Barry Herniman
Where the Waters Meet, sketchbook painting, 10 22in(25.5 56cm). This is the sketch I did when I first visited Waters meet a few years ago. I set up my easel in the water and stood on a rock to paint.It was an overcast day with rain showers, which meant I had to rush for shelter each time one came over. I had managed to get the main drawing and the first washes down before about the third attempt, when Icalled it a day and finished it off in the hotel
Getting away from the studio into the great outdoors with all the vagaries of the weather and changing light conditions really does sharpen up your observational skills, not to mention the fact that you often have to work fast. Latterly in my painting career I have filled a small library of sketchbooks, which now act as my travelogues. I often refer back to them to get that ‘raw’ feeling of the time and place before working on a studio piece.