Inspired by the coast

Re-charge your creativity by reconnecting with nature says Ann Blockley, who uses found materials to inspire her

Re-charge your creativity by re-connecting with nature says Ann Blockley, who uses found materials to inspire her work

Irecently re-located to a different part of the UK. Having lived in the same place for a long time I was no longer feeling stimulated by my surroundings. I had just finished writing my book Creativity Through Nature*, which dealt with issues ranging from creative block to working in a more sustainable way and regaining a healthy creative mind through a connection with and respect for nature. Working my way through the book was a cathartic experience and moving house was a direct consequence of its completion. I realised I wanted to live in a wilder landscape and become more rooted to nature for the sake of my creativity, mental and physical health.

Unblocking

I now live close to the sea with a multitude of inspiring things to paint. However, we had undertaken a massive renovation project and it was difficult to concentrate with the noise and mayhem of builders. I had nowhere to work and there was so much else to do. The excuses swept over me in a new wave of creative block. I decided to follow my own advice and turn the negatives into a positive. I could not work indoors so I moved outdoors instead, which stimulated fresh thinking.

Our artistic inclinations flow or ebb like the tides but creativity will

reappear. It is normal for inspiration, ideas and inclination to grow or decline and accepting that and dealing with it is half the battle. With this in mind, I left the builders to it and went to the beach to see what transpired.

I had grandiose visions of incredible, new-style paintings but decided that I was under enough pressure already. It was important to lower my expectations and simply enjoy time in the fresh air, absorbing and being mindful of new sights, smells, sounds, textures and even the taste of salt in the air. I made sketches without beating myself up if they were ‘not good enough’. For some reason, adults feel able to play like children on the beach in a way that we may not do elsewhere. The sea air, exercise and a primeval, elemental instinct encourages us to make marks in the sand, to decorate with pebbles and shells, to draw on rocks with chalky stones and to play for its own sake.

Sitting on the sand, absorbing my surroundings became more important than the ‘finished’ piece. I made a series of paint sketches and let the beach itself influence their direction. I had walked barefoot to my chosen spot and used my hands and finger tips to apply some of the paint, appreciating the grainy textures.

In order to cut down on heavy equipment I had not taken water so filled a waterpot in the estuary stream. I let sand mix with my paint and discovered that it stuck to it and created interesting textures. I imagined how in my studio I might sprinkle

gravelly sand and tiny flat bits of slate into gesso as a prepared surface for further work. In the crumbling cliff face, there were lumps of soft reddish stone. I took some loose pieces (we should be careful to take as little as possible and never dig bits out) and found that I could draw into the wet paint with these lumps of natural crayon. I resolved to crush some later and make it into pigment using some gum arabic and honey as a binder.

Stimulation

I am a magpie about collecting but am conscious to not over-forage and to respect the environment. I like to take my carefully chosen nature findings back to the studio so that when indoors I will find it easier to connect with places visited. The collected items can function as still-life material or act as material or tool. During my trip to the beach, I gathered a few bright shells as reminders of coastal colours; some sand from different areas with varying textures; a bit of flat driftwood as a potential new-style surface, and seaweed to inform me of the wavy patterns and shapes repeated and echoed in the rippled sands.

I even collected some tangled strands of fishing line – a sad reminder of the perils of plastic and dangers to our wildlife (below left). I wondered whether I might weave these strands into a collage as a message about the need for us to be more careful about the planet we live in. The coastal air was really stimulating my thinking!

Back in my studio I placed the seaweed on top of a generous wash of ink, watercolour and gouache. The different media echoed the contrast of translucent and opaque surfaces seen in the rocks and pools. Reflecting on my sketches, gathered objects, memories and photographs I realised that it was the close-up details around the edges of the beach that fascinated me more than the overall view. I was drawn to the rocks decorated in barnacles, shells and seaweeds; the abstract shapes and patterns with glimpses of water in pools, the bubbles as sea water crept in. I had made the seaweed print without any conscious plan – just playing. But now I looked into it and saw that it connected me back to the rocks I had both scrambled over and spent time drawing. I had made a start and taken some baby steps towards finding my voice in a new environment. More importantly, I had connected with nature, which had helped me to de-stress and stimulated new ideas. You can make similar prints using other plant forms from different environments, but the particular technique is not the relevant point. Wherever you live there are forms of nature to explore and enjoy, and it is that intimate contact with ‘green’, natural subjects that is good for us all.

Next month: Inspiration from meadows and hedges

DEMONSTRATION

Oh, I do like to be Beside the Seaside

Sketch 2, gouache, ink, granulation medium, seawater on paper, 10¼313¾in (26335cm). As the light changed the colours became more vibrant. Or was it that I was simply more in tune with these underlying colours as I spent time absorbing them? I decided to keep my palette cleaner and brighter and, as I did so, I felt fresh and lively in myself. Nature’s magic was at work

Sketch 1, gouache, ink, granulation medium, seawater on paper, 10¼313¾in (26335cm). This sketch was my first step and the result felt quite ordinary. I had not begun to connect and had immediately fallen into using habitual techniques without finding a particular visual statement to make about the surroundings. However, it had been enjoyable and I relaxed into another version

Sketch 3, gouache, ink, granulation medium, seawater on paper, 10¼313¾in (26335cm). I began to become more aware of the rocks in front of me – their rounded shapes and patterns of light and secret colours within the greys

Sketch 5, ink, sand, gouache, estuary water on paper, 7310¼in (18326cm). I sketched another spontaneous version to capture something of the fabulous evening atmosphere. I could not resist sprinkling sand again but later used diluted PVA glue to stick it to the sketch as it would otherwise rub off without a binder. You could use acrylic matte medium instead. When this was dry, I rubbed white gouache straight from the tube over the raised sandy texture to re-create some of the sparkling light of the scene

Sketch 4, ink, sand, seaweed, estuary water on paper, 73101/4in (18326cm). I visited the estuary at low tide one evening as the low sun cast a sparkling net of silver light across the sands. Two swans swam across – tiny cut-out scraps of white. I didn’t paint them but kept the image in my head for future reference. However, I believe that the notion of their crisp pale shapes influenced the way I sketched, leaving sharp edges of white paper to represent the light on the water and puddled sand. I used seaweed to drag ink into the delicate tangled patterns on the right. I also threw coarse sand onto the sketch – just because I could! It disturbed the wet ink to create mottled textures

STAGE ONE detail I laid seaweed on wet, water-based media to leave impressions on the paper. I made several seaweed prints without any particular plan – I was experimenting and playing with memories from my recent sketching trip, not worrying about creating a ‘finished‘ piece. I used colours taken from my sketches and foraged collection of goodies. When these were dry one stood out as having clear marks and interesting shapes so I worked into it

The beach findings that I gathered for reference and inspiration in my studio

FINISHED PAINTING Oh, I do like to be Beside the Seaside, ink, gouache, seaweed, estuary water on paper, 15317¾in (38345cm). I deliberately left the final stage a little vague and elusive. I did not want to explain every detail and make sense of it. I wanted to retain its abstract quality and relish the interesting patterns and memories of the rocks, pools, shells, barnacles and glimpses of water

STAGE TWO detail To help make the ‘print’ more defined I had put another sheet of paper over the artwork and pressed it down with boards and left until almost dry. Some of the top paper had stuck but I was able to dampen it and pull it off. The underside of these scraps had picked up the colours and textures from the painted surface underneath. This meant that they were useful material to tear into rock shapes and collage onto the dry print later, in order to re-design it