EXERCISE TWO

STEP 2

Now redraw your chosen view on larger paper or fill a page of your sketchbook. Get the proportions right and keep the pencil light and the shapes simple until you are happy with what you are going to work on. Then repeat the continuous line approach, again using a 2B–4B pencil. Stay loose and keep the shapes rounded

STEP 1

Look for a view that has obvious and clear perspective, eg a receding tree line, figures in the mid-ground and in the distance, clouds or jet streams that form obvious perspective shapes. If you are sketching lots of little views, feel free to take one shape/object and add to another if it improves the composition. You are the conductor so create the view you want. Make micro sketches to experiment, to see what works best. (see summer 2021 issue). Fill your page with little sketches, looking in all the directions around you. Once you have a few to look at, play with them – crop them and try to decide which sketch will work best on a bigger scale

STEP 3

Now add colour. As before, try to use continuous flowing lines. Build the colouring and tone layer by layer; note how the lines still have the freedom of the doodle – loose and curvy

Holkham Beach, After the Tide, acrylic on canvas,47¼359in (1203150cm). This studio painting is based on the exercises described in my articles and preliminary on-site work

Holkham beach in Norfolk