We moved to a small village in Kent last autumn and I have absolutely loved seeing the changing of the seasons on my morning walks through the surrounding countryside.

Photograph of surrounding countryside

Spring in particular is my favourite time of year – the birds look spectacular and the colours of the plant life are new and inspiring.

When I was furloughed for the month of May, I decided to make the most of the time and create some artwork showing some favourite parts of my walk.

There are many beautiful things to see when I go out walking – rolling fields that go on for miles, a host of different trees and some really interesting buildings in the village.

I have a passion for wildlife and I’ve been treated to many great views of butterflies, birds and even a common lizard.

I started by taking photographs of all the elements I particularly wanted to draw – and soon realised there were a lot more than I expected! When I sketched out a plan it spanned across 12 A4 pages!

Initial Sketches

I’ve since transferred the plan to a detailed drawing on a large roll of paper which is currently over five metres long and still going!

As you can imagine, it’s taking many hours to draw in all the many details which is a great thing for two reasons, firstly I’m thoroughly enjoying every minute of uninterrupted drawing time and it is giving me something positive to focus on each day. Plus, as I go out every day for my walk, I keep collecting lots of extra details. I’ve ended up with lots of pictures of hedges and close ups of leaves on my phone!

I’m nearly finished with the detailed drawing and intend to add colour with watercolour paints.

A selection of views of the artwork so far

If all goes well, I’m hoping to hang the finished piece above our stairs (the only place with enough room!) so I can always be reminded of this unique time and see the lovely spring scenes on rainier days!

I'd thoroughly recommend capturing your favourite local scenes in sketches, paintings or even try creating a five metre-long artwork as a permanent reminder of this strange time in history.

See the completed pen and wash artwork (which when re-measured is actually over 6m in length) in the video below.