Project 365 day 309: Afternoon sky

I didn't have much opportunity to look for photos on Friday. Apart from all J's routine care, I supported her/sign interpreted for her at her online writing group in the morning and an online National Gallery event in the afternoon. However, around half past three, when she was finishing her usual slow lunch, she told me I should go outside with the camera before it got dark, so I have to thank her for ensuring I had something to post. A lot of the garden was already very shady, the teasel photos looked a mess, but the clouds behind our bedraggled but characterful lonesome pine were both unusual and attractive, curving wispily from high to low in a series of fine and thicker brushstrokes and intersected by some long, thin horizontal bands of cloud. 

This was our first National Gallery online talk and draw event: an hour long, with a presentation of a work from the collection followed by sketching activities. It focused on Monet's The Thames Below Westminster, and after some largely familiar material about Monet's work and his time in London, we were invited to sketch a series of crops from the painting, zooming gradually closer to different elements. We had five minutes for the first attempt; by the fourth, the time had progressively reduced to two minutes. J loves to draw but needs hand over hand support to grip her pencil, and her drawings have the characteristic wobbly lines and sudden jerks of someone who experiences a lot of involuntary movement and has limited control of her limbs. She doesn't do things fast, so the time limited activities were a challenge, especially as I was signing the presenter's comments alongside helping her to draw. However, there was no pressure, cameras were off, and I assured her she could return to the sketches later if she wanted to. It was great fun, an excellent way of looking at and understanding the detail and technique of the painting, and all things considered, we didn't do badly - J was quite pleased with the final sketch of the whole painting, focusing on space and tone. We will certainly try to attend future events.