Wooden Post with Purple Thistles

As detailed on my Instagram social media “Wooden Post with Purple Thistles“ was sketched in just under 48 minutes including signing.

To give you a little more information on this the first draft was done in 46m55_97s which included signing. Afterwards as I readied to publish online I noticed the wooden post needed one last finishing touch!

I wanted to ignore this addition yet decided it was necessary.

I started the digital stopwatch timer again. In 45.96 seconds of possibly the quickest draft I have ever done the sketch was complete. The use of timers for my speed works is two-fold.

Firstly I am an immensely competitive person.. to myself. Most people could not understand the number of personal challenges [physical and intellectual] I create in my ‘everyday life’.

For me personally this is definitely not something new.

Whether it be holding my breath as a boy in the bath (one minute at that time, 2m20_48s currently without training), seeing how long I could do a wheelie on my bike (quite some yards), testing my physical capabilities or having spent leisurely time solving chess puzzles – these are things I ridiculously enjoy.

Of course, my 1911 manmade heatwave discovery is much more important for humanitarian reasons [link to the artwork of same here: Fossil Fuels Mechanotide].

Secondly, I wished to ensure exact times for my speed drawings. The pseudo-conversation between Warhol and Basquiat regarding the professional speed of their work impressed me. Afterall, painters want to sell more works. Therefore the quicker a person can achieve the same quality they need, the more profitable it is to them as a business generally speaking.

Returning to chat about my artwork above, I set myself a challenge to make a pretty sketch from a photograph that would need feeling. “Wooden Post with Purple Thistles“ is unique enough in composition to hold the attention, I do hope.

If nothing else it will be remembered by fans of my work as an artwork that took less than 48 minutes lol. For anyone asking “Leafy Hollow” remains my own all-time favourite in speed drawings.. to-date anyway. Here is the link to that one, sketched in just 35 minutes: Leafy Hollow – 35 minutes to complete. The fine details in Leafy Hollow along with the super speed of my sketching made this very satisfying to me as an artist. I literally sketched like one of those time lapse videos haha.

“Wooden Post with Purple Thistles“ does have an immense amount of impressionistic detail. Certainly in terms of individual pencil marks across different pencil grades; incorporating two colours, green/purple. The undersketching as I shall call this probably took me the most time.

After the grass and purple thistle details were added I then went into a kind of finishing ‘arty mode‘ with an oversketching technique. This gave the sketch a breezy, lifelike quality. Whilst and after I performed this I was like ‘goodness, this is it!’. All professional artists reading this are probably smiling like Cheshire cats knowing precisely this very moment in your own artworking.

A brushstroke here, a technique there.. and et voilà.

Now for the photograph providing the inspiration:

“Wooden Post with Purple Thistles – photograph“ [30th June 2021 at 1536hrs] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.

“Wooden Post with Purple Thistles – photograph“ is a beauty of a composition isn’t it?

Thank you to the nature reserve landscapers. Of which I know about (at least) four different organisations providing this function. (1) The local borough council of my hometown, (2) a voluntary group of mature citizens (usually tidying the edges near the King James VI & I Oak of 1612, merrily picnicing at lunch!), (3) the seasonal willow harvesters on Ridge Willow and (4) the agricultural hay harvesters in their tractors!

My local nature reserve receives much landscaping love that is for certain. By the way, I know of these landscaping organisations having observed them working during my walks.

Your Personal Drawing Challenge

I am rather hoping hundreds if not thousands of you reading this blog article will actually make a sketch of this composition.

Finally, for anyone who missed my Instagram post I mentioned that when on relaxing nature walks I take photographs if I see anything arty looking. I keep the best compositions in readiness for when the photograph is calling to be sketched.

This and one other photograph I selected for my next sketch got the calling.

To be continued..

Hope you enjoy :]

Sunshine Upon Fallen Logs

My sketch composition is from a photograph taken 19th May 2020 at 1442hrs. I sat upon the large fallen branch from the King James VI & I Oak of 1612. The wood you see in the sketch came from this large branch. Sawn asunder first by high winds then tidily by men.

The first draft took 51 minutes, a complex construction so it was. My second draft of 37 minutes defined the woodwork, grass and leaves.

Here is the original photograph:

“Sunshine Upon Fallen Logs – photograph” [19th May 2020,1442hrs] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.

My artwork is somewhat impressionistic although I have kept the general proportions on the canvas. With the speed I made this sketch I am reasonably happy with the outcome. I feel I have made progress with construction ideas whilst making this artwork. Personal art techniques I can refine in new works.

Van Gogh produced some 1,100 drawings! I have approximately 59 sketches/drawings of subjects, objects and landscapes excluding a multitude of abstracts. This does not include my oil paintings, acrylics, pastels and watercolours. As I write I would like to redo one of my lost pastels on board, it is beautiful. I can only hope it was plucked from the garbage heap.

If I can reproduce that particular artwork with the essence of the original I shall be delighted.

I would encourage any fans to make their own version of my artworks from my photographs. Whilst I did do art at school I had a literal near twenty-year semester from doing any sketches, paintings or drawings to formally speak of. During that semester I would say that my photography and music melody/songwriting hobbies were my main artistic interests.

If you click here you can read a good selection of my Sayings, Songs and Poems.

By the way, if.. if I could introduce ‘stepping stones’ at the sites of my sketches it would be wondrous. Why? Simply that I would love to share the area with you, its natural beauty, its uniqueness.

You could get to see through your own eyes, with your own senses the views that have enthralled me.

Please enjoy.

Lungs of the Earth

King James VI I Oak of 1612 Lungs Left Right Centre — “Lungs of the Earth – Left Branch Perspective” [25th December 2021, photograph] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.

In keeping with our planet’s trees being the “Lungs of the Earth” I thought it would be appropriate to include some photography representing this idea. I took these photographs spontaneously whilst walking in Meadow Two of my local Nature Reserve.

“Lungs of the Earth – Mid Branch Perspective” [25th December 2021, photograph] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.

These photographs beautifully contrast against a grey wintry sky. The camera is angled approximately fifty degrees upwards perpendicular to level ground {#1}. Circa thirty five feet lineal distance from the tree itself {#2}.

“Lungs of the Earth – Right Branch Perspective” [25th December 2021, photograph] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.

All three photographs are the same tree, the “King James VI & I Oak of 1612“. You can see this magnificent tree in late summer, including the fused horse chestnut tree sketch and photograph from my past blog article entitled: From the Fused Horse Chestnut Tree.

The description perspective is viewed from the entrance to the Nature Reserve at Meadow One. Whereas the photograph is taken from the otherside of this mighty Quercas Robur, in Meadow Two, standing position as above {#1, #2}.

The branches and twigs produce vein-like torrents (leaves, “alveoli”), passing through a heated circulatory ‘sea cycle’ (photosynthesis, “hydrological cycle”), in the manner of lungs, breath and veins, harmonic with Planet Earth.

I would also like to include an up-to-date winter photograph of the fused horse chestnut tree for you here:

“Fused Horse Chestnut Tree – photograph” [29th December 2021] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.

The branches at the lower-right provide the overhanging leaves, along with the fallen branch also featured in the sketch (see linked blog article – From the Fused Horse Chestnut Tree). You can see the twinned fusion of the tree’s trunk just above the hedge.

I have collected far in excess of one hundred conkers over the years. Such is the beauty of the horse chestnut tree seeds, I decided to make an artwork with these in the Arcimboldo style.

Here is a photographic representation of the Arcimboldo compositional style:

“Conkers, after Arcimboldo – White” [September 2021] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.

After producing this photograph, shown immediately above, I arranged this seasons conkers all together in a kind of harvest-like display for art loving citizens to enjoy:

“Conkers of the 2021 Season” [September 2021, photograph] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.

I made two constrasting versions of these artworks here:

“Conkers, after Arcimboldo – Black” [October 2023] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.

“Conkers of the 2021 Season – Black” [October 2023, photograph] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.

I hope you find these photographic artworks interesting, informative and fun.

From the Fused Horse Chestnut Tree

Sat upon the metal gate under the fused Horse Chestnut Tree, I noticed a beautiful composition of the ‘King James VI & I Oak of 1612’.

I happily waited for a walker with his dog to pass by, then quickly photographed the picture. My Impressionist sketch is directly inspired by my photograph, having taken approximately one and half an hour to produce.

Here is a digital edit to highlight the dark tones for my sketch detail, including the paper texture:

“From the Fused Horse Chestnut Tree” – digital edit to provide depth tones and paper texture.

My sketch incorporates various techniques, most, such as pencil overlays and the fleetness of working being usual practice amongst professional artists. Other techniques included in this sketch (and some of my other sketches) are my own way of producing pencil work details. Of course, each artist has their personal methods for working canvas, sketches, watercolours or sculptures et al.

I doubt my unusual techniques have not found other artists doing same or similar in the world of art. What I am saying is I discovered the way I create my sketch details through my own practice and experimentation. This is an important process in finding your artistic style.

By the way, the two eyes in the overhanging leaves (upper mid-right) were further developed from naturally occurring pencil work. The eyes that appeared in the old Oak tree were entirely and completely by chance. I found the manner my pencil lines are produced seems to create ‘eyes’ in my work.

I thought this was particularly interesting, so in previous sketches I decided to make this an element of my landscape sketch work. I think ‘Buzzards Wood‘ is probably the first time I noticed this phenomena in my work.

Shall we take a look at the photograph my sketch is derived? Here it is:

“From the Fused Horse Chestnut Tree – photograph” [15th September 2021] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist,

In effect I have slightly brought forward the perspective, as we see in the photograph. My sketch is a few feet nearer to the fallen Horse Chestnut Tree branch at the lower mid centre of the picture. The branch has significance to my work, as I will make known at some later time.

In my sketch I give the sense of light and shade upon the field grass. Also the delineation of light throughout the overhanging leaves.

I hope you have enjoyed this article and my photographically derived Impressionist sketch :]

The Unfathomable Artist

Art Blogging Infinitum

Tag Archives: King James VI I Oak of 1612

Wooden Post with Purple Thistles

Sunshine Upon Fallen Logs

Lungs of the Earth

From the Fused Horse Chestnut Tree