The Winter's Keeping

Willow Woods, near Northbourne, not far from Deal in Kent, is one of my favourite places to walk.

There's something rather lovely about wandering through the trees without any particular destination in mind, taking time to notice the little things that might otherwise go unseen.

On this particular walk, we were looking for holly. Not just any holly, but a branch with berries that we might try to capture in a drawing for our winter collection, The Winter's Keeping.

We found one eventually, tucked amongst the trees, its glossy leaves catching the autumn sunlight and a few little red berries peeping through.

It seemed such a simple thing to draw.

As it turned out, those leaves had other ideas.

And so our first drawing adventure began.

Our First Attempt

Armed with a pencil, a sketchbook and perhaps a little more confidence than experience, I began drawing our chosen holly branch.

It wasn't quite as straightforward as I'd imagined!

Those familiar pointed leaves turned out to be surprisingly complicated. The spines curve in different directions, the leaves overlap and twist, and getting everything in the right place proved rather challenging.

But that's why we're here.

Rather than trying to perfect the whole branch immediately, I've decided to begin again with just one leaf. To look more closely, understand its shape and see whether I can capture those wonderful, awkward little points.

So this is my first attempt, just as it happened. No tidying up, no pretending it's better than it is.

And if you're thinking of picking up a pencil yourself, please do. We can learn together.

Next time: One leaf, and a closer look.