Catching Up with Sketches

Had a few distractions of late, and have not been painting quite as much.  Was back in the studio today, trying to make a little sense of sketches I did last week, and doing a little tidying for the Open Studios event  (on 8/9 December).
I reviewed all my sketches and decided to have a go at this one.

Loch Torridon view - Initial sketch

I chose this sketch because I have decided that I like to try and capture the long distant views of the hills.  I find such pictures please me more.  Anyway, I made a start.

Loch Torridon view - emerging

Fairly loose at this stage - just graphite, allizarin, white and cream-coloured oilbar.  I needed some blue, I thought and orange - the colours of the hills were particularly orange last week.  Added ultramarine and indian yellow.  Oh, and water!

Loch Torridon view - emerging

Carried on in similar vein, thinking more about marks.

Loch Torridon view - emerging

This looks quite good, now I see it, nicely hazy in the distance, but I did go further.   I wanted to bring out the bridge which is a bit of a focal point.  So on I went....

Loch Torridon View - emerging

I stopped here, as light was fading.  Actually, I think this photo makes the picture look better than it actually is.  At this stage I'd like to add a little ink, I think, and knock back the distant hills, but I've left it in the studio so won't see it again until Friday.  A start perhaps.