Tide Mill in Woodbridge, Suffolk

It is lovely, Thea! I can just imagine the circumstances. It is good they saw you painting!

hi thea I wondered where you were. nice sketch of a beautiful area I feel envious of you being there I love east anglia

How lovely and 'spontaneous' this is, Thea. I know the feeling about grandchildren holding on to your legs!

I know what you mean but good job done well!!!!

Good one Thea. I always love a fun and spontaneous sketch.

Very well done, and to do this under those circumstances, wow. A grandchild or two hanging on to your arms and legs does wonders for your wobbly lines ! I love the way the boat has taken centre stage.

Thank you very much Shirley, Dennis, Mia, Linda Dympna and Sharon for your positive comments. I felt a bit embarrassed posting such a scruffy little sketch, but it certainly was spontaneous as I didn't have much alternative, lol!

30 seconds? wow I wish I could produce as much in so little time! lol Lively and colourful sketch Thea, it looks like a lovely place to have a holiday.

Thank you Debs - very kind of you. As for the 30 seconds, the drawing literally took that, but sloshing a bit of paint on took another 5-10 mins. I have my new Craig Young Pocket Box now (birthday present from lovely husband) and this was my inaugural painting using it. I can't believe how tiny the box it but it has 16 wells - amazing. So no excuse now for not doing plein air work!

A really lovely lively sketch Thea and all the more impressive under the circumstances! Thank you for taking the time to comment on my latest efforts.

Lively sketch and not scruffy at all. More plein air please.

A truly lovely holiday sketch Thea! I love the house, it's like in a fairy tale where children run up and down and have a marvellous time. Isn't it lovely to have your grandchildren pulling your arm! I'm sure you enjoyed every minute.

Thank you very much Christine, Gudrun and Satu for being so kind about my little sketch. Perhaps I should always have a small child hanging off my arm - best way to achieve that loose look and very wobbly lines, lol!

This brings back memories, Thea, of when I was there a number of years back on a watercolor workshop. I remember that while I loved the mill, I couldn't for the life of me find a composition that worked. And you've done marvellously bringing out a scene that's delightfully charming and also faithful to the atmosphere of the place. Well done!

Well done forthis on-the-spot piece which will always have a special meaning ..... You put me to shame as I hardly ever paint during a holiday ! Lovely pigments all running together. Thanks for your kind comments too.

Lovely and lively! I can just imagine you sketching this with your two little grandchildren hanging on to you! Now that would make a fun painting in itself! Glad you had a nice holiday.

Thank you, Seok - and how right you are about the difficulties of composition with this scene. I visited Tide Mill last year and took lots of photos, none of which translated into a composition that I could work with. It is, indeed, a difficult scene for some reason. With this one, I was just lucky that the big green boat was moored in the foreground and I could just show a bit of the hull to give a sense of what sort of place Tide Mill was. Glad it wasn't just me who struggled with this aspect!

Thank you very much Avril and Sarah for such lovely comments. I do try and sketch on holiday and have managed this even with the children there, but this time we seemed to be on a busy schedule and the children wanted to move on to the next amusement. I could have sat there for ages and drawn lots of boats and interesting things, but then I also love being with the children and seeing them enjoying themselves. I did resort to take some photos to sketch from later (better than nothing I suppose) - so expect a few surprises when I get round to doing them.

Your sketches of your holidays must be better than any photo album for memories. This is lovely.

This is different for you Thea. You've almost filled the whole paper with the two strong shapes of the mill and that boat which I like a lot, I think because of the dark green which makes the boat look so solid and heavy, contrasting with the lighter mill colour. A strong image.