Visiting Northern England: Royal Pump Room, Harrogate

Everything fell in to place this morning, I visited Harrogate and had decided on sketching the Royal Pump Room, a beautiful building with lots of shapes and angles. Although it wasn't raining I imagined myself shivering in the cool, damp air. (I packed rain gear.) My daughter Emily dropped me off in front of the historical building and we made plans for her to pick me up in an hour and a half. There were two benches nearby but what I spotted next was perfect. A coffee shop, Cafe at Rasmus. (It is part of a contemporary furniture store that just recently turned some of their space into the coffee shop.) It is located across the street from the museum with a perfect view of it. There was an available table at the window, it couldn't have been more ideal. I ordered a mocha and settled in.

The Royal Pump Room, Harrogate
5 1/2 x 3 1/2" (sketch book) Ink Pen
Rita Salazar Dickerson





As usual, I chose something much more complicated than I thought it would be. I could have spent the entire time on the "crown" alone that rests so prettily at the top of the main building. As it turned out, it was a good drawing exercise on many levels and I enjoyed every moment.

Underneath the "crown", above the door, is an engraved sign that says, ARX CELEBRIS FONTIBUS which means "a citadel famous for its springs". (I must admit I was hoping it would translate into something a little more dramatic than that. But still, its good.)

I love England.

 

Painting Sheep II: First Three Stages

These are the beginning stages of the second painting in my sheep series. This little 10 x 8" will be a study for a larger one to follow.

At this first stage I mixed Transparent Earth Red with a paint medium and lightly painted in the shape of the sheep and the hillside. Beforehand, I had prepared the panel by rubbing on (with a soft cloth) a thin wash of Transparent Earth Red and Ultramarine Deep thinned with mineral spirits.

For the sheep's black markings, I mixed equal parts of Ultramarine Deep and Transparent Earth Red and then painted his white markings with Titanium white tinted with Transparent Earth Red.

Next, I painted in the sheep's coat of wool with different shades of Titanium White mixed with Transparent Earth Red and touches of the black (wet into wet paint) so that the colors mixed in together on the panel.

I'm looking forward to today's painting session where I will start adding the colors of the foreground hill as well as the background hillsides. 

Painting A Pheasant: 3rd Session

Ken's Pheasant
oil on panel, 10x8"
3rd Session

This blog has become my painting journal. Each time I post a completed painting it brings me back to the time and place that inspired its creation. This colorful little pheasant will always remind me of my time in England, in the North Yorkshire countryside, when a kind gentleman named Ken, took time out of his busy schedule to show Robert and I his beautiful homeland.

Thank you, Ken!

Sculpture From The Nereids Monument

One of the Three Nereids
Nereid Monument, Xanthos, about 390-380 BC
3 1/2"x 5", pen and ink

This is my final ink sketch while visiting the United Kingdom. Robert and I spent a few days seeing the sights of London. While we were in the British Museum, this ancient life-size sculpture, one of three in a set, captured my attention.  The beautiful movement and flow of the drapery was a stunning sight to behold. I spent the next 30 minutes sketching her. She was the perfect model, never moving and so accommodating.

Visiting York, England

West side view of York Minster Cathedral
5 1/4 x 3 1/2", pen and ink study

Yesterday was another day filled with adventure, awe and wonder. Robert and I took the train from Harrogate to York, ready to explore and study all that we could in one day. Once again we found ourselves surrounded by beauty and fascinating history. Our first visit (after the coffee shop), was to the York Minster. I had to sketch at least part of it. The heart shape that you see in the lower, large Great West Window is fondly called "The Heart of Yorkshire" and was completed in 1338. If you ever have the chance to visit York, the fee for seeing the inside of the Minster is well worth the cost and your ticket is valid for one year.

Sketching the upper portion of the West Side of York Minster.
February 17, 2012

Path To Pateley Bridge IV: Sheep



Path To Pateley Bridge IV: Sheep
11 x 9", pen and ink
Rita Salazar Dickerson, 2012

Across the River Nidd, there were sheep grazing in a green pasture as I walked along the path to Pateley Bridge.

Path To Pateley Bridge III: The Country Estate

Path To Pateley Bridge III
11 x 9", pen and ink

I had no idea that drawing this country estate would be so much fun! I also realize that if I had walked this path to Pateley Bridge at any other time of the year, the leaves from the branches would have blocked my view. The barrenness of winter can reveal many secrets. I might have seen a glimpse of it, but not this. 

I love England in the winter. 

Path To Pateley Bridge

  "Path To Pateley Bridge"
11 x 9", pen and ink

This blog post feels like it has been a long time in coming. For months I have known that I would be traveling to England to stay for several weeks. Having never been before I was so excited as I planned my trip. I had many questions but one thing I knew for sure, it would be completely different in many ways from my home state of Colorado.

I am staying in a little village in North Yorkshire called Glasshouses and from this village is a path (just over a mile long) that leads to a slightly larger village called Pateley Bridge where there are restaurants, a tearoom, art galleries, antique shops, a butcher, a bakery, a tempting candy shop and even a cobbler's shop. There is so much charm here I can hardly take it all in.

I haven't had too much time to explore yet, but I have taken time to walk on this beautiful path and
since I am more familiar with it than anything else right now, I decided to sketch it first.
Even though it is January, it feels like early spring. The grass is deep green, bright green moss covers the low stone walls that border each side of the path and then there is ivy growing everywhere along the way, even on the tall trees.