046 lighthouse

Day forty-six of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Managed to sneak this in before I caught up with Dad on Skype tonight.

He was ready to chat before I finished, and I knew he had to go out to visit Mum after we spoke and go to an appointment after that, so I kind of rushed the shading on the stripes.

Not to mention I obviously should have shaded them with the strokes going in the same direction. Very lazy of me!

I'm pretty happy with this effort otherwise, though.

There are imperfections but not as jarring as yesterday's attempt.

The platform at the top of the lighthouse is a bit wonky. Arguably, the whole lighthouse is a bit more upright than in the original, but I think it's a valiant effort.

The original sketch was done with a 4H pencil. The shading on the stripes and the darker shading in the windows with a 6B pencil using two different pressures. And the outline and such accentuated with an HB and a heavier 2B.

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045 beetle

Day forty-five of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

There are so many things wrong with yesterday's sketch. I don't know where to start...

No, that's not true.

Let's start with those tyres and wheel arches. Clearly, the proportion of the front and rear tyres should be reversed.

Despite sketching in landscape format - after acknowledging I wasn't going to manage it as a square sketch and erasing my first attempt - it still ended up squished.

Overall, it's not terrible, but there are many flaws in this drawing, despite the fact I worked on it for about an hour. I wasn't rushed as I started drawing earlier, though I'm posting it the next day.

Oh well.

Again, the original sketch was drawn with a 4H pencil. Then main outlines/lines were gone over with an HB and the secondary bits (e.g. lines seen through glass) in a heavier 4H.

I always wanted a VW Beetle (the old school style, like this) and/or a Mini Minor. However, my Mum rolled a Mini taking a corner in her younger days, so she was against that idea. And she wasn't keen on a car with the engine in the front.

I'm pretty sure she also had a Fiat of some description in her younger days, though I'm not sure it was a Fiat 500.

So, she had some of the cars I fancied and wasn't up for me having the same.

Maybe that contributed to me never actually getting my full license and buying a car...?

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044 plastered

Day forty-four of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Despite going to bed at a "reasonable" hour yesterday morning (read: about 2:00), I didn't actually get to sleep until around 06:00, and then I was up and at my desk working at 08:45. Somehow I'm not yet comatose after 2:00 the next day. I have had my moments, though.

Lack of sleep notwithstanding, yesterday was a good day. I'm so unimaginably thankful for that.

I finished work at a semi-reasonable hour yesterday, but I took some time to message my good friend, Don, and run some errands last evening. Consequently, I still ended up starting on my sketch after 23:00. No regrets.

I managed to finish my sketch with about 15 minutes left of the day.

I picked this snap of my right hand from 2017, demonstrating my bad skin-chewing habits, to try to sketch today.

My forefinger is too long and a little too slim. My middle finger too stubby. (I blame trying to fit it within the page constraints). This then means my ring finger and my pinkie are even stubbier in the sketch than they are in real life. Not to mention the pinkie is fatter than in real life.

My hands (and feet and height) haven't increased in size since I was 11 years old. Whilst I like having small hands, I've always felt they were a bit chubby and not as graceful and lithe as other women's. So it's kind of jarring that I managed to make them look even more chubby and stubby in my sketch.

My thumb's actually relatively reasonable though the angle of my nail is a bit off. The webbing between my thumb and forefinger appears unflatteringly correct. But it occurs to me the creases near the base of my thumb look a bit vaginal. Haha. Oops.

As has become my habit, I sketched this with a 4H initially. I then added some shadowing with a 4B and accentuated the outlines variously with a heavier 4H and an HB pencil. I also attempted to smudge the shadowing with my finger. But that doesn't really come through in the photo of my sketch.

As I was finishing off yesterday's sketch, it occurred to me I've inadvertently developed a style with my drawing. Much the same way I've previously developed one within my photography.

It wasn't intentional. But at almost halfway through the project, it's just kind of happened.

My drawing ability varies from day to day, subject to subject, but I'd say that my style is coming through, whether I like it or not.

For what it's worth, I think I did a fair job on the plasters (Band-Aids for my Australian, Canadian and American friends) and the ends of those two fingers.

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043 padlock

Day forty-three of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Today was calmer and mostly a day of rest for me. A flat, meh kinda day, mostly. But I'll take that rather than turmoil and upset.

I managed to get my sketch done earlier tonight and was doing it in less of a frantic rush.

I managed to thin out the main section of the padlock. And I think I transformed the writing on the front of the padlock to a more direct-facing angle than the original image.

The chain links are also not really uniform in shape and size, but you can see what I'm aiming at, at least.

I drew this with a 4H pencil. Then went over most of the padlock and added some shading with an HB pencil. I left the text on the padlock at 4H but went over them a little heavier.

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cædmon's cross

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 7 March 2021].}

I took this photograph in February 2012, in St Mary's churchyard, Whitby, and only just found out about the poet it was erected in honour of, Cædmon, tonight.

I've got quite a few things still left to do before midnight as today was an exceedingly lazy one, but I will have to read more about him when I get those things done.

Once again, my photography leading me to more learning and discovery :)

042 the arch

Day forty-two of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Frankly, yesterday felt shite.

Today is not feeling much better so far because I'm still awake from yesterday.

What I'd do right now for just one week without some drama, some stress, some misunderstanding, and just an "easy ride". One week in which I felt like the cake in my hands won't explode in my face at any minute.

Yesterday I chose to sketch Henry Moore's The Arch from a photo I took on a walk with my friend, Phil, in 2018. Just because it seemed straightforward-ish, and it was. Thankfully.

Apart from knowing it stands in Kensington Gardens because I photographed it there in 2018, I didn't really know much about it until I Googled it just now.

As often happens for me, the choice was at least somewhat synchronistic.

Moore commented:

One of the things I would like to think my sculpture has is a force, is a strength, is a life, a vitality from inside it, so that you have the sense that the form is pressing from inside trying to burst or trying to give off the strength from inside itself...

This quote fits how I think about myself and many other artists I know. A force. A  strength. A vitality coming from inside and pressing, fit to burst.

So when that vitality and strength feels like it's being held down, there's a struggle. There's a disconnect. I do not feel myself.

I've had to compartmentalise so much of myself over the decades. Through work, relationships, family, friends, social media. That I now actively rebel against that and struggle with being asked to do it, even if I understand the reasons and, ultimately, respect requests to do so.

Henry Moore goes on to say:

This is, perhaps, what makes me interested in bones as much as in flesh because the bone is the inner structure of all living form.

This compartmentalisation feels like chipping away at bones. Breaking and weakening my foundations. Foundations that take time to repair. To strengthen. So I will resist. Even if, ultimately, I break.

I sketched the sculpture in 4H then went over the outline with an HB pencil.

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041 mary janes

Day forty-one of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

And then, yesterday, all was right with the world again.

The previous day's curveball means I'll be working long hours this weekend to make up hours lost in the past couple of days, but two positives came out of the past twenty-four hours:

• Simon and I are now even closer, and our relationship stronger.

• I hit a 10kg weight loss milestone.

Turns out the stress of those 24 hours helped me to jump the next weight-loss hurdle.

I probably would have preferred an hour or more on my stationary bike to get there than what happened. Especially as I'd have been able to watch some entertaining TV at the same time. But I guess I'll take it...

By 14:00 yesterday, we also had an update on Simon's long-awaited return to London. The exact date isn't confirmed yet, but he should be on his way back to London by Monday week at the latest. With any luck, we'll be reunited before Easter. An early birthday present for both of us.

I decided to keep today's drawing relatively simple and not focus too much on photo-realism.

Having said that, somehow, one of my feet turned out slimmer than the other, though that's not really reflective of the source image.

I drew this with a 4H pencil then went over the black outlines of the skirt and shoes with an HB. I went a little heavier over the edge where the white polka dots intersected with the 4H, and I used a 2H pencil for the outline of my tights/legs.

As you can see, I kinda botched the polka dots on the right-hand side of the image despite going great guns on the left first.

I made a mess drawing over the left side of the shoe opening on my right foot with the HB pencil.

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040 two pounds

Day forty of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Yesterday was one for the books. I don't even know where to start. And so I won't start.

But it felt fitting to draw something irreverent (in my mind) to distract from things.

So here's an illustrated rendering of a £2 peepshow neon sign from God's Own Junkyard. Another place I'd like to return to once lockdown has lifted.

Sketched with a 4H pencil, then traced over with an HB.

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039 lamp post

Day thirty-nine of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

I finished drawing this just before midnight yesterday. But then I got engaged in another discussion about current affairs with one of my patrons and good friends, Chris.

Chris seems to have his sleeping patterns under better control than me now. We were previously exchanging messages about politics and current affairs at 4:00 most mornings. But it doesn't stop us from starting conversations about the deeper issues at midnight!

Meanwhile, today's sketch was inspired by a photo I took at Ongar Railway Station in Chipping Ongar, Essex, back in April 2019.

Simon and I caught the Real Ale Train on the Epping-Ongar Railway that day. Unfortunately, it was cold and rainy and, once the weather cleared a bit, I was feeling nauseous (not because of the cider!)

Consequently, I took literally one photograph with my DSLR and a small smattering of photos from the train with my iPhone.

I know they've been suffering because of all the lockdowns. To support them, and because of the issues on our last journey, I'd like to join the train another time soon. Once the lockdowns have eased. To enjoy the train trip, hop off and have a nose around Chipping Ongar, and then enjoy some cider properly on the way back.

Back to my sketch, though.

I started this sketch intending to capture the whole scene. I quickly realised my ability to condense this much image into an A4 page of sketching in square format was just not going to happen.

So for today's sketch, I settled for capturing the lamp post. And adding the roof of the building behind it.

The lamp post in my sketch looks like someone kicked a football at it. Rather than the perfectly vertical lamp post in the photo. And my perspective is off generally.

I suspect I would do better:

a) Using an A3 piece of paper, rather than A4.

b) Not using a notebook or any other drawing surface that creates a curve or has edges raised too much off the desk.

c) Using a larger space to draw in, rather than my overcluttered desk (though I do love having my plants by my side!)

I suspect there's also something to be said for using a surface that allows my eye line to be at the same point for looking at the source image and the image I'm drawing at the same time.

I'm trying to stick to what I have and the parameters I've set, though.

This was initially a 4H pencil sketch. As has become my wont. I accentuated it with an HB pencil outline. Then a heavier 4H pencil on the lightbulb and other elements.

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038 plume moth

Day thirty-eight of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Okay, honestly, if the title didn't give it away, would you see this sketch and think it's:

a) a scarecrow fashioned after a headless Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas

b) a crucifixion with extras

c) a plume moth

I wouldn't blame you if you picked anything other than a plume moth as I didn't even know what they were a few years ago.

But each year, I see at least one of the fellows, and they're kind of cute if a little wooden-looking.

My rendering is a little off, with his right wing a little too high up and his back legs a little less subtle than they should be.

He was sketched with a 4H. The darker points were drawn over with a 3B. And the outline accentuated with an HB before going over the lighter bits a little heavier with the 4H.

Managed to get this puppy... er, moth... sketched before midnight. But then got sidetracked in a What's App chat with Simon just after midnight on subjects as varied as the British monarchy, organised religion, kittehs, plants, and subordination vs loyalty. All the light stuff, eh?

One of the many reasons I love him. We have such varying conversations - from the frivolous to the intensely contentious - within a little over an hour. (Even if we're mostly coming from the same place with the more prickly subjects).

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terrain de jeux

^{[I originally posted this image as early access for my Patreon patrons on 3 March 2021].}

037 unlucky for some

Day thirty-seven of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

How many of you are old enough to remember when the credits of a film shot in widescreen (16:9) were broadcast on the old television aspect ratio (4:3)? When they'd resize the frame to allow the credits to mostly be visible on the screen?

I'm guessing there's a few of you.

So, let's imagine that's what I did with my sketch today.

Clearly, that chair isn't proportionately as wide as it is in the original image. But I was trying to keep the width of the image within the page's edges.

I actually worked from a square version of the source image. I shot the source photo as a 1:1 square image and shared it previously on Instagram in that format. But my iPhone 11 Pro Max saves the original image in the full-frame ratio. So when I realised my sketch was portrait format, I could at least have a matching format photograph to pair with it to share.

There's also a bit of curvature on the left-hand side of the sketch. This is due to the page in my art journal curving when laid open. I held the left side of the journal up as I photographed my sketch. But clearly not enough to compensate for it and make the page appear flat.

Today's sketch was drawn with a 4H pencil.

I decided, in advance, I was going to shadow out the motel room interiors. But I did overlook the door handles and keys hanging from them when I sketched. Oops!

I corrected the bolts on the upper verandah coverage, but I'd drawn them a bit too heavy. So you can still see where I originally placed them too low down.

The door numbers are clearly not to scale (with each other or the doors).

There are some other inaccuracies in there (don't count them!) And the bricks were not drawn for realism but with artistic license.

Today was a bit of a write-off again for almost everything, but I'm trying to get my sleeping patterns back on track this week.

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036 wind turbine

Day thirty-six of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Once again, I started my sketch after 23:30 yesterday. I finished a few minutes after midnight after a lazy, lazy day and a minuscule amount of work in the last stretch of the evening.

I picked this image I took at the Toora wind farm in November last year on my road trip from Melbourne to Brisbane with Simon because it seemed like something I could draw quickly. I was both right and wrong.

It's a passable sketch - I'm pretty sure you'd know what it was without the source image - but the top blade leans a little too hard to the left. And the right one is hanging too low and is a bit short compared to its counterpart on the left.

A satisfying attempt for me after what was a long week. I'll take it.

I'm hoping this week is a little gentler on me and on any of you struggling lately.

If you've not already had a listen, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' latest collaboration, Carnage, has been on heavy rotation here since Friday. I realised yesterday I wasn't following Cave's solo Spotify profile, so it wasn't served up to me on the day of release. Though I was following Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Dirty Three, and, I think, Warren Ellis, so I'm still confused as to why it wasn't in my new release batch last week.

Oh, and Happy International Women's Day! I only found out today that many countries and some individual cities actually have a bank holiday to celebrate IWD!

In case you're missing it this year, some clever chappy archived Richard Herring's tweets from 2019. For those who don't know: Herring has done sterling work responding to the excessive number of tweets asking when International Men's Day is for the past eight years. You can send the archive link to twats as a "let me Google that for you" type of response if anyone you know needs to read it.

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love letters to london: the wild life

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 28 February 2021].}

So, here's my first proper love letter to London!

Firstly, I need to clarify that the aspects I'll highlight in these love letters are not necessarily exclusive to London or even to the UK.

I recognise the global nature of so much in our world means very little of what we enjoy about a place is native to that place or is exclusive in any way.

This series will highlight things I've either discovered in London, appreciated most from my time here, or that I feel London does well.

For example, I know Australia does wildlife like no other continent. It might not have the most extensive collection of native animals (or maybe it does. I haven't checked the stats on that!) But it has some of the most distinctive and recognisable ones.

But there are critters here you don't see roaming in the wild in Australia. And so, for me, London is the place I've had the opportunity to discover these fellas and observe them in their day-to-day activities. Many, literally, in my own backyard.

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untitled #69 [new barnet, london, england, united kingdom, 2018]

Despite living in a built-up suburban area of north London, I get to see eastern grey squirrels chasing each other in my backyard almost every day.

I get to see red foxes lurking about under the sensor light in the wee hours, leaving their tracks in the snow.

I get to check out tits perched on the branches outside my bedroom. Great tits, even.

I hear the hopeless karaoke of Eurasian magpies (beautiful birds but they cannae hold a tune!) and the lovely song of the blackbird, right from my cosy bed.

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untitled #422 [city of london cemetery and crematorium, manor park, london, england, united kingdom, 2011]

I'm not going to lie: this could have been devoted to squirrels. And I'm not discounting the possibility that I will, at some point, share a post that is purely squirrel, squirrel, squirrel.

I mean, they love nuts, toast and hanging around in cemeteries. We haven't discussed their opinion of cheese and cider. But I feel sure we see eye-to-eye on most things, aside from spending time at great heights and climbing trees.

I know the eastern grey is seen as an invasive species and has driven out a large proportion of the native red squirrel population. But they are super-cute little guys.

However, I thought I should also highlight some other critters I find engaging.

Unfortunately, I see foxes a lot but never manage to capture them well for various reasons. Many times because I'm indoors looking out from my bedroom or kitchen, other times because it's twilight or night-time and I'm only equipped with the camera on my phone. A neighbour of mine takes beautiful photos of them. Apparently, they hang out in his allotment, so I want to find out if I can drop in some time to meet them.

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untitled #45 [regent’s canal, camden town, london, england, united kingdom, 2018]

It feels like mute swans are everywhere in central London parks and canals. I'm not sure that's true, but I see them a lot, and they are one of the more difficult birds to capture well in photographs. Their bright white feathers often end up blown out in photos, especially where they're submerged and surrounded by dark, murky water.

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untitled #92 [regent’s canal, the regent’s park, london, england, united kingdom, 2018]

They definitely seem less daunted by humans than other birds may be, though, not necessarily 'tame'. Likely because "they are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and killing or even injuring one carries a £5,000 fine or six months in jail. Stealing a swan egg is considered an equal offence and carries the same maximum penalty".

Apparently, the 'punishable by death' law was never repealed either. Not that I have any intention to do these graceful fellows any harm, let alone consume them. But worth knowing.

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untitled #123 [the regent’s park, london, england, united kingdom, 2018]

An introduced species like myself, the Canada Goose seems to be as common as muck around London.

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he don’t give a coot [the regent’s park, london, england, united kingdom, 2018]

They are rather pleasing to look at, and they don't give a coot about other birds.

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untitled #5 [regent’s canal, camden town, london, england, 2018]

Speaking of coots, apparently, they're also commonly found in Australia, but I only noticed these masked birdies once I moved to London.

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untitled #126 [the regent’s park, london, england, united kingdom, 2018]

Back to some native birdlife, the grey heron is pretty eye-catching. Its yellow eyes, especially.

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lifeguard [the regent’s park, london, england, united kingdom, 2018]

They also appear to be self-appointed lifeguards. Keeping an eye on the safety of other birds and animals on lakes in London's parks.

This post only just scratches the surface of the animalia that has caught my eye here in London. I'm regularly discovering birds, animals and insects that are new to me. Whether out and about in parks around London or just in my own yard. And photographing them where I can, of course!

035 the big golden guitar

Day thirty-five of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

I left my sketch until about 23:30 yesterday because I did some catching up on sleep and then worked for about six hours.

So I finished yesterday's drawing a few minutes after midnight today.

Full disclosure: I did correct the lean on this with a slight rotation when cropping in Photoshop. I'm not sure if that was in my photography or in the original drawing.

It didn't fix the general wonkiness of the guitar's neck and other elements, though.

Looking at it as I prepped it for posting, I was reminded of Tom Wait's The piano has been drinking (not me). I was sober when I started drawing, I swear! :)

I sketched this with a 4H pencil. Added shadows using a 6B, a 4B and a 2B. I went over some of the outline with an HB pencil and accentuated other spots with the 4H used heavier.

I wanted to visit Tamworth on previous road trips. But it's so far inland, and many people argue it's not a particularly interesting route.

Simon and I hadn't planned to visit Tamworth on our road trip from Melbourne to Brisbane in November 2019. We'd been planning to take a mostly coastal route with a detour into the Blue Mountains.

The bushfires had other ideas.

So I finally, after 42 years, with all but about 11 of them living in Australia, made it to Tamworth.

To be honest, we didn't see that much of the city as we were conscious we had a way to go to beat the bushfires to get to my uncle's place the next day.

As it was, during the first part of our road trip, the route via the New England Highway had been closed due to bushfires. We just managed to cut through in a period when it had reopened after the fires that devastated areas around Glen Innes and Tenterfield. While the bushfires were conveniently distracted by the enticing landscapes of Port Macquarie, where we had intended to stay in a caravan park cabin.

If the Devil had proposed a deal whereby I could visit Tamworth but, in exchange, large parts of Australia had to burn, that was a deal I would not have struck...

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034 rat

Day thirty-four of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

So, with all the positive outcomes and relief yesterday, today, with 2.5 days of filming left, the production Simon's working on was put on hold again. Because, of course.

He was due to be heading back to London on Monday, but now we don't know when he will be coming home :(

There's nothing either of us can do about it, but it sucks. Simon's return was so close I could smell it, even if I wouldn't have been able to smell him for another couple of weeks due to self-isolation requirements.

I had a tension headache all day today. I woke up with it, and it lurked about until I went out in the fresh cold evening air about 19:00.

Thankfully, apart from a half-hour training session this morning, I could reschedule my work hours to tomorrow and/or Sunday and just try to rest to shake it off.

As a consequence, I had more time this evening for my sketch. So, of course, I bit off more than I could chew... Though not my worst so far.

I decided early on that I wasn't going to even attempt all the fur. That the outline would do today.

I sketched out his little rat body with a 4H pencil. I drew his furry outline with a 4B. And I then went over the lines of his tail, feet, nose and the leaf with an HB pencil.

He lost a bit of weight in the drawing. And there are other imperfections, but it's not glaringly terrible like yesterday's attempt. It also appears I'm better at drawing rats than cats...

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033 aeroplane

Day thirty-three of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

A third of the way through the project now!

Yesterday was a good day as three stressors that had been hanging over me were dealt with satisfactorily. After at least a week of feeling like I was being kicked while I was down, things finally felt like they were not working against me and taunting me.

Aside from the relief of that, Dad and I had a good chat before I went to bed far too late/early yesterday morning. It's hard being so far away. And knowing that, even if I could afford to travel, I can't visit him right now.

Our chat ended at about 05:00 my time.

I managed to attend a virtual training session this morning, as scheduled. But being self-employed meant I could crawl back into bed for a while without anyone knowing, caring or judging, before working in the evening and being in a better state to do so.

One of the stressors mentioned above involved me calling Australia during their business hours. As a consequence, I started my sketch at 23:45 yesterday. This was the first sketch during the project that took me into the next day.

If I'd had more time, I probably would have scrapped this and started over. The lines of the things under the wings ("Technical term". Are they the rear of engines? Feel free to enlighten me!) were completely wrong. I'm aware this was caused by the lines I drew on the wings themselves. I knew they were wrong as soon as I started drawing those cones (for lack of a better description) under the wing, but I essentially would have had to start over to fix them, and I just didn't have time.

I will give this one a second attempt (at least) because I feel like this was a massive fail.

Let's just say: I wouldn't fly in the aeroplane I drew!

The one saving grace is that you can probably identify the flying kangaroo if you didn't have the source image and wanted to figure out what I was aiming for.

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032 leave me alone

Day thirty-two of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Yesterday was mostly positive but mostly busy, so still a bit exhausting.

I hit a wall at 18:00 after a virtual property inspection with our property manager. Thankfully, I managed to come back from it after a brief visit to the stupormarket for some essentials. Enough to get more hours clocked up for the day and get my sketch snuck in within the last half hour.

I'll be having a lie-in today, though I suspect it will end up being an equally busy day.

At least Simon and I got an hour of nattering in today. Which was a nice break from everything else.

So, with my small window of time for my sketch today, I picked something slightly humorous and simplistic.

The leaves aren't very realistic - they're almost cartoonish - but I think it works with the little yellow-ball-face thing.

I didn't know what to call him, so I decided to go with a puntastic title for today's sketch instead of the simple nouns I've been using for every other day so far. I almost went with 'self-portrait with leaves' because his expression is not dissimilar to the one on my face the past few days.

Today's sketch was all HB.

I do have more complicated or detailed subjects and images I want to attempt during this project. But, right now, time and energy isn't always something I have. I'm hoping to regain some of both of those things in the coming weeks, but we'll see.

If you have any suggestions or requests for sketches or subjects, feel free to let me know! You can comment on any post or email me, and I'll see what I can do!

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031 fuchsia buds

Day thirty-one of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

I feel like I phoned it in today, and it shows.

Just feeling tired and stressed and too much on my mind tonight after I finished my work for the day. And too much still to do before I rest tonight. And things to tackle tomorrow that are stressing me out more.

So I foolishly used a 6B for the darker tones on the top of the buds, not thinking ahead that it would leave me nowhere to go with the shadows around the buds. They had to be 5B instead, which I hadn't used before, so the lines are too harsh in the shadows.

I drew the outline initially with the 4H again. Created the darker pinks with the 6B. Went heavier over the bits in between with an HB, then added the shadows.

That's all she wrote.

Will do better tomorrow, hopefully.

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upon a country lane

^{[I originally posted this image as early access for my Patreon patrons on 24 February 2021].}