I’ve done a bit of riding and sketching - and one issue (besides finding and deciding on what to paint) is that you get sweaty riding, and then chill off when you sit still and start concentrating.
onwards…
So this summer I packed a roll with a spare top and a tiny art kit in it, squeezed my drawing book into the bar bag on my bike, and bungeed the Fold+Roll (new prototype edition) and a sandwich to it and set off.
The route was in the shade but the dolmen was on a high point with great view of Canigou in one direction and a glimpse of the sea on the horizon. I had to question the wisdom of sitting in the glare of the sun but I decided just to work as quickly as I could. I took quite a limited range of colours and some water-filled brushes which reduces the choices you can make.
Bike, dolmen, mountain. Everything you need, right?
art on a roll…
The open Fold+Roll was pretty handy for arranging all my materials on (and obviously I changed into the long sleeve top it had contained, which was comfortable and kept the sun off my arms).
under the sky…
The dolmen remains, crooked and surrounded by brambles but rooted in the ground, built into a cairn of stones just visible under the tinder dry grass. I just managed to paint a small sketch of it before I felt that the sun was beating me to a crisp.
looking…
There is always a bit of magic in the places where dolmens were built. I was careful to look hard at the views, and appreciate the intention that had gone into choosing this place all those thousands of years ago.
The heat and the glare of the sun were oppressive as I packed everything back together. One last look from the mountain over the dolmen and out towards the sea and I jumped back on my bike, free wheeling down hill and away into the shade of the woodland, following the cooler valleys homewards.
One rapid watercolour sketch. Dolmen du Serrat d’en Parot.
