Plain & Simple

Having looked at your previous effort I think this works better; in fact I really like this stark look. It has got a wonderful atmosphere, slightly alien and mysterious.

The trees look like a couple dancing, I can see eyes and mouths, very alien looking.

I quite like the stark contrast of the black ink against the pure white of the paper. Reminds me of those old Chinese drawings (clever those Chinese}!

I like what you have achieved here Fiona, quite spooky looking and very evocative of the flooded landscape in some parts of the country. As Stephen has said it does have the look of a Chinese drawing.

Plain and simple but very nicely done, Fiona

Very effective Fiona, for me it looks like an abandoned land somehow. I can see the dancers too like Kevin, so how about adding a couple of branches on one side to brake the symmetry of the middle tree. Great use of Indian ink!

I like this a lot. It does look very eerie.

Like it Fiona!

Even though I'm a big fan of colour this gets my vote too :)

Very effective. I like just the ink lines and white paper. Perhaps a branch or two more as Satu suggests to break the symmetry. Plenty of places in Brittany that look like this today!

You're very accomplished in just about every medium, Fiona! This is so beautiful - vibrant, beautifully composed and full of atmosphere.

Thank you everyone for your comments; Satu, I have taken your advise and added a couple of extra branches, one coming from mid way up the large left hand branch which sweeps over to the right and another from mid way up the main trunk, sweeping down towards the water. Much improved. Thanks again.

I missed this one somehow. Yes, I like the starkness of the ink drawing against the white paper as it adds to be desolate feeling of the scene. Your trees are very well observed and are totally believable. We have many such scenes around here at the moment as the River Severn has seriously burst it's banks and all the low lying meadows have these trees sticking up out of the deep water. You old school dip pen has served you well with this one, Fiona, as it is a striking and lovely piece of work. P.S. We didn't have dip pens at my school for some reason but were given fountain pens (which leaked all over your fingers). I have tried a matchstick after seeing John Hoar using one but it wasn't for me I'm afraid, so it is back to my Staedtler fineliners in which I use an 0.5mm, 0.1mm and a 0.2mm (which the Attingham entrance one was done in.

This works beautifully Fiona, the starkness of the black on white is excellent with this scene and hey eerie works fabulously for me when it is as great as this

Thank you Ros, thank you Thea.....much appreciated.