A walk in the New Forest

We spent a few days in the New Forest in Hampshire on our return journey from Sweden.  We took a walk from Beaulieu to Bucklers Hard through the woods and fields and were blessed with a beautiful day.  I collected a few flowers along the way to draw later.

              My sister in law found this lovely feather which I drew later in coloured pencil.

The forest is a large area of open land where ponies and cattle roam and graze freely.  Great care is needed when driving around and every village has it's cattle grids to keep them from the houses!

Assateague Ialand and Chincoteague NWR, 8-10 June 2009

Earlier this month my bride and I visited the Eastern Shore of Virginia. It was a beautiful two days. In the evneing we sat at a picnic table and I drew the gulls. During the summer the Ring-billed and Herring Gulls are few. The Laughing Gulls are definitely abundant. They will pose indefintely. Particularly if you throw out some crushed Low-Calorie Wheat Thins.

One creature all love to see are the Ponies of Chincoteague. We had seen some at a distance. Brenda got out of the car to get her binoculars from the trunk and was swarmed by mosquitos. That was the last time we got out of the car on the refuge. They were even swarming the cars as they stopped.

We were fortunate to see a mother and foal standing in a parking lot. I drew rapidly and painted the image later as we sat on the beach. It was a rare treat. I had seen the ponies close up once before many years ago during the fall. You never know if you will see them when you visit.

These were drawn with fountain pen, ink, watercolor, waterbrush in a large Moleskine.