It would seem my blogs are dominated with En Plein Air adventures at the moment, but honestly I’ve been taking advantage of the fine weather of late. Last Friday I visited Looe. I’ve not been for a couple of years so a visit was long overdue. I managed to complete a pastel sketch of the seafront without too much hassle. I’d picked my spot well today, hiding in the seafront shelter, backed into a corner. Just one interruption from a nice lady asking my advice on the colour of beach sand. I must have that sort of face I reckon. After informing me that she was a member of the SAA she bid farewell and drifted away into the hazy sunshine. At this point I thought it was a good time to break for lunch. After lunch I just did my David Bailey bit and took a few photographs for future reference. On to today (Sunday) and I paid a visit to Crackington Haven. Again it’s a place I’ve not visited for a long time. After setting up on a nice bench I set to work. I was using pastel again, but not the Ingres paper I was using at Looe. After carefully sorting out my gear before leaving the house I left the Ingres paper and my drawing board propped up in the living room. So I had to make do with a moth-eaten old pad of Canson Mi-Teintes paper, left over from the wreckage of my stored equipment. I’ll be honest. I struggled to make more than one layer of pastel on this paper. It just wouldn’t take it. There I was creating a lot of dust whilst vainly attempting to make a mark. Unfortunately my Wife was sitting downwind from me and I suddenly realised that the nice black trousers she had on now resembled something like the Northern Lights!. Pastel dust everywhere. Oh dear! Time for a nice cuppa methinks. After this we moved on to Bude and I decided to sketch a boat on the canal. It was a very rough sketch, but one passing soul asked me if I wanted to sell it, as his mate owned the boat I was drawing. Now this sketch was very very very rough, and also unfinished. So much so that I felt embarrassed to ask any money for it. I also didn’t sign it. just in case I become very famous. I don’t want anybody coming on me saying I charged an exorbitant fee for rubbish (although this does go on all the time I believe - tongue firmly in cheek). So I tore it out of my sketchbook and gave it to him. He was happy as Larry. On reflection maybe I should have charged him. Oh well. Perhaps next time. Happy painting everyone. Pete