Last of the spring blooms

Another chilly day at my local park. I sat with a hot coffee and a warm buttered rock-cake, and sketched, while Harindra went off on his walk. Most of the spring blooms are gone now, aside from a bed of tulips,  

and a solitary tree covered in deep pink cherry blossoms. 

I painted the pink flowers, brown tones of the trunk and branches on location. Line work and shadows were added later, at home in front of the heater, while my fingers and toes thawed out. 
I also took the opportunity to test a new pen today – the Zebra Manga G fountain pen by Ackerman pens. I was intrigued by its flexible nib when it was initially reviewed by Shari Blaukopf. The Zebra Manga G nib gives quite a different sketching experience compared to the Sailor Fude and Lamy Safari I’ve used before. It takes a bit of getting used to though. I’ve only been using the pen for just over 2 weeks. I will do a more detailed review once I’ve had time to master sketching with it. 

By Sasala Wickramasinghe

Urban sketching and watercolour is my hobby. I'm a biochemist by training and work for the NHS full time as a healthcare scientist. Most of my free time, outside my day job is devoted to art and urban sketching. I am a self confessed nerd when it comes to watercolour and art materials in general. I approach them with the same curiosity and passion as I do for biochemistry - because after all, colour is science! I travel to sketch and sketch to travel. I'm an active member of Urban Sketchers London - part of a global sketching community which I only discovered in 2017.

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