This was my second attempt at sketching my sister’s house. This time I managed to include the big living room window. I think the row of houses used to be shops at one time.
Sun-26-Jul-2026
123-3569 – Thistle cottage 2
SuffolkSketch
123-3568 – Long Melford Country Park
I sketched this on our last full day in Suffolk. After visiting my mum we found somewhere to go for a walk and have a little picnic.
Sun-26-Jul-2026
123-3567 – The mill house
After visiting my mum and my sister we went out for a walk around Clare Country Park again, before dinner. This building is next to a big old house called the Mill House and has what looks like the remains of a water wheel or sluice next to it.
Sat-25-Jul-2026
123-3566 – Cat at Laxfield House
Here is another sketch done on a visit to my mum. This terracotta cat sits on her little terrace – with its back covered in plants.
Sat-25-Jul-2026
123-3565 – Thistle cottage
This day we had a slap up barbecue at my sisters house to celebrate my daughters birthday and belatedly, my wife’s birthday. My sister asked me to sketch her house (Thistle cottage) as a memento for her, as they are hoping to sell it and move soon. I had intended to capture more of the house in my sketch but only managed to include the front door…so a few days later I did a second one.
Fri-24-Jul-2026
123-3564 – Platform one cafe
Our eldest daughter’s birthday started with lunch with my mum, followed by a walk in Clare Castle Country Park. We first looked at the castle remains (mostly crumbly old walls), then hiked through the park and into very dry farmers fields where our daughters stopped every few steps for photograph bugs and weeds….so only after a quarter of our planned route we took a detour (not hacking across a farmers fields as I proposed), sticking to a bridle path and back into the village along a road. We stopped at this cafe which is housed in an old train station for a refreshing drink and then had a take-away Bangladeshi dinner.
Thu-23-Jul-2026
123-3563 – Visit to Laxfield
On this day we timed our visit to my mum a bit more carefully – arriving earlier and leaving later. I sketched this while we chatted to her. Afterwards our daughter worked at my sisters house while we reminisced.
Wed-22-Jul-2026
123-3562 – St. Peter and St. Paul’s church, Clare
Still on our first day in Suffolk, after visiting my sister, we went back to Clare so our daughter could spend a few hours working (remotely). With the jet lag hitting I could have easily gone to sleep but to keep myself awake I went out to sketch. This church is just over the road from where we stayed in the “winter cottage”.
Tue-21-Jul-2026
123-3561 – Kelly on the throne
Here is the sketch I did on our first full day in the UK (in Suffolk), which started with a visit to my mum. Usually she sits in this huge chair (which can be wheeled about) but for some reason on this day she was in a wheelchair, so I sketched our daughter sitting on the “throne”. This is not even a close likeness…and we joked that it looks more like Millie Bobby Brown.
Tue-21-Jul-2026