Walking and Drawing – Thoughts and Observations

Following the production walk for the “Breakers Walk” StillWalks video (see yesterday’s post), I recently spent a day with three of the other artists involved in the research project “Walk and Draw for Health and Wellbeing”. The project, led by Cathy Treadaway from CARIAD, involved us on this occasion, all going for a walk through Cwm Nash woods down to the seashore and the cliffs on the South Wales coast and spending some time drawing.

I took a small sketchbook and an iPad. I have been working with drawing and iPads on the recent Josef Herman Art Foundation Schools Award project for 2014 and wanted to continue with my assessment of the iPad as another instrument for drawing. I have not reached a clear conclusion about this medium yet, other than to say it is quite different to other methods of recording observation.

The one thing the iPad has in common with all visual recording methods is that you still have to look. You can, of course, use the iPad camera to take a photo and then use that image to “trace” aspects of the subject but, to my mind, with that approach you lose the advantages gained in looking . . . or do you? After all,  observation has to be used in order to decide on the photograph to be taken and that is an essential element of StillWalks.

What are the advantages of visually recording observations? What are advantages of the different methods of visually recording observations? And what are the disadvantages of not recording observations?

More thoughts on this to come . . . 

Down on the beach

Rocky shore

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Ruins in the Woods

The ruined stone wall hidden in amongst the trees of Cwm Nash Woods was a surprise find –  for me at least. The wall belongs to an old mill beside the Ffynnon Marl river. The StillWalks production walk I did with Dr Cathy Treadaway as part of the “Walk and Draw for Health and Wellbeing” research project, was done without a recce walk beforehand.

I had been asked to go along with a completely fresh eye (and ear). I don’t normally do this because there are distinct production advantages to checking out the lie of the land beforehand. However, whether the walk is done as a recce or as a production, new surroundings are always exciting to explore and Cwm Nash absolutely “came up to the mark” for me as a new discovery.

Old Mill in Cwm Nash

Cwm Nash Woodland

Ffynnon Marl river

 

 

 

Allowing Time

Following my re-focusing photos in yesterday’s post, I would say that time is also needed to see different view points and understand a given situation. 

In slowing the shutter speed and giving time for the water to flow past, the bike becomes clearer – and all because a little more time was given. I try, these days, not to get into a panic if there doesn’t seem to be enough time to do everything – there is only so much you can do.

Bike in Water

Bike in Water

StillWalks – Lakeside Walk

Here is the video then, if you have not already watched it – Lakeside Walk.

Switch off your phone, put everything else aside and relax for 6.5 minutes to the sights and sounds of a walk alongside the lake at the National Botanic Garden of Wales.

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Winter Lakeside Walk – see the video

This is the last post featuring this StillWalk. I am not sure how WordPress delivers video posts by email and so if the link below does not show up in an email, then clicking the image will take you to the web page where you can play it.

At just 6.00 minutes long, a typical length for a StillWalks video, it won’t take too much time out of your busy lives and may be just what you need. Just remember to put other things aside (phones, etc.) and allow yourself to be absorbed by the sights and sounds of Llyn Llech Owain (pronunciation in the previous post). Maybe it will prompt you to take a local walk yourself and listen out for all that is around you. Full scale high definition versions of StillWalks can be purchased online, just contact me through the StillWalks website.

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Affected by Atmosphere

Walking out along the Loughor Estuary last Sunday morning, the weather was still but overcast and the sound of the M4 motorway was even more evident than usual. I love the marshes on the estuary and the old St Teilo’s churchyard, and I normally find that I suppress the sound of traffic in my head and listen instead to the birds, sheep, cattle and wind along with the sound of my footsteps in the grass or mud and the rustling of the reeds.

These are some of the sounds recorded in the StillWalks I have produced here. I did not do any sound recording on Sunday but I got a few shots of the area and thought about how much the sounds we hear are so unique to the time and place we are in. They are the result of things like the weather conditions before and during our visit as well as the activities of others, like driving along the motorway on a Sunday morning to go shopping or visit family or whatever. Twenty five years ago there was virtually no Sunday morning traffic on the M4 but even now the traffic sound can seem distant if the wind is in the right direction or other environmental aspects such as a high tide, rain or time of year change the conditions.

This is something we’ll be looking at on the Sights and Sounds of the Countryside project which you can find out about here or follow on Facebook.

The StillWalks website is offline at the moment due to malicious hackers but you can see 480p versions of two StillWalks from the Loughor Estuary on Vimeo – After the Tide and the Old Churchyard Walk. They will be available to buy in full HD when the site is back up and running.

Here are some photos of the Loughor Estuary and the marshes. Image prints can be purchase at PhotoBox.

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