It has been hovering around freezing here for a while but I suppose that is to be expected in mid January. A good thing about this is we have also had a few crisp sunny days and that is enough to tempt me to go out sketching again.

So it was that yesterday I set off for Blenheim Palace suitably togged up with jacket hat and gloves. At this time of year the palace is sometimes closed but not this year – it was just quiet, just part of the January lull all round, with people saving money, hibernating and not going out. That suits me fine and apart from a few other visitors I had the formal gardens pretty much to myself… here is my view.

Here is my sketch in-situ, in that golden afternoon light…

And here is my finished sketch which I think turned out OK. As the weather improves I hope to do some more sketching here and try to build up more of a portfolio of landscape views of the palace. More later?

Here are a few links to some of my other Blenheim posts

Sketching a new Blenheim Panorama

Sketching Blenheim Palace – and adding some colour

Sketching Blenheim Palace No.1