Mixed Media Gravestone Illustration Work

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This was an illustration project I completed in 2002 that I recently returned to look at as I am preparing for some new landscape painting work. At the time of completing this I was very much into working in mixed media to experiment before a final piece, but in this case I stuck with the mixed media. I found the combination of collage (mainly newspaper), acrylics, ink and chalk pastels really good for capturing an illustrative graveyard scene quickly and allowed for looseness. Although I started with representational drawing of St Mary’s Church in Cottingham (East Riding of Yorkshire) and Cottingham Cemetery in my sketchbook, I quickly started to try drawing without taking my pencil off the page, following the outline of the head / grave stones and trees and drawing without taking your eyes off the subject matter (great drawing exercise) to capture the jumble of gravestones and trees.

The work behind these mixed media experiments and illustration originated from mixed media paintings of trees in Thwaite Hall Gardens / grounds like this one…