 Moleskine

Lochranza Bay_4
Lochranza Bay, 4
Soft Pastel in A4 Moleskine

Lochranza Bay_5
Lochranza Bay, 5
Soft Pastel in A4 Moleskine

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovely sketches!
! was also observing a Swan.
when I was down at Langstone earlier this week. They are not as majestic when wading about on Mud!

Lindsay said...

This is just beatuful. I love seeing your part of the world. Lovely sketches too!

Gesa said...

Cheers, Chris - but once they flap their wings they are rather mighty. I think I had a scary encounter with a swan when it was still a lot taller than I, a long time ago.
Thank you, Lindsay - I was so glad to be getting out of town and into the countryside (rather than abroad) - this time of year is so lovely with the spring greens just turning into full-out summer colours. And Scotland is just SOOOO green, it always amazes me.

Anonymous said...

Ye gods it is ENORMOUS. I would not want to make it cross, that's for sure!

Gesa said...

hehehe... neither did i... after a close look or three...