805 steps: Constantly moving water

Friday 1 May 2015

Constantly moving water

The water was in a constant state of flux and looked different every time I raised my head.

Hertford Union Canal is very short being only 1¼ miles in length. On 17 May 1824, during the reign of King George IV, 'an Act of Parliament granted permission for the Hertford Union Canal to be made from the River Lee Navigation in the Parish of Saint Mary Stratford Bow in the county of Middlesex to join the Regent's Canal at or near a place called Old Ford Lock, in the Parish of Saint Matthew Bethnal Green in the said county of Middlesex.'

The canal opened in 1830 and effectively linked the town of Hertford at the head of the River Lee Navigation with the Regent's Canal and from there to the Grand Union Canal. This meant that traders in Hertford were now able to sell their goods the length and breadth of the country. Sadly the canal was not a financial success and it was bought by the Regent's Canal Company in 1854.

I chose for my second drawing to challenge myself and try and depict the water in the canal. It only took me just over an hour to complete it but my head was fairly buzzing by the end of it as I took in the constantly changing light and movement of the water. I was quite glad to have a short break as I watched a narrow boat navigate its way through the nearby lock before I returned to my 'labours'. I can't imagine how J M W Turner did it!

2 comments:

jacqui boyd alden3 May 2015 at 23:55
Well, you seem to have managed the challenge really well. Has a real feel of movement, so no wonder your head was spinning.
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Heather James4 May 2015 at 10:51
Thanks Jacqui for your comment. I'm hoping to do some more water views and with any luck there will be ducks to draw too so making my life that much harder. :)
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Drawing the canal, 2015

During the spring and summer of 2015 I made a series of black and white sketches along the Hertford Union Canal from Wick Lane to White Post Lane. This area of Hackney Wick is undergoing rapid development and the existing industry that occupies the area is being replaced with blocks of flats and I wanted to make a visual record of the towpath before that happens.

I responded to anything that took my fancy and in the autumn I exhibited eight of the sketches (chosen from a total of 21), reproduced as small posters, on the doors of a building owned by the National Grid. I was keen to exhibit some of this series of drawings in the same setting that they had drawn in for the benefit of the people who use the towpath.