UKC

Hi,
Does anyone have any suggestions of good places to draw interesting rock faces?
I'm currently doing a project drawing specific routes in the Peak District, I normally draw big landscapes averaging about 2 metres wide but recently i have decided to draw specific routes in the peaks which i can do in one sitting and i get to be outside. I've been down to Millstone sketching a bit recently and have enjoyed that a lot. I work mostly in ink, you can see my work on my website www.tessalyons.co.uk or the recent sketches are on facebook https://www.facebook.com/TessaLyonsArt?ref=hl
If anyone has any suggestions for places to go that would be great!
Thanks,
Tessa

In reply to tessa teapot:
I love your sketch of Master's Edge.

Do you have (access to) the BMC Peak grit guides from the late '80s & early '90s? Or failing that a copy of On Peak Rock? The topos in those are lovely line drawings by Malc Baxter - I wonder if a flick through those might be a better source of inspiration than photos.

The first place that springs to my mind would be the Roaches - Raven Rock (Valkyrie etc.) especially. It's a bit of a cliche prolly, but Rock Hall Cottage might catch your eye too.

In reply to tessa teapot:
Something more original perhaps..
The (unusually for grit) East-facing Turning Stone Edge. Rhododendrons at dawn!
Further along, Cocking Tor (and Cyclops Eye) and further still the slightly menacing overhanging blocks at Ravensnest Tor.

In reply to deepsoup:

Thanks for your reply, i think that a trip to Roaches should be on the cards soon, it might even be a nice place to base a bigger drawing on too! I might scour the library for 80's 90's guides, i've seen those drawings in On Peak Rock they're meticulous and amazing!

In reply to deepsoup:

awesome, i've never been there before, i'll have to check it out! I've only just moved up here so i'm still exploring, thanks for your help!!

In reply to tessa teapot:

I don't think anyone ever surpassed Pete Marks for his guidebook drawings in the sixties. I have a couple of his originals, which are even better than the slightly simplified guidebook versions.

In reply to tessa teapot:

Higgar Tor's Leaning Block is a good bet, it is a big square chunk of rock and might fill a canvas more easily than a long stringy edge.


Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs:

I'm fortunate enough to have an original by Malc Baxter of the Leaning Block, Higgar Tor ... I think he gave it to me as a present. It's very nicely framed too.

In reply to tessa teapot:

I imagine they shouldn't be hard to find in Sheffield. If you do struggle though drop me an email, you can probably borrow mine.

Oh, regarding the Amber Valley, a silly detail I just remembered:

The slope above the top of Ravensnest Tor is quite beautiful, especially when there are lots of bluebells amid the trees, and there's some old barbed wire that has been completely absorbed by the growth of the trees it was originally stapled to. It's interesting.

I took a photo (trying for something vaguely arty, but I don't have much of an eye for it unfortunately). Hang on. <rummages around a bit>
Here: http://www.deepsoup.f2s.com/UKC/barbedwiretree.jpg

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Me too, they were presented to the team involved with one of the guides.

In fact I think it was my suggestion, though the Higgar Tor shot (taken from further south so you could see The File) that was my fave wasn't the chosen one in the end.


Chris

Chris

In reply to tessa teapot:

I love Phil Gibson's ink drawings...

http://www.philipgibson.co.uk/gallery_mountain.html

In reply to tessa teapot:

Never mind the crags; how about sketching some of the weird and wonderful shapes that are to be found on the high gritstone moors?... The rock forms situated around the likes of the Woolpacks, on Kinder, have to be inspirational to any artist?

In reply to tessa teapot:
Loving your artwork, very accomplished with great feeling.
There are the obvious ones like Valkyrie at the Roaches but some of the more obscure routes can be interesting. Check out
The Old Man of Mow (free standing block at Mow Cop)
Punch's Nose on Kinder
The Peapod at Curbar (ok not THAT obscure but a nice route)
The Pinnacles on Robin Hood's Stride

In reply to Clauso:

(Grinah Stones)

In reply to tessa teapot:

I like the suggestion of the Leaning Block at Higgar Tor. I would suggest Bamford Edge. The rock there is quite heavily textured, Wrinkled Wall being a good example of this.

In reply to tessa teapot:

Thank you for all the suggestions! I might go out to Higgar Tor today, it seems like a good place to start.
Thanks,
Tessa