V. Art
A working sketchbook, not a gallery. Rufus draws what is in front of him — the teasel heads drying on the mantel, the fall of light across the drawing corner, Charlie asleep by the fire.
Some pages are finished. Most are not, and stay that way on purpose — a record of looking rather than a set of results.
The Top Gate in Snow
“Drawn from the gate on the first Sunday of the year, with the ink thickening in the cold. The lane was not cut through until Tuesday.”
Holy Trinity, Dobcross, in Snow
“The sexton had cleared a path to the lychgate and no further. The Almighty, it was felt, could manage the rest.”
The Fox & Badger
“Drawn from the far side of the lane, with the bench between us. Nobody sat on it all afternoon, which in January is the only sensible policy.”
Sky Study I: Fair Cumulus, West Wind
“Glass 30.1 and rising. The first dry afternoon in nine days, so I drew it.”
Sky Study II: Evening, Clearing from the West
“Red sky at night. Mother would say it’s the shepherd’s delight; the glass says fair tomorrow. For once they agree.”
Drystone Wall, Section A–A, 1 in 6 Batter
“Drawn on the Sunday, before a stone was moved. The sheep is not to scale, which I am told is the only honest thing on the sheet.”
Bracken on the Top Pasture
“The bracken turns from the top down, like a fuse burning the wrong way.”
Charlie, Going Uphill
“Charlie, 3, observed at speed. This is the only angle from which I have ever drawn him awake.”
The Lane Gate, Leaf-Fall
“The first white frost on the gateposts, gone by nine. I drew it at eight.”
Sky Study III: Afternoon over the Tops
“A good hour after lunch when the cloud stood still long enough to be measured.”
Sky Study IV: Grey Cumulus, Wind Backing
“Glass 29.6 and falling. Rain by teatime; I got the sky down and the washing in.”
Write Rufus a letter · Prints · The notice board · The picture house · The wireless · The Sunday post