Dave's Blog

Sketches from the garden

2008-05-12T20:28:00.006+01:00

I've been so busy lately that I've fallen behind with my Every Day in May posting, though I have been keeping up with doing some art every day...honest! Today, I'm catching up a little bit by posting some sketches of things growing in our garden. One is of dandelions; unfortunately, I don't know what the others are called (my DW is the gardener in this family), though I've a feeling one of them might be called aquilegia.

One of the things I'm busy with is getting ready for the Oxford ArtWeeks exhibition that I'm taking part in next week. Here's an invitation, for anyone who happens to be in the Oxford area. You can find directions to the club here: http://www.medleysailingclub.co.uk/maps.html

Strawberry

2008-05-07T22:18:00.003+01:00

It's a bit early for strawberries really. I never buy the imported ones, because they don't really taste of anything, but the English ones seem to start earlier these days; I guess they are grown under glass or plastic. Anyway, this one was on the lunch table today, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to draw it -- before I ate it, of course. I only had a black pen, so that's what I drew it with. Although the colour is the most striking thing about strawberries, I find their texture very attractive too, and pen and ink is good for rendering that.

Winsor & Newton Artists Journal

2008-05-07T06:55:00.003+01:00

It's a bit difficult to find time to keep up with the Every Day in May challenge at the moment! Work is busy with exams just around the corner and I'm still getting ready for the 10k race, now only 11 days away (eek!), which means going out running most nights. So, here is a very quick sketch of my Winsor & Newton artists journal, a present from my DW and a very nice thing to carry about and sketch in. Just for a change, this is done using Noodlers ink and graphitint pencils.

Manequin

2008-05-05T22:24:00.006+01:00

Today is a public holiday in England (not sure about Scotland), but not for the hard-working staff of the University of Oxford. :( Never mind, it rained so much I wasn't really missing much. Unfortunately, that also meant I was confined to indoor sketching, so turned to the trusty manequin. I also wanted to try using my Noodlers ink with water, having been alerted to the fact that it isn't waterproof by Anita, who uses this medium (as so many others) so beautifully.

Poplar

2008-05-04T21:51:00.005+01:00

I was at my sailing club today, not sailing, unfortunately, as it was my turn to be in charge of the racing. The club (called Medley Sailing Club) is not far from Binsey, where the poplars that Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote about in his famous poem. This is a quick sketch that I was able to do between races of a poplar on the banks of the Thames, just coming in to leaf. This is just pen and ink; I might add some colour tomorrow...the green of trees at this time of year is so lovely.

If anyone happens to be in the area, the sailing club is having an open day on 10th May. Come and have a sail!

Here is the poem.

Binsey Poplars, felled 1879

My aspens dear, whose airy cages quelled,
Quelled or quenched in leaves the leaping sun,
All felled, felled, are all felled;
Of a fresh and following folded rank
Not spared, not one
That dandled a sandalled
Shadow that swam or sank
On meadow and river and wind-wandering weed-winding bank.

O if we but knew what we do
When we delve or hew—
Hack and rack the growing green!
Since country is so tender
To touch, her being so slender,
That, like this sleek and seeing ball
But a prick will make no eye at all,
Where we, even where we mean
To mend her we end her,
When we hew or delve:
After-comers cannot guess the beauty been.
Ten or twelve, only ten or twelve
Strokes of havoc unselve
The sweet especial scene,
Rural scene, a rural scene,
Sweet especial rural scene.

Forgetmenots

2008-05-03T19:47:00.004+01:00

It's been a lovely day for being in the garden. In between mowing, cleaning, weeding, etc. I found time to do a couple of quick sketches, including some of the forgetmenots which absolutely cover the garden at this time of the year. I suppose we should try to control them, but they're my daughter's favourite flower, so I haven't got the heart! I also did a quick sketch of a tulip, though I don't think that really worked very well. Still, in the spirit of EDM, I'm going to post it anyway.

Apple blossom

2008-05-02T21:51:00.005+01:00

A busy day at work today, so not much time for drawing, but I'm not going to give up on EDM on the second day, so I found time to do a quick sketch of the apple blossom that is out in our garden at the moment. Actually, this is growing on a small tree that has a lot of meaning for my DW. It is a graft taken from a tree planted by her father not long before he died. It's still only large enough to get a handful of fruit, but it's growing well and has lovely blossom at this time of year. This was done using Inktense pencils.

Lizzie, WIP part 5

2008-05-01T22:21:00.005+01:00

This being the first day of May, I'm starting the annual Every Day in May challenge. Which means doing some sort of art work every day. Today's work was to continue with my portrait of my niece, Lizzie. I've made a few adjustments to the left eye and the mouth (I always find the mouth the hardest part to get right, for some reason) and done a bit more work on the hair. I'm still not completely satisfied with the likeness, but it's better than it was. I don't think I'll do much more work on the hair; I like portraits that are more and more "unfinished" the further away you get from the face. This time I've also posted my reference photograph in case anyone can spot any glaring problems that I could easily correct!

Lizzie, WIP part 4

2008-04-27T18:22:00.003+01:00

I've done some more work on my portrait of my niece, Lizzie. It's coming along quite nicely, though I'm beginning to wish that she had shorter hair! There's something not quite right with the likeness, though I just don't seem to be able to put my finger on what it is. It's getting closer, though!

Meanwhile, I'm feeling rather stiff today. I foolishly allowed myself to be talked in to entering a 10km (6 mile) "fun run" that is raising money form Muscular Dystrophy. Given that the last time I ran in any sort of race was my school sports day when I ran the 800m (a distance that I remember thinking at the time was unreasonably long!), I thought I'd better get in some practice. My big fear (apart from doing something really silly like tripping over a kerb) is being overtaken by someone dressed as a slice of toast. So, I went for a five mile run this morning, which I did in 48 minutes 33 seconds. Since I've never run five miles before, I guess this counts as a personal best, or PB as my running friends all say! Three more weeks before the actual event...

Lizzie, WIP part 3

2008-04-22T22:41:00.006+01:00

Another hour or so to work on this drawing this evening. I've only got about three weeks to get everything I need finished before the show, so I hope to make faster progress later in the week. But I think it is going to be OK...fingers crossed! I've done some more work on the face, trying to smooth the texture as well as adding some more details.

PS For some reason the scanner seems not to be working properly, so this looks much less smooth than it really is.

Technorati Tags: portraits, drawing, graphite, wip, Lizzie

Lizzie, WIP part 2

2008-04-21T22:42:00.002+01:00

Just managed an hour or twos work on this tonight, but thought I would post the latest update anyway.

Technorati Tags: drawing, graphite, portraits, Lizzie, wip

Lizzie, WIP part 1

2008-04-20T22:06:00.004+01:00

I've finally succeeded in getting a good reference photo of my niece, Lizzie, so I'm doing a drawing of her that I hope will be ready in time to include in the group show that I'm going to take part in during Oxford Artweeks. I say "group show" because that sounds like something a proper artist would take part in! Actually, it's a group of members of Medley Sailing Club who have decided to put on a show in our clubhouse, which is located right on the banks of the Thames in Port Meadow. I thought it would be fun to take part, because every year I go around and see as many artists' work as I can but I would never have thought of joining in myself until this idea came up.

As for the drawing, it's early days yet but I think the pose is a nice one, so it should make for a good drawing. Though as usual now that I come to post it I can see a problem with the right eye and there's something not quite right with the mouth...I always have problems with mouths! Still, plenty of time to put those things right...

Technorati Tags: drawing, portrait, Lizzie, wip, graphite

Lifeclass 3

2008-04-17T17:59:00.006+01:00

I went to my third life drawing class the other day. This time we had a different model, which was good, even though this lady was obviously a bit nervous about it. Not that I blame her; it's a weird thing to do, isn't it!

This first set were all five minute poses, drawing on A3 cartridge paper using charcoal.

The next two were fifteen minute poses, the first using charcoal again and the second one using a large, flat graphite pencil.

The last pose was 45 minutes and I used a wax pastel for this one, a medium that I've never used before. I'm quite pleased with how it came out (though less pleased with the rubbish photograph of it!).

I was pleased to find out that these classes are now being held twice per month, so I should be showing more drawings soon. This weekend I'm off to Cambridge (I'm examining some poor guy's PhD thesis tomorrow; hope he's not too nervous, I'm quite a gentle examiner really!!), so maybe I'll get some sketching done there. Who knows, I might bump into Anita!

Another batch of Australia sketches

2008-04-15T11:41:00.008+01:00

Here are another batch of sketches from my recent trip to Australia. These are all done in and around Bloomfield, a secluded area in the Daintree Forest, in northern Queensland.

Australia sketches

2008-04-14T21:29:00.014+01:00

These first set of sketches were done in the airport or on the plane. Done on lined paper because I cleverly packed my sketchbooks in my luggage!

Our first stop was in Sydney, but I didn't get much chance to sketch there. I did manage a very quick one of, inevitably, Sydney Opera House. I have to say, it is an amazing building, inside as well as out. We were lucky to hear an amazing performance of Shostakovich's 8th symphony in the lovely concert hall. And I also did a quick sketch of a gum tree!

More to come soon!

I'm back!

2008-04-09T16:25:00.002+01:00

I'm back from Australia, jet lagged and a bit stiff from the marathon session in economy-class seats, but having had a wonderful time! I did get the chance to do some sketching, so when I've got myself organized to scan them, I'll show them here. Meanwhile, here are some photos to whet your appetite!

Trip to Australia

2008-03-22T23:41:00.006Z

I've not posted for a few days because I've been preoccupied with getting ready for our trip to Australia. We leave tomorrow!! I've never been before, so it's very, very exciting. We'll be spending a week in Sydney, then going to Port Douglas and then on to Bloomfield in the Daintree rainforest. Can't wait!! So, here are a few random sketches that I've done in breaks from packing. I might not be able to post again until mid-April. But, I'm taking pens, pencils and paints with me, so with any luck there'll be something to show you all when I get back.

drawing pen+and+ink Lamy noodlers

Camellia

2008-03-15T21:07:00.005Z

It's the time of year when the garden is starting to bloom again. We don't have a lot of bulbs, but we do have some trees that now are in blossom, and also a camellia that is now coming in to flower. It was actually warm enough to sit outside and do a quick sketch of one of the flowers this afternoon, before the rain came down.

drawing graphite camellia

EDM #143 -- draw a herb or spice

2008-03-04T23:00:00.004Z

I haven't done an EDM challenge for ages, but thought doing a sketch of a nutmeg would be a real challenge! You'd need hours and hours to do something like this justice, but this was a fun quick sketch.

drawing graphite nutmeg EDM

Magdalen Tower, Stage 2

2008-03-03T09:48:00.004Z

Here's an update on the Magdalen College tower drawing. It's been good to get back in touch with the pencils and paper again, and although I'm not particularly happy with the drawing, I think it's served its purpose, so I'm going to leave it at that and do something that I'm more excited about!

drawing graphite Magdelen+College

Magdalen Tower, Stage 1

2008-02-28T12:13:00.003Z

Picking up the pencils after not having done much for a while fun, but I do feel a bit rusty! Here is a first stage of a drawing of a view of Magdalen College's bell tower. As you can see, the details on the tower itself are a bit shaky! But I'm enjoying doing the trees. I've foolishly committed myself to taking part in a group exhibition in May, and I had thought this might go in it, but I think now I'm just going to have to treat this as a sort of reacquainting myself with the pencils exercise.

Tech Tags: drawing graphite Magdelen+College

Brick Study

2008-02-26T22:09:00.003Z

Thanks to everyone for your kind good wishes, and especially to Robyn who sent me some information about a dietary solution to the problem. I'm pleased to say that I am feeling a lot better, so Robyn's advice seems to be working! Thank you so much, Robyn!!

So, now to get creating! I'm easing my way back in with some graphite studies. This one is of bricks...which hopefully you didn't need telling!!

drawing graphite

Second life class

2008-02-10T14:56:00.000Z

Unfortunately I've not been able to completely shake off that balance problem I mentioned a few posts ago, and that's had a big impact on my ability to get much art done. But I wasn't going to let a little thing like falling over all the time stop me from going to my second life class. I didn't manage to get too much done that I would want to show, but this one isn't too bad. I hope I'm feeling more like my old self soon!

lifeclass charcoal drawing

Jonathan WIP, part 4

2008-01-13T21:00:00.000Z

I've done a bit more work on the hair. It's still not quite as I would like it to be, but I think I might be making it worse by overworking it now. So, I'm going to leave it now and work on the portrait on my niece.

drawing graphite Jonathan portraits

Life Class

2008-01-12T15:58:00.000Z

Not a great start to the New Year for me. First, I lost my beloved iPod. Luckily, I haven't actually lost any music, but it is still a big blow. I'll just have to get a fancy new one to replace it! Then I got ill...not the stomach thing that everyone else in Britain seems to be coming down with, but something called labyrinthitis, a problem in the ear that makes it hard to keep your balance. So, I walk around as if I was drunk, only without actually having had anything to drink: the worst of all possible worlds! Fortunately, it is getting better and, according to the doctor, shouldn't last more than a week. In fact, I was well enough today to go to a new life class that has just started near where I live. I'm so excited! I've never done a life class before. Actually, it isn't really a class; it's just a couple of hours with a model, but that's OK with me. Unfortunately, it's only once a month, but perhaps if it proves popular it will become more frequent. Anyway, here are my efforts from today, all in charcoal on A3 paper and all five minute poses except for the last one that was half an hour.

drawing charcoal life+class

Jonathan WIP, part 3

2008-01-08T21:49:00.000Z

Well, I didn't manage to get this finished in time, but not to worry because my sister-in-law has a birthday next month, so that's my new deadline! Here is another update. I think this is getting close to being finished, but I'm not happy with parts of the hair yet. Now that I look at it with fresh eyes, I can see that I've not been paying enough attention to variation in tone; too much of it has been hatched in repetitively and mindlessly. Still, it shouldn't be too difficult to improve, and I'm quite pleased with the likeness and the feeling of the piece.

Hope you all have a very Happy New Year!

Jonathan WIP, part 2

2007-12-12T22:42:00.000Z

Here's an update on the drawing of my nephew, Jonathan, that I started ages ago. I'm still hoping to get this finished in time for Christmas!

Missing!

2007-12-11T14:20:00.000Z

Hi everyone! Sorry not to have updated my blog for so long...I've just been through a very hectic couple of months in my life! But things should be reasonably quiet for, well, a week or so before Christmas madness really kicks in. In fact, I managed to pick up my pencils for the first time in weeks last night, but didn't have time to scan the work, so I'll do that tonight. Meanwhile, if there are any fans of Philip Pullman's work out there, here is what my daemon is, according to the Golden Compass website. Not sure quite what to make of turning out to be a gibbon...

Book Review: Beautiful Landscapes by Diane Wright

2007-10-31T12:36:00.000Z

Diane Wright (2007) Beautiful Landscapes. Walter Foster.

It's the last day of October, so just time for one last Big Draw Book Review. This will be a quick one, but as I've only just received the book from Amazon, I can't resist it.

Diane Wright is an extremely accomplished graphite artist, rather in the mold of Mike Sibley, the subject of my previous review. Indeed, Diane is a great admirer of Mike's work, and considers him to be her mentor. Therefore, the style of work shown in the two books is very similar. However, Diane's book is a very slim volume, just 64 pages, and can be picked up very cheaply ($9.95 direct from her web site). In a sense, then, it is an "entry-level" version of Sibley's book, though this description doesn't give Diane enough credit as a fine artist in her own right.

As the title indicates, this book focusses entirely on landscape drawing. The first part of the book is devoted to drawing major landscape elements, with particular emphasis on trees. Diane's tree drawings are a delight in themselves, and I personally would love to have a book of hers devoted entirely to this subject. In fact, you can follow a tree tutorial on her website, and also find it in the Drawing and Sketching forum on WetCanvas!

The largest part of the book, however, consists of Diane taking us step-by-step through a series of wonderful drawings of subjects as diverse as Kirkwall Harbour and the Sonoma Desert. The book is worth many times more than its price just to look at the finished drawings, but the advice contained in them is invaluable. I haven't had the chance to read through the whole book in detail yet, but I'm sure it will repay careful study.

Diane is a lovely person, as well as a great artist. I hope this book does very well for her; it would certainly do very well for your art! Highly recommended.

Book Review: Drawing from Line to Life by Mike Sibley

2007-10-21T22:12:00.000+01:00

Mike Sibley is a well-known British graphite artist. His book, Drawing from Line to Life, was published last year. To his many fans, this was a long-awaited event, and it created a lot of excitement. The book even has its own Yahoo group. For anyone interested in graphite drawing, especially in a realistic style, this book will provide a feast of information. There is bound to be something new to learn for everyone as Sibley is a very experienced artist who has developed many tricks over the years. I have to admit that I don't particularly like his art, but one cannot fail to admire his technique.

The book has twenty-four chapters.
The first set deal with tools and techniques, including line drawing, tone drawing, erasing and indenting. Sibley's own technique is sometimes surprising, but always clearly explained. Here, for example, is what he says about blending.

Personally I wouldn't entertain the use of foreground blending except in circumstances where the texture produced is exactly the one I wish to depict. Such exceptions include muddy or dusty floors, uneven plastered walls, anywhere that doesn't include sharp edges or hard shadows. The slap floor and walls in this Bearded Collie study are totally blended - in fact much of the 'detail' was drawn with an old graphite-coated tortillon. Graphite, mainly 2B and F in this case, was repeatedly applied to the floor and blended until I achieved the desired appearance. The initial blending was carried out with a piece of toilet tissue wrapped around my finger.

The section ends with a step-by-step demonstration of a drawing of a young girl. This is very useful, with many detailed descriptions of technique and detail view of the work in progress, such as this one showing the technique he uses to render hair.

When I wrote that the first part was about technique, I may have given the impression that the other parts of the book were about something else! In fact, section two is also about technique, though perhaps more advanced. It includes chapters called Fooling the Brain, Working from Photos, Negative Drawing and Perspective. Interestingly, Fooling the Brain deals with some of the tricks discussed in Betty Edward's Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, in particular the use of negative drawing. This technique is something of a Sibley specialty, and the chapter devoted to this method is one of the highlights of the book.

The final set of chapters deals with drawing particular elements of a drawing: ellipses, textures, reflections, foliage, hair and features. This may well be my favourite part of the book. The chapter on trees and foliage is especially good; but that might just be because I draw a lot of trees! Here is some of Sibley's advice.

There are three major aspects of a tree that are important to its appearance - surface texture and shape, internal bough structure, and gaps through which you can see through to the other side. A tree is not an amorphous collection of leaf-shaped items or random marks that, you hope, will fool a viewer's brain into reading as 'tree'. A tree is an ordered, layered object with an outer covering around an inner armature or core. It's only by analysing what you see that you will gain the full understanding that allows you to draw realistically.

You can't argue with that! The book is 287 pages long, and contains far too many illustrations to count. I find I am constantly dipping in to it to get ideas, advice and inspiration. For example, I'm off to look at the chapter on drawing hair before going back to my drawing of Jonathan! I can't recommend it highly enough.

Tech Tags: book+review Mike+Sibley Big+Draw

Oxford Art Society

2007-10-21T19:13:00.000+01:00

Yay! My drawing was accepted by the Oxford Art Society for their annual Open Exhibition. It was on the blog a few months ago: you can see it here. I know this isn't really a big deal in the great scheme of things, but I'm very excited. I've never had a picture exhibited anywhere before; in fact, I've never submitted anything before. I went to the private view yesterday, and I have to say, I don't think my modest little drawing looked totally out of place among all the works by professional artists. No one seemed to be laughing at it, at least! So, if you happen to be in Oxford before 3 November, stop in and see it.

Tech Tags: Oxford+Art+Society woo+hoo

The Big Draw Book Review: Drawing by Daniel M. Mendelowitz

2007-10-17T09:13:00.000+01:00

This review is inspired by Katherine Tyrell's (of Making a Mark fame) October Book Review project, timed to co-incide with the Big Draw in the UK.

This book was first published in 1967, and is now out of print, but you can find used copies on Amazon and elsewhere. The author, who died in 1980, was on the faculty at Stanford University for over 30 years, having himself studied at Stanford and also at the Art Students League of New York. Although Mendelowitz taught drawing at Stanford, and aimed this book at art students, it is not a "how to" book of the sort that we have become used to. Rather, it is a tour of the history of drawing; meant to be inspiring rather than instructing.

The book is over 450 pages long and contains over 300 illustrations of masterful drawings, many familiar but also a large number of more obscure pictures. It inspires by reminding us of the sheer variety of possibilities encompassed by "drawing." It was the most important single thing that finally made me do what I had wanted to do for a long time: begin the lifelong process of learning to draw.

The book consists of three main sections. The first is a history of drawing, starting, inevitably, with cave drawings and finishing in the middle of the twentieth century. I have read some reviews of this book written in the academic literature soon after it was originally published, and they are rather sniffy about this section, perhaps because Mendelowitz was not an art historian. To someone who, like me, is not an art historian it is wonderful to be guided through the major developments in the history of drawing by someone who is so obviously in love with this form of artistic expression.

There are lots of familiar drawings in this section, though who is going to object to seeing favourite drawings by Leonardo, Michaelangelo and Raphael in chapter 3, which deals with the Renaissance in Italy? I did learn that Leonardo was left-handed: look at the direction of his hatching for the proof of this. This drawing, from the Royal Library at Windsor, is one of the many illustrations in chapter 3. In many ways, Michaelangelo is the real star of Renaissance drawing, as he often treated drawings as works of art in their own right, rather than as preparatory studies for paintings.

Chapter 4 deals with Italian Baroque drawings. I was struck by the gestural quality of many works in this chapter, such as this one by Guercino. The next chapter shifts to the Northern Renaissance, and it will come as no surprise to know that the most striking drawings in this chapter are those of Durer (including the famous "Great Piece of Turf" from the Albertina in Vienna) and Rembrandt. One of the latter's drawings really struck me the first time I read this book because of its amazing economy of line. This, it seemed to me, was the real magic of drawing: the ability to produce a wonderful work of art with just a few strokes of a pen.

Moving on to France, England and Spain there are a few surprises; or, at least, they were surprises to me when I first found this book. For example, I had never seen Claude Lorrain's wash drawings before (my favourite one, of the River Tiber, is actually in a later chapter). There is also a wonderful charcoal study of a monk by Zurbaran and a typical work by William Blake.

There are even more surprises in the chapters on the twentieth century. I shouldn't, I suppose, have been surprised by Picasso's skill as a draftsman, but his simple contour drawing of a seated nude was a revelation. The quality of line is breathtaking. There is also a wonderful sketch of Fritizi, Paul Klee's cat that was so often his model.

The second section of the book departs from this fairly conventional, chronological treatment of the subject. Instead it deals with what Mendelowitz calls the Art Elements: line, form and value, and texture. Drawings illustrating the use of, for example, different types of line are presented and discussed. Ingres is used to demonstrate the line as a delimiting edge, Raphael the use of value to model form, and Degas the representation of texture. In many ways these three chapters are my favourites in the book, because this is when the huge variety of effects that can be produced with a pencil or a stick of chalk is made most apparent. Even if one just looks at drawings in which line is the dominant element there is a huge range of art, from formal academic work through to abstract art.

The final section deals with the different media that can be used for drawing, though this is rather conventional: metalpoint, pencil, chalk, crayon, charcoal, and ink are the main ones covered. There is also a chapter on imaginative drawing. Interesting though these chapters are, though, it is the first two sections that, for me, really make this book special. It is a massive book, but that didn't stop me reading it cover to cover when I first bought it. Now, I tend to dip in to it for inspiration or just to admire the amazing achievements of so many wonderful artists. It's a shame it's no longer in print, but it is well worth seeking out.

Pencil rating: 5 pencils

Tech Tags: Big+Draw book+review drawing

Jonathan WIP, part 1

2007-10-16T23:28:00.000+01:00

I haven't done a graphite portrait for a while, so here goes with one of my nephew, Jonathan. I liked the pose, though I'm still not sure if it will make a good drawing because you can't see his eyes. Worth a try, anyway! This is done on Bristol smooth, so far I've only used a mechanical 2B pencil. The hair is going to be a challenge!

Tomorrow I'm going to submit a pen and ink drawing I did a while ago to the Oxford Art Society open exhibition. I've never done anything like that before. It's very scary; it's a society for real, professional artists! But the secretary is a friend of mine, and she twisted my arm. Unfortunately, she's not on the selection committee! I'll let you know how I get on...

drawing graphite portraits mechanical+pencil Jonathan

Ink sketches

2007-10-11T22:13:00.000+01:00

It's been over a week since I posted. Life's been hectic, mainly because it's the start of a new academic year, with it's seemingly endless number of welcome receptions, induction briefings, and dinners. The college Freshers Dinner can be slightly excruciating, but this year's bunch were fun to chat to. I just wish they would vary the menu; this was my 14th Freshers Dinner, and every year they serve chicken Kiev and profiteroles!

Anyway, mainly inspired by Anita, I've got me a bottle of Noodler's red/black ink. It's a great colour. Are any others worth checking out? These are some sketches from my bedroom. Yes, OK I admit that I sometimes sketch in bed...I'm not sure whether that makes me a very keen sketcher or a very, very lazy one!

Conkers

2007-09-26T23:14:00.000+01:00

Continuing with the autumn theme, here is a watercolour sketch of a horse chestnut, or a conker as they are better known in the UK. I haven't seen anyone playing conkers for ages. Do kids still play it? When I was a kid is was a big thing. Everyone had their own method for hardening them!

watercolour sketches conkers

Rosehips

2007-09-20T22:47:00.000+01:00

Autumn is definitely in the air these days. The leaves are beginning to turn, there's a bit of a chill in the air in the mornings, and there are hips on the old rose in our garden. Here's a quick watercolour sketch of some of them.

watercolour sketches rosehips autumn

More fruit

2007-09-12T22:05:00.000+01:00

Here is the peach with some added colour, using Inktense pencils. I was going to sketch a banana, but then I ate it! Luckily, an empty banana skin is, if anything, more interesting to sketch than a full one. This also uses Inktense pencils and a Copic pen. And just to round off today's post and old-style red telephone box. This is a K6, the most common variation on the original design by G.G. Scott.

EDM #133 - a peach

2007-09-09T21:15:00.000+01:00

I've been enjoying our annual street party today. Lots of good food, wine, a band so we could dance in the street. We even had a fly-past! One person in the street has a part share in a single-engined plane and flew over the street during the party!! That's one up for us over our rival streets! As I rest my sore feet (I'm sure they didn't used to get sore from dancing!), I did a quick sketch of a peach for EDM # 133. Now I look at it, I think it would be nice to add some colour, so perhaps I'll do that tomorrow. At the moment, I'm not sure you would know it was a peach...it could be a plum, or a nectarine!

Tech Tags: Copic sketches pen+and+ink peach EDM

EDM #30 -- a chair

2007-09-06T20:55:00.001+01:00

This is a chair from my mother's house. It's my attempt at EDM challenge number 30. My parents have had it for many years; I remember sitting on it when I was a child. It was my favourite because you could swing round and round on it!

Rotring+Art+Pen sketches EDM

Boats

2007-09-05T21:38:00.000+01:00

I've always had problems drawing boats, so when I was down on the South Coast recently I took the chance to spend some time sketching at Lymington. This is a great place to find boats; there are almost too many to choose from, from large fishing boats to tiny dinghies.

It's one of the most popular sailing centres in the country, located on the sheltered western Solent. I've sailed there a lot in the past, but don't currently have a boat.

These are all very simple boats, though some of them are done from quite tricky (or me!) angles. All done with a Rotring art pen.

boats pen+and+ink Rotring+Art+Pen sketches Lymington

EDM #10 (a hand) and #13 (a telephone)

2007-09-05T21:19:00.000+01:00

Continuing with my efforts to get back into the (more or less) daily sketching habit, here are a couple more EDM challenges. The first was a blind contour drawing done with a Rotring art pen, with the wash done later. The mobile phone was done with a a Copic multiliner. More to come soon!

Tech Tags: EDM sketches blind+contour hand mobile+phone Rotring+Art+Pen Copic

My Crayon Colour is...

2007-08-27T21:03:00.000+01:00

I just took this quiz to find out my crayon colour! Who'd have thought it!

You Are a Green Crayon

Your world is colored in harmonious, peaceful, natural colors.
While some may associate green with money, you are one of the least materialistic people around.
Comfort is important to you. You like to feel as relaxed as possible - and you try to make others feel at ease.
You're very happy with who you are, and it certainly shows!

Your color wheel opposite is red. Every time you feel grounded, a red person does their best to shake you.

What Color Crayon Are You?

EDM #131 -- Spray bottle

2007-08-27T20:35:00.000+01:00

Time to get back into the EDM weekly challenge habit after being away so much over the past month or so. This is a spray bottle, which I use to wet my paints and keep the paper wet when I'm working in watercolour. This is done with a Rotring art pen and Pentel water brush.

technorati tags: EDM, 131, Rotring+Art+Pen, Pentel+wate+, brush, sketches, pen+and+ink

New York

2007-08-23T18:56:00.000+01:00

We had a great time in New York, getting there two days before the second of my conferences started. We took the Circle Line tour around Manhattan, which was excellent. It's amazing how much of the Upper West Side looks from the river to be rolling, tree-covered hills! We also went up the Empire State Building, went to see a Broadway show, and generally acted the typical tourists! The girls were very excited by the shops, especially given the very favourable exchange rate at the moment. And I enjoyed a trip to Pearl's on Canal Street. Sketching time was again very limited, but here are a couple from an afternoon in Central Park.

New York City, Circle Line, Empire State Building, Central Park, pen and ink, sketches

Philadelphia

2007-08-21T22:21:00.001+01:00

I'm finally back in Oxford and have cleared the backlog of work sufficiently to have a moment to scan some sketches. We had a great trip. I was last in Philadelphia about 25 years ago, and was surprised to see that it now has skyscrapers. When I was there, you weren't allowed to build higher than the statue of Penn on City Hall. I think it's a shame (and apparently some think it has resulted in a curse on the city's baseball team, though it didn't seem to hurt them on the night we went to see them play!). But there were a lot of familiar things too, like Reading Terminal Market, Society Hill, and Penn's Landing. Of course the two highlights are Independence National Historical Park, home of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, and the Art Museum. At the latter I couldn't resist running up the steps, Rocky-style! Even though it was close to 100 degrees!!

The collection at the latter is really outstanding. We didn't have time to do it justice, really, but concentrated on 18th and 20th century European works. One of my favourites is the painting of the Houses of Parliament burning by Turner.

Unfortunately, it was a working trip really, so there wasn't much time for art. But I did manage to do a couple of quick sketches, of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.

Another trip!

2007-08-01T20:23:00.000+01:00

I'm off on my travels again tomorrow, this time slightly further from home. I'm going to be in Philadelphia and New York City until 15th August. Unfortunately, this is mostly a working trip, but I should get a few days of down time to roam around with my sketch book. See you all when I get back!

Ardrishaig Harbour

2007-07-26T08:41:00.000+01:00

This is the small lighthouse at the entrance to Ardrishaig harbour, which is at the eastern end of the Crinan Canal. This was done with a Rotring Art Pen in my small W&N sketchbook.

technorati tags: pen+and+ink, Rotring+Art+Pen, Ardrishaig, Argyll, , Scotland, sketches

Sound of Jura

2007-07-25T11:24:00.000+01:00

This is a very quick sketch, done at Castle Dounie, which overlooks the Sound of Jura. I didn't have long because my rather impatient family weren't keen on hanging around in the cold wind, despite the stunning views. You can see the entrance to the Gulf of Corryvreckan, which lies between the islands of Jura and Scarba. It is famous for its whirlpool (at the other end of the Gulf), which is created by strong tidal flows and rock pinnacles on the sea bed. George Orwell was once caught in it, and was lucky to survive.

technorati tags: watercolour, sketches, Sound+of+Jura, Gulf+of+Corryvreckan, Argyll, Scotland

Another holiday painting

2007-07-23T22:21:00.001+01:00

Here's another painting from my recent holiday. This one is a bit larger, a 1/4 sheet. More practice with grey skies!

technorati tags: watercolour, Scotland, Argyll

Loch Fyne

2007-07-22T21:13:00.000+01:00

I'm just back from my trip to Argyll on the west coast of Scotland. We were staying in a small village called Ardrishaig, which is on the banks of Loch Fyne, a large sea loch on the eastern side of the Kintyre peninsula, famous for the quality of its seafood. It is a beautiful part of Scotland, with sea, mountains, islands, beaches...everything you could want, provided the weather stays fine! This is a watercolour sketch of part of Loch Fyne.

technorati tags: watercolour, Loch+Fyne, Argyll, Scotland

Holiday

2007-07-21T23:48:00.001+01:00

I've been away on holiday on Scotland for the past week, hence my lack of posting. Over the next few days I'll post some of the sketches I did while I was away. In the meantime, here's a photograph to wet your appetite.

EDM #126 -- Draw a sponge

2007-07-05T18:39:00.000+01:00

I haven't done the EDM weekly challenge for a few weeks, partly because I've been busy. Also, I think maybe it's one of those things that if you can just get out of the habit of doing. But since I have several sponges lying around, I don't really have an excuse not to do this one. So, here it is. I hope this means I'm back in the habit again! This is done with Copic multiliners and Inktense pencils.

technorati tags: EDM, sponge, Copic, Inktense

More lavender

2007-07-05T17:38:00.000+01:00

Another attempt at wet and loose lavender.

technorati tags: watercolour, lavender

Lavender

2007-07-04T08:52:00.000+01:00

This month's topic on Making a Mark is flowers in art. There are some wonderful links in this post; anyone with even the slightest interest in flower painting should take a look. I've been continuing to experiment with loose approaches to flowers, using lots of water, and as part of this have produced a few studies of lavender. Here are a couple. They're not really loose and watery enough, now I come to look at them again. Still, that gives me an excuse to have another go!

technorati tags: watercolour, lavender, flower+painting, Making+a+Mark

Chandelier

2007-07-03T20:42:00.001+01:00

When the rain drove me inside yesterday, I did a quick sketch of this chandelier inside the spookily now almost deserted old Radcliffe Infirmary (mentioned in the previous post). I couldn't take long because, ironically, the lights weren't working! It's not particularly accurate, but then it was a pretty complicated thing to draw in the gathering gloom! Plus, it's pretty wonky IRL, so who's going to know? The little tower in the corner is on the roof of the hospital's chapel.

technorati tags: pen+and+ink, chandelier, Radcliffe+Infirmary, Oxford

Radcliffe Infirmary

2007-07-02T22:28:00.000+01:00

Tonight I had the chance to spend about half an hour making a sketch of the fountain at the front of the old Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. It's an historic site: the hospital opened in 1770, but it closed in January this year, with all its functions moving to a new site in Oxford. The original building is very interesting, but behind it is an ugly sprawl of buildings that have been put up over the years. The site has been taken over by Oxford University, who are going to turn it into teaching and research facilities. They'll have to preserve the original building, but I expect the rest will go.

technorati tags: watercolour, sketch, Radcliffe+Infirmary, Oxford

Hawthorn

2007-07-01T22:28:00.000+01:00

Time for a return to graphite. I like to use lots of different media -- watercolour, pen and ink, coloured pencil -- but I still find it hard to beat graphite. The control and subtlety of tone that one can get are unrivalled (at least, I can't rival it!). This is a bit of hawthorn, very common around here.

technorati tags: drawing, graphite, hawthorn

Feed the birds...

2007-06-27T10:11:00.000+01:00

Here's another version of the girl that I posted a while back, this time with added pigeons! The vague shapes on the upper right were supposed to represent a flurry of feathers as more birds hurried over!! The fact that I've had to tell you this shows how well that worked! :( Part of the reason for doing this was to experiment with a new squirrel mop that I've just got from Jackson's Art Supplies; their own brand ones are currently on sale with a 60% discount, so I couldn't resist. I've never used a squirrel brush before; I'm amazed both by how much water it holds and by how soft it is.

technorati tags: watercolour, pigeons, winsor+and+newton, jackson's, squirrel+mop

Botanical illustration

2007-06-24T21:25:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I attended a workshop in botanical illustration at the Harcourt Arboretum (part of Oxford University's Botanical Garden) run by Valerie Price, an artist trained in scientific illustration who has done work for, among others, Kew Gardens. Although you might not guess it from the very loose paintings I've posted here recently, I've always been fascinated by this type of detailed, highly accurate drawing and painting. I very much enjoy doing this style of work, even though I'm nowhere near being capable of the incredible detail the real experts can achieve. It seems to be unusual for people to enjoy producing both very loose and very detailed work; I suppose it doesn't really make sense to try to work in different styles, but after all I'm only doing it for fun, not to make a living!

My experience of taking classes in watercolour is that teachers invariably want you to work larger, wetter and looser, so it was a refreshing change to take a class with someone that thought my number 6 brush (the second smallest I own!) was "rather long", who stresses careful preliminary drawing involving painstaking measurement, and for whom A4 is as large format as it gets! I wouldn't want to work like this all the time, but I really enjoyed the day.

This was the result of my day's work...a single flower! But I'm quite pleased with it; I think it has a good feeling of transparency. It's mainly done using W&N opera rose on Fabriano Artistico cold pressed paper. Oh, and the flower is a lavertera.

technorati tags: watercolour, lavertera, botanical+illustration, harcourt+arboretum, botanical+gardens, Valerie+Price

And another one...

2007-06-21T22:23:00.000+01:00

Yes, it's another rose! I think tomorrow I'll have to try something different. Like a yellow rose, perhaps. :) Again, this is on a 1/4 imperial sheet of Bockingford NOT.

Roses

2007-06-21T07:58:00.000+01:00

It's hard to resist painting roses at the moment, as thy are everywhere! So, here's another version. This style is largely inspired by the work of Jean Haines. Anyone interested in her work would also do well to check out the internet forum that she's recently set up (and which I've mentioned before), the Watercolour Haven. This is on a 1/4 sheet of 300gsm Bockingford NOT paper (as was the previous post).

technorati tags: watercolour, roses, winsor+and+newton, bockingford

Nigella

2007-06-20T21:15:00.000+01:00

I've not been able to post much so far this month, thanks to pressure of real life (boo!). But I hope to put that right with a flurry of posts over the next few days! Here is a watercolour of a Nigella, a lovely blue flower with delicate leaves and attractive seedpods. I'm trying to work in a very loose style. This was done in five minutes or so.

technorati tags: watercolour, nigella

Tree study (again!)

2007-06-11T21:47:00.000+01:00

I had the chance to go out and draw for a hour or so this evening as the sun was going down, and what better way to spend the time than draw one of my favourite subjects: a tree. I call it a "study" because that sounds like the sort of thing that proper artists do, but really, I just like drawing trees! I had to rush a bit at the end as it was getting dark, but it was a lovely evening to be out drawing.

technorati tags: drawing, graphite, trees

Girl feeding birds, study

2007-06-07T23:27:00.000+01:00

I'm planning a painting of a young girl feeding pigeons. This is a quick study of the girl. I don't have a lot of time to do much art at the moment as I'm buried under a big pile of exams that I've got to mark! I know what I'd rather be doing, but I should be finished with the marking this weekend. I've still got that portrait to finish too!

technorati tags: watercolour, study, pigeons

Roses

2007-06-03T20:55:00.000+01:00

Summer has returned to Oxford this weekend, thank goodness. And with all the rain, we've been having, when the sun comes out everything in the garden grows like mad. All our roses are out, pink, white, yellow, orange; patio, bush, climber. I never feel as though any attempt I've made to paint or draw roses have really worked. This year I'm having another go, using a very loose, watercolour style. Still not really right, but I think this approach could work if I keep at it.

technorati tags: watercolour, rose

EDM #8 and EDM #78

2007-05-31T23:33:00.000+01:00

EDM challenge 8 was to draw a watch. I've got a few watches; this one I bought on my recent trip to Switzerland. It didn't seem right to come back from Switzerland without a new watch! I really like it, though it can be a bit difficult to read because the hands are silvery metal that don't always show up very well against the pale face. It's done with my .25mm rapidograph.

Challenge 78 is related in that it is to draw something that is a souvenir of somewhere you've been. In 2005 we were lucky enough to spend a summer in California and, during that time, make a trip to Hawaii. We've been to California quite a few times -- in fact Liz and I lived there for a year before Sarah was born -- but this was our first time in Hawaii. This is a Kukui Nut Lei; we all got one at the hotel we stayed at on Maui. It was a wonderful trip. The only downside is that Sarah now wants to spend every holiday there!

technorati tags: pen+and+ink, EDM, watch, lei, Maui

Watercolour portrait, WIP

2007-05-31T23:21:00.000+01:00

I've decided to do a watercolour based on the graphite portrait of Liz that I've been showing here. This is a new challenge for me; I've never tried painting a portrait before, so it's a bit scary. In fact, I didn't even have much idea how to mix a good skin tone; in the end I found the yellow ochre a alizarin crimson are commonly used, so that's what I've tried, with the addition of cobalt blue for shadows. This is just a first wash, there's a lot more to do.

technorati tags: watercolour, portraits, Liz, WIP

Liz, stage 5

2007-05-29T22:16:00.000+01:00

I think I might declare this finished. At any rate, I'm going to to leave it for a few days and then come back to it. It didn't turn out too badly in the end, though I don't think I'll be using this type of paper for drawing on again. I had to resort to using my .3mm mechanical pencil to get into the small crevices in the paper!

technorati tags: drawing, graphite, portraits, WIP, Liz

Liz, stage 4

2007-05-28T21:48:00.000+01:00

Here's another update of my portrait of Liz. Coming along quite nicely, I think. Slow progress, but I've no reason to hurry over this one.

technorati tags: drawing, graphite, Every+Day+in+May, portraits, Liz, WIP

Liz, stage 3

2007-05-27T20:51:00.000+01:00

Here's another update. At one point today I almost gave up and started again on different paper as I'm having so much trouble with this. It would be great for something that had lots of texture, but I don't really want my wife's skin to have lots of texture! In the end I thought I'd keep going; it will be good practice for another version, if nothing else. I've started work on the hair as well as changing the right eye yet again and doing a bit more work on the mouth.

technorati tags: drawing, graphite, Liz, EverDayinMay, WIP, portraits

Liz, stage 2

2007-05-26T21:37:00.001+01:00

I've not had much drawing time this week, so I haven't made much progress on this drawing, but I thought I'd post what I've done so far. I've corrected the eyes, though I notice that in the process the irises are now not round. But that's easily fixed. The mouth needs more work, but as I said, that's the hardest part! And the hair...I might not have mentioned that Liz has curly hair...

technorati tags: drawing, graphite, WIP, Liz, portraits

EDM #120

2007-05-26T20:34:00.000+01:00

Here are a couple of torches. I'm amazed I could find two; normally torches are one of those things that I can never find when I want one, even though I must have bought loads of them! These are both done with a Rotring Art Pen.

technorati tags: pen+and+ink, drawing, EDM, torch, flashlight, Rotring+Art+Pen

EDM #1 and EDM # 110

2007-05-23T23:17:00.000+01:00

I'm very upset because Liverpool were cruelly robbed of victory in the Champions League Final by AC Milan. (I'm talking about football, or soccer if you're in the US, in case you're wondering!) Although I live in Oxford, I'm originally from Liverpool, so this is a BIG DEAL. I didn't think it would be a good idea to work on my drawing of Liz in this mood! However, I needed something to take my mind off the pain, so I did a couple of quick sketches. Quite why I thought it would be a good idea to draw a burning candle using sepia and black ink, I'm not sure...just shows what my mental state is like! The shoe is a memory of a holiday in Hawaii in 2005. You couldn't get them in the UK at the time, but now they are everywhere, so I don't feel so special wearing them! But they still remind me of being on the beach in Maui...heaven! These are also my responses to EDM 1 and EDM 110.

technorati tags: pen+and+ink, neocolour, crocs, candle, EDM

Liz, WIP

2007-05-22T21:45:00.000+01:00

I'm starting a drawing of Liz, my wife. It's based on a photograph that I took when we were on holiday in Switzerland last month. I've not done much work on it yet, but thought I would show the progress so far. I'm doing this on a 1/4 sheet of Arches HP paper. I'm not sure that's going to turn out to be a good choice; it's a bit rougher than I'm used to working on, so I hope I can make the skin look suitably smooth! Plus I still have the dreaded mouth to work on, generally the hardest part on the face, IMHO. Luckily, she's got her mouth shut, so at least I don't have to worry about the teeth. So far it's all done with a 2B .5mm mechanical pencil.

technorati tags: drawing, graphite, portraits, Liz

30 second poses

2007-05-21T23:43:00.001+01:00

I recently went to a life class for the very first time. Slightly bizarrely, it was held at the gym club where I'm a member! The part that I enjoyed the best was doing a series of 30 second poses. It sounds scary at first, but actually is quite liberating, as no one can expect you to produce anything very stunning in such a short time so there is no pressure at all. What's more, the model can take up poses that would be impossible to hold for longer periods of time. I really enjoyed it; can't wait to have the chance again! Anyway, here are some of my drawings.

technorati tags: pen+and+ink, life+class

Wheatfield Church

2007-05-21T23:20:00.000+01:00

Wheatfield Church is one of England's 1000 Best Churches, according to Simon Jenkins. It is a small church in the parkland of what was once a prosperous estate before the house burnt down in the nineteenth century. The church is still in use, though only in the summer as it has no electricity. It's a lovely spot, despite being within sight of the M40. I did this quick pen and ink sketch before my lovely daughter got bored!

technorati tags: pen+and+ink, wheatfield, church, oxfordshire

Sketching in the garden, and EDM # 119

2007-05-19T22:12:00.000+01:00

I was planning to go out sketching today, but the weather wasn't really good enough, so I contented myself with some sketching in the garden. We have a number of acers in the garden, my DW particularly likes them. I'm not sure what the other one is (I'm not the gardener in our family!), but I like the blue colour. I've also included a rock from the garden, which is this week's EDM challenge!

technorati tags: watercolour, pen+and+ink, acer, garden

Problems with comments

2007-05-17T16:03:00.000+01:00

I'm having some problems with comments at the moment. Serves me right for fiddling too much with my template, I guess! I hope to have it fixed soon.

Rainy Day

2007-05-16T20:54:00.000+01:00

I've been busy at work, and tired (my DW's been away, see secret 4 below!) and I'm fed up with it raining all the time! So, I haven't been very inspired to do anything creative for a couple of days. But here are a few quick things I did get time to do. Let's hope summer starts again soon!

technorati tags: pen+and+ink, Inktense, watercolour

Look out for Madeleine

2007-05-14T23:27:00.000+01:00

Bloggers everywhere are doing their bit for the search for the missing child, Madeleine McCann. The story of her abduction is reported by the BBC here. Here is a photograph of her. If anyone has any information about her whereabouts, they should get in touch with the international Crime stoppers on +44 1883 731 336.

I've been tagged

2007-05-13T23:03:00.000+01:00

I've just been tagged by Robyn of Have Dogs, Will Travel. Thanks, Robyn, it was fun! I expect you're familiar with this; you have to tell seven secrets that most people don't know about you and then tag another seven bloggers. The former is fairly easy; finding seven people who haven't already been tagged is more of a challenge! Here are my seven secrets:

I've suffered from depression on and off for years. Drawing is one of the things that helps to keep it more or less at bay most of the time. Meditation is another; I think drawing and meditation are quite similar in many ways. Both are about being completely absorbed in the present.

I'm 50 this year. EEK! I've already had my mid-life crisis, and I've got the leather jacket to prove it. And the electric guitar. But I stopped short of getting the motorbike!

I secretly like getting done up in full academic dress once in a while.

When my wife is away, I sometimes stay up until 1.00am, watching old movies, eating crisps and chocolate.

Before I moved into academia, I worked as a social worker in Scotland for 10 years. I found dealing with child abuse too difficult to handle in the end. It's never straightforward, you have to make impossible decisions with very little support. It's a miracle tragedies don't happen more often.

When teachers don't know the answer to a student's question, they say "What do you think about that?"

I'm a big fan of The Archers, a soap opera on the radio set in a small village somewhere in central England.

Here are the seven blogs I'm passing the tag on to. Please let me know if you've already been tagged before. I tried to check, but I might have missed some.

Teri C of Teri's Painted Daisies. Based in Arizona and Wisconsin (though luckily for her, not at the same time!), Teri produces beautiful paintings, particularly of flowers.

Lin of View From The Oak. Lin is fortunate enough to come from North Carolina, where she produces lovely work, mainly in watercolour and ink.

Casey Toussaint of rue Manuel bis is an American living in the Loire region of France. She works in a variety of media, including walnut wood stain!

Omphaloskepsis is a blog by E-J, who comes from East Anglia in England. She is a very talented pastel artist, but she also produces sketches in a variety of media. I wonder how much time she actually spends contemplating her navel!

Margaret Hunt of MaggieArt is an award-winning fiber artist, but on this blog concentrates on her sketches.

Done4Fun is Sylvia's blog. She does beautiful work in many media, including pastel and watercolour.

Carole Kirk's blog has some really interesting experiments with various print techniques. You must check them out.

EDM #76 -- Draw some flowers

2007-05-13T19:08:00.000+01:00

I've not had time to do much drawing or painting today, just a quick sketch of some stocks that I bought a couple of weeks ago and are still going strong. This will be my entry for challenge 76. They have a lovely smell, but I haven't yet come up with a way of capturing that in a drawing! This is ink and Derwent Inktense pencils.

I've just been tagged by Robyn, of Have Dogs, Will Travel, so I'll have to start thinking of seven secrets! It's not going to be easy. And, of course, I'll have to find seven new people to tag, so watch out!

technorati tags: pen+and+ink, Inktense, Stocks, drawing, sketches, EDM, every+day+in+may

Grady, finished

2007-05-12T12:37:00.000+01:00

I think I'm going to call this one finished. I've darkened the middle of the mouth, the nostrils and the right ear, but otherwise it's not much different from stage 3. There's lots more that I could do to it, but I think not without changing it into a completely different style of drawing. Those of you who were kind enough to comment and said you liked dog drawings, you owe it to yourself to check out Mike Sibley. Now there is a real master of realistic graphite drawing! But I'm quite happy with my drawing; I think it captures the personality of the dog. I'm really going to have to practice those noses, though!! Thanks again for the advice and encouragement.

technorati tags: drawing, graphite, English+setter, EDM

Grady WIP, part 3

2007-05-11T21:33:00.000+01:00

This is getting close to being finished, if only because I've got to send it off tomorrow. I think the darkening of the inside of the mouth has really helped (thanks for that advice!), though it might need to be taken a bit further in the middle. The nose is better, but perhaps still not quite right. The nostrils could do with being a bit darker, maybe. Anyway, the next post will be the final version.

technorati tags: drawing, graphite, English+setter

Grady WIP, part 2

2007-05-10T22:05:00.000+01:00

This isn't going as well as I'd hoped, probably because I'm trying to work too quickly. That nose is driving me mad...I just can't get it to look right! Only tomorrow left to work on it!! I've adjusted the right eye, which wasn't round enough, and have started to suggest the hair around the right ear. Suggestion is all there is going to be, I think, given the time available. Still, I'm reasonably happy with the overall impression of the dog's personality.

technorati tags: drawing, graphite, English+setter

Grady, WIP

2007-05-09T22:15:00.000+01:00

After the bright colours of the last post, it's back to graphite today. I'm doing a drawing of an English Setter called Grady for a friend's birthday. I would have been tempted to try to paint him, but the birthday is on Saturday so I can't afford to make mistakes! In fact, it might well not be finished in time, but it should at least look reasonably good by then. Plus, I'm working small--it's about 18cm x 12cm. Plus, this will be my entry to the current EDM challenge (118), which is to draw hair. Dog hair counts, right?

technorati tags: drawing, graphite, English+setter, EDM, hair

Cherry Tree, finished

2007-05-08T20:30:00.000+01:00

I think this is done, though I'm tempted to put some more darks on the tree. What do you think? This is done on a quarter imperial sheet of 140lb NOT Bockingford paper, using W&N French Ultramarine Blue, Permanent Rose, Burnt Sienna and Raw Sienna. And as luck would have it there is also an EDM challenge to fit this one too: number 15 -- draw a tree!

technorati tags: watercolour, cherry+tree, EDM

Cherry Tree, WIP

2007-05-08T00:21:00.000+01:00

I decided to do a painting of a cherry tree in blossom, but didn't get time to finish it today, so I thought I'd post it as a work in progress. I'm afraid that the middle part of the background has gone a bit muddy, but I'm going to add some detail in to it, so I hope it will still be OK. Time will tell!

technorati tags: watercolour, cherry+tree

EDM #37 -- Some keys

2007-05-08T00:15:00.000+01:00

Here's a line drawing of my keys, which is EDM challenge # 37. This is a sort of modified blind contour. Each key is drawn blind, but I looked at the paper to place the pen for the start of the next one.

technorati tags: pen+and+ink, EDM, keys

Busy weekends

2007-05-06T17:28:00.000+01:00

I always expect to be able to enjoy some quality time with my paints at the weekend, but it rarely seems to work out that way. This weekend is turning out to be no exception, though with tomorrow being a holiday, perhaps there is still hope! However, I did manage to get out in the garden to do a bit of sketching. Pen, ink and Inktense pencils (which I'm getting to like more and more, by the way).

technorati tags: drawing, sketches, pen+and+ink, inktense, garden

Every Day in May: First strawberries

2007-05-03T22:02:00.001+01:00

First strawberries
Originally uploaded by mothsailor.

I'm not sure if this will turn out to be feasible, but I'm having a go at participating in the Every Day in May challenge. The idea (as you might guess) is to produce some sort of work every day in May! This was the piece that I painted yesterday, inspired by my first English strawberries of the year, and also by the May project at a new forum for watercolour artists called the Watercolour Haven.

technorati tags: Every+Day+in+May, watercolour, strawberries

EDM # 117 -- Something round

2007-05-03T21:09:00.000+01:00

The weather this spring has been so warm that we've already been eating outside in the garden a lot, and I've already dug the Chinese lanterns out. Seemed like a suitable subject for the EDM challenge: draw something round. One of these is done in common or garden graphite (.5mm mechanical pencil with 2B lead) and the other in Inktense pencils.

technorati tags: drawing, graphite, inktense, EDM, lanterns

Country cottage, finished

2007-05-01T21:50:00.000+01:00

I think I'm going to call this finished. I'm reasonably happy with it. It is by far the most challenging pen and ink drawing that I've attempted. Compared it to the drawing I did of Flatford Mill 18 months ago, for example. Always nice to feel that one is making progress!

technorati tags: cottage, pen+ink

Drapery study, WIP

2007-04-30T22:29:00.000+01:00

At tonight's art class, the teacher set up a drapery study for us to do. The extra challenge was that the drapery was translucent! I do enjoy this sort of challenge, once in a while, anyway! It will take quite a long time to complete -- this is two hours work so far -- and I may not have the patience or time, but perhaps posting it here as a WIP will give me an incentive!

technorati tags: drawing, graphite, study, drapery

EDM # 56 -- Self-portrait

2007-04-27T22:34:00.000+01:00

I've always enjoyed doing blind contour drawings. There is something liberating about not having to worry about what the end product is going to look like. Also the works that really inspired me to try my own hand at drawing were line drawings. I've always loved line drawings; there is something especially magical about producing pictures out of simple lines. Of course, there is nothing at all magical about my blind contour drawings, but they are fun. This is a self-portrait. You'll have to decide for yourself if I really look like this!

technorati tags: blind+contour, self-portrait, pen+ink, drawing, EDM

EDM #53 -- Mouth

2007-04-26T19:41:00.000+01:00

I haven't done much portrait drawing or painting, but doing studies of bits of faces seems like good practice. When I do try to draw or paint faces, I generally find the mouth the hardest part, so I decided to do some studies of a mouth. It also happens to be the subject of Everyday Matters challenge number 53, so that's another one crossed off the list!

technorati tags: graphite, drawing, portraits, mouths, EDM, 53

EDM #116 -- Something Green

2007-04-25T21:33:00.000+01:00

This is a sketch of something green -- Green College, Oxford. This is the Radcliffe Observatory, an 18th century building in the grounds of the college.

It was a very quick sketch that I did while I was waiting for a bus; that's why it's a bit wonky! Anyway, that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!

technorati tags: Pen+ink, Green+College, EDM, 116

Irises

2007-04-23T21:45:00.000+01:00

Irises are my favourite flowers, but I find them very difficult to draw or paint. But I figure there is only one way to get better! So here are a couple of studies, one in pencil and one in watercolour. Anyway, I needed a change from the country cottage drawing before I go back to finish it off.

Country cottage, WIP part III

2007-04-22T21:30:00.000+01:00

Spent another few hours on this today. Apart from the lawn in front of the house, I think this is getting close to being done. It's a while since I attempted anything like this, and I'm beginning to remember why! It takes a very long time! On the other hand, there is something very satisfying about doing a very detailed piece of work in pen and ink.

I'm using Rotring Rapidograph pens on 140lb NOT watercolour paper, by the way. My favourite is the .25, though I sometimes use the .1 and the .35. I've got a .5 as well, but when you've been using those very fine nibs, the .5 feels like a stick of charcoal! They are normally extremely reliable, though there are three big spots where ink blotted out of one of them. It was my fault, I hadn't put a new cartridge in properly. I think these blots stick out like a sore thumb (three thumbs, in fact). I also think the roof is a mess, and the front door is too wide. Apart from that, I'm quite pleased with it!

Pandora

2007-04-21T22:26:00.000+01:00

I've been a bit too busy to do too much painting or drawing for the past day or two, but I did manage to do this quick ink sketch of our cat, Pandora. She's a British Blue, very placid...indeed, you could say fat and lazy! She also has the slightly annoying habit of walking over my computer keyboard while I'm working! This was done with a Rotring Art Pen, washed over with a Pentel water brush.

Tech Tags: pen+ink cat