On the shortest day of the year the sun decided that it was going to come out and the rain stopped for a while. Well, we don’t get that many good days this time of year so I decided to skip the consumerist frenzy that is Christmas shopping for the day and go out to do some sketching.
Stonesfield is a small village about 5 miles north-west of Oxford. It’s a quiet place and retains some of its history as a working village from back in the days when boots and gloves were made here. It is a place I’ve sketched before but it seemed like a good option for a touch of ‘non-retail therapy’.
Firstly, I set up in the small square next to the church. Here is my view and resulting sketch. These are perhaps not the best photos because of the low sun and shooting against the light.
With the sun heading for the horizon, I headed for one of my favourite sketching spots in the village, Boot Street. From here there is a great view of a bridlepath that winds its way into the distance. Just as well it is a bridlepath as a horse and rider appeared in the distance and progressed up the pathway until they passed me as I sketched.
Here is the view and my in-situ sketch along with a slightly cleaned up scan of my sketch.
One of the nice things about sketching here is that quite a few locals were also out for a walk and many made the effort to say hello. After about another half an hour the light was going and the temperature starting to drop – time to stop and move on.
Here are some links to previous Stonesfield posts.
OxfordArtist 