I've done a little sketching lately, mostly while sitting in the car as either wind or rain prevents me from venturing out. Scenes constantly flash before me as I drive from place to place, wishing I'd taken the camera with me usually. Or I see something when I'm in a long line of slow moving traffic. I dare not pull off the road and try to get a sketch or shot as it would take forever to get back into the stream again.
But on weekends I sometimes manage to find time and less traffic and take the camera and sketchbook with me. Today, I did some shopping downtown which in St. John's is always a challenge in terms of parking, but more interesting than a sterile mall. On the way back I stopped to pick up T.O.O. (the other one) in my favourite haunt, the Anglican Cathedral church yard. He had gone to find any remaining conkers from the trees there.
The cemetery is reported to be the oldest in the city, going back to the 1600s. Most of the gravestones are long gone, having toppled over and nature reclaimed them. There is a monument there and I stopped for a little while to do a sketch of it. I will try to get back there tomorrow and get some photos of it. I'm not sure what it stands for - perhaps a later tribute to those who died or some particular family in the city.
I love old churchyards and cemeteries. They are an artist's paradise in terms of inspiration, especially in winter when the colours are muted and the sillouettes of trees against the sky are dramatic. This church, while smack dab in the centre of the city, links to the past and makes you forget the present while you're visiting.
1 comment:
graveyards are so interesting to draw, the shapes are great and people don't generally ask what you are doing when you start drawing in one.
i love the history you can see when visiting, its a link to the past that we can actually see and touch
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