JWJarts - Watercolours for Beginners

Shaping up!!

2012-01-26T14:02:00.001Z

A busy time in the office and at home had already reduced my time for art but now things have gotten a whole lot worse. We are having our en suite bathroom completely remodelled. I have always tackled jobs like this myself and did the main bathroom on my own a few years ago however, this time we are having the work done for us by professionals.

Having said that, I'm finding it next to impossible to sit back and do nothing so to satisfy my need to get involved I decided I'd take care of clearing the room of all the existing stuff in preparation for the plumbers to do the rebuild. So I'm lifting the flooring, removing the basin and toilet, dismantling the shower cubicle and chiselling tiles from the wall, all without water squirting everywhere .... we hope!!!

As an accountant, and therefore a pen-pusher, my hands aren't as tough as those of a labourer so for jobs like this I do like to use a pair of good quality leather work gloves. Apart from anything else, I have on occassion missed the head of the chisel with my hammer. I know you girls use Hand Cream to protect your hands. Call me a wimp if you must but for me cream just doesn't do it.

As good as the modern strong plastic toolboxes are, the old fashioned hesian Plumbers bag takes a lot of beating. It holds a huge number of tools yet it can be carried easily and as soon as it is laid on the floor it flops open and all the tools are instantly accessible. I have two and wouldn't be without them.

Despite how it might seem, this post isn't about my bathroom project but is all about art. There was a time when I thought quick sketches, though great fun, were fairly pointless and served no useful purpose other than to occupy a few idle minutes here and there, but of late I have been changing that opinion. As you all know I've been doing much more sketching recently and I'm actually beginning to feel as if the pen is moving over the paper in a much more relaxed and easy fashion. Shapes seem to be coming together more naturally and the pen feels as if it is moving more freely.

I am really looking forward to when I can sit down and do a more serious painting or drawing but in the meantime these sketches are helping me feel really positive about my art.

Boats at Scarborough

2012-01-18T21:12:00.002Z

I've had very little time for myself since just before Xmas and 'art' just isn't getting a look in. Life does get in the way sometimes. I don't know about you guys but there comes a time when I just have to do something about it ... anything!!! This evening, in desperation, I scanned through some of my holiday photo's and came across this shot of some boats moored in the harbour at Scarborough. When I saw them last year I was immediately struck by their bright colours and just knew I had to paint them one day.

Anyway, with a little under an hour to play with (it usually takes me an hour to get all my stuff out and decide which pen to use) I decided on a quick pen & wash. I attempted to work quickly with the pen to try and get some energy into the pen strokes but I'm still too cautious - but I'm getting there. I chose a brush about 37 sizes bigger than the one I normally use (or at least, that's how it felt). Working quickly without waiting for previous area's to dry has made this a bit messy but still, it's made a reasonable little picture and I'm certainly feeling a lot better for having done it.

The first of many

2012-01-07T17:57:00.001Z

Today was the day I had been promising myself for a long time. Well, it wasn't a day - in the end it turned out to be just 45 minutes - but they were gooooood!! For 3 months it has sat on my shelf teasing me seductively. Perched at eye-level I couldn't help but see it every time I sat at my desk. That black shiny Moleskine sketchbook was just pleading to be taken out for a stroll. I know it will sound very silly but I didn't want to use the Moleskine just as any other sketchbook. I wanted to save it for something special and not soil it's pages just by using it for any random scribblings. In the end, I decided it should be 'the' sketchbook that I take out with me when I start my plein air sketching, and that is what I did.

Wrapped up warm with overcoat, scarf and gloves, I put the Moleskine in my pocket along with a couple of fountain pens, Aquabrush and mechanical pencil. I left the house and walked off towards the village centre. Ten minutes later I found myself sitting on a bench across the road from the War Memorial, which was a big relief because I hadn't even realised I was missing!! I removed my gloves, fired off a reference shot with my compact camera, and took out the fountain pen loaded with Sepia ink. I started to sketch but nothing happened so I took out my Moleskine and opened it to a blank page. That wasn't difficult as they were all blank.

The view before me was of the villages War Memorial. The local parish council make sure there are wreathes of Poppies on the ground all year round. As I sketched, a few couples walking dogs strolled past but after a casual glance in my direction they paid me no heed and that is the 'fear' I need to conquer. I am a big fan of using water to bleed soluble ink to give tone so after I'd finished sketching with the pen I took out my Aquabrush to tease out some tone.

A few paces from the bench put me within sight of the village pub. This time I decided to sketch standing up, which is just as well as there was nowhere to sit. Because I was standing I chose the pencil. I haven't sketched like this before and found it challenging. For some reason I found perspective much harder to deal with than when working from a photograph. Around this time I was aware of how cold my hands were but I knew it was pointless attempting to draw with gloves on so hurried myself along as best I could. The sketch doesn't do justice to this fine old building but the exercise was about 'confidence' not 'art'.

On my way into the village I had noticed several 'emblems' carved in stone and set in walls, usually near a large gateway or entrance. They obviously tie all of the properties together in some way and I decided to sketch one on my way back home. They consist of a Snake or Serpent twisting around 5 arrows. A trip to the library is called for to find out their significance.

As I walked home I reflected on the Moleskine and confess to being a little disappointed. My 2B pencil took well but I find the paper a little too waxy for the fountain pen and waterbrush. It worked, but not as well as I would have hoped. Still, it's early days and my Moleskine has a lot more outing's in store for it, so we'll see how we get on. Today's brief 'sketching walk' was the first of many. ;-)

The best of 2011

2011-12-31T14:45:00.000Z

As the year draws to a close I find myself reflecting back on my art journey over the course of 2011. There have been those successes I have been very pleased with and proud of, and there have been those that I have not been pleased with but have learned a lot from. That's one of the nice things with art ... even when we mess up we learn something, so it's a win-win situation most of the time.

Reflecting on my highlights I have pulled out a few pictures I'd like to share with you again. Firstly, the one and only painting I've sold in exhibition ... "The Steelworker". I got into a real mess with this one because I cleverly decided to try candle wax to create the water on the furnace floor. It was a huge mistake so I tried to overpaint it. That's not easy with watercolour. Anyway, long story short, I wrestled with the wax and created mud on top of mud on top of mud. I became as close as I've ever come to not finishing a painting, but in the end I got there.

2011 was also the year I attempted my first ever portrait. This graphite drawing of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow was a major "dip the toe in the water" exercise. I didn't have proper blenders or tortillons and didn't really appreciate how they would be used, so I managed with some tightly rolled up kitchen paper. It was a learning curve of huge proportions.

This 'discovery' of being able to do realistic drawings in graphite led me on to trying various other subjects and one of my favourites of those is this Leopard, which I stupidly thought was a Cheetah. Duh! Still, whatever it was didn't detract from the enjoyment of gradually watching him come together, spot by spot.

I have always enjoyed drawing with Pen but haven't done any for a long while and these pencil drawings led me back to pen work, but at a new level. I experimented with cross hatching which I'd never tried before and confess to having a long way to go before I'm pleased with what I'm doing, but this drawing of Robin Hoods Bay didn't disappoint me.

But I felt that all of this very tight work was having a negative effect on my watercolouring (if that's possible - lol). So I tried my hand at sketching. I find it difficult to just 'let go' and let whatever happens, happen. But the more loose, free and easy, hurried sketching I did with my pens, the more I felt at one with the paper. Pen sketching and loose watercolours all came together for me in this very simple painting of the river at Staithes. A totally alien style for me, but one which I thoroughly enjoyed.

One of my 2011 highlights was to receive a request from a young couple who are getting married in April at Edinburgh Castle. They wanted to know if they could use my pen sketch on their Wedding Invitations. It is small moments like this that make you feel your work is appreciated for what it is, and that's important for us all.

I can sum up 2011 for me by saying it has been a milestone year. I conquered personal fears by stepping out and sketching in public and I've tried several different techniques and media. I have had the disappointments that have taught me lessons and the successes that have helped my confidence. Most of all, I have enjoyed sharing my journey with all of you, just as I have enjoyed following your own journey's. You are all an inspiration to me.

My goals for 2012? To consolidate on what I've accomplished in 2011 by trying to bring my new found confidence into my watercolour painting, to improve further with my graphite and pen work, and to try some serious work with Charcoal and Pastels. Most of all I intend to get out and about with my sketch book culminating in some watercolour painting en plein air. That is an ultimate goal.

Thank you for your support during 2011 and I wish you all the very best for 2012.
Happy New Year!!!

Oh no, Not again!!!

2011-12-23T11:26:00.002Z

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

Candles were flickering, the light it was dim

The log fire was burning, the weather was grim

Outside it was fierce, with the snow and the ice

But inside was warm, cosy and nice.

When suddenly there came such a rattling clatter

Everyone startled … what was the matter?

Could it be reindeer on the pavements outside?

“He’s here, he’s here” the children all cried

But looking out through the cold frosted glass

T’was no sign of reindeer on pavement or grass

Yet the noise it continued it’s rat-a-tap-tapping

It wasn’t a hammer nor people clap-clapping

The mystery grew deeper, it wasn’t a car

Nor herds of horses, nor sheep going “Baah”

It was more like a woodpecker pecking a log

“Oh no, not again!!”, it’s John on his blog.

.... typing a sincerely, heartfelt THANK YOU to all my blog followers for the wonderful support and encouragement you've given me over the past year. You've helped me try new media and new techniques but most of all you've helped me see my own work through your eyes. My confidence has grown hugely during the last 12-months and that is largely down to you.

Merry Christmas and a happy, peaceful and healthy New Year to you all.

Some basic Maths

2011-12-19T14:43:00.003Z

I'm absolutely delighted to have been presented with The Versatile Blogger award by fellow bloggers Sandra, Renske and Michael. It is a requirement of the award that I pass it on to 15 other bloggers and that I also state 7 facts about myself. I'm going to do that last part, but not the first.

Think about this award for a moment and do some basic maths. One person nominates 15 blogs. Each of them nominates 15 more. so that makes 225. Each of those 225 nominate 15 more, so that is 3375. And each of them nominates 15, which makes 50,625. I've traced the award back over at least 6 levels, and if every recipient nominated 15 more blogs, then my award is just one of 11,390,625. You can see where this is heading .... the next round will generate in excess of 170 million awards. Also, to be quite honest, I would struggle to nominate 15 blogs that I follow that aren't already recipients.

I'm sure that this sounds as if I'm very ungrateful to have received the award, but nothing could be further from the truth. For me, the true award is being considered worthy to receive it by my peers. I don't need a fancy logo with a title ... just to be named in Sandra, Renske and Michael's lists is prize enough. Thank you all.

As to 7 facts about myself .....

1. Well into my 60's now, I am working part time and about to retire fully very soon.
2. I am a keen amateur photographer and I would have a photography blog if I had time for another.
3. My favourite saying is "Don't let your past dictate who you are, but let it be part of who you will become".
4. I am very shy and introvert which prevents me sketching/painting en plein air - but that is something I am determined to rectify in the new year.
5. I hate the way other people's cats come into my garden to use it as their own personal toilet and kill the wild birds that I've encouraged down.
6. I would love to spend Xmas in a log cabin in the mountains, snowed in with ample provisions and a roaring log fire.
7. I'm an expert at taking some nice fresh watercolour pigments and turning them into mud.

Merry Christmas one and all.

Confidence?

2011-12-13T20:47:00.000Z

Though some of my blogger friends are very confident about their art and themselves as artists, I know that there are many, me included, who are less confident. I also see a serious lack of confidence in the beginners and less experienced artists who join my art forum. Sometimes I try and find some words of wisdom that might help them be more confident in their work and I am continually trying to find ways of boosting my own confidence levels. (Yeh, I know ... I should practice what I preach).

One thing that has driven itself home to me recently is that you, my blogger friends, always seem to like my work much more than I do, and I have been giving this a great deal of thought. I've concluded that this is simply because you don't know what I was trying to achieve - what mood I'd wanted to create; what small detail isn't as accurate as I'd have liked; what colour has dried darker than I'd intended; what 'rescues' I performed during the painting process; etc, etc. You look at my work and see it as you find it, with no preconceived notions or expectations. I look at my work and compare it pixel by pixel (figuratively speaking) to the image that I held in my minds eye before I reached for my brushes. It seldom measures up.

So I now offer a new definition of the word 'confidence' ....

Confidence: the ability to see your work as others see it.

Changing the subject completely, which I can do because it's my blog, a while ago I decided to make my own Xmas cards this year. I even said so here on my blog ... like an idiot!!!

I thought about it all through September and most of October and actually made a start around the end of October just before the auditors arrived. Remember them?

Anyway, during the time of the audit I was distracted from really important matters, like art, and my Christmas cards got put on the back burner ... again. So yet again this year, I rush headlong into the festive season with a long list of uncompleted good intentions.

As you know, I've been developing a growing passion for pen work and, just as an experiment, I wanted to see how effectively I could sketch a snow scene using black ink on white paper. I had just finished a watercolour of a 'made up' scene for a possible Xmas card, so tried it again in pen. Both are posted here. Initially I wasn't at all pleased with either version but coming back to them many weeks later I am seeing them through fresh eyes. I'm much happier with both of them but I have to say I was really very pleased with the pen version. I refer to my comments above about 'confidence'.

I'd like to offer both as cyber Christmas Cards to all my blogger friends, old and new. Throughout my blogging experience you've been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement and not once have you said "John, that's crap!!!" I wish you the most wonderful Christmas ever and I hope good old Santa brings you plenty by way of new Art supplies.
Merry Christmas.

A lucky shot

2011-12-02T22:23:00.001Z

As some of you know, aside from my art I also enjoy photography. When I was holiday in Yorkshire in October, I spent some time in Whitby and went 'walk-about' to get some photo's. Having conquered the 199 Steps I headed out along the harbour wall. As I strolled along taking the occasional shot of a passing Seagull and considering the best viewpoint for a shot of the lighthouse, I suddenly became aware of the sound of an engine.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw this Jet-Skier travelling at a fair rate of knots. There was no time to think about the best settings for my camera, I just swung round and took the shot. Given the speed of the Jet Ski, and the instant in which everything happened, I felt sure the picture would be rubbish, When I looked at it later I was thrilled to find that my shot was actually quite good. A few weeks ago I did a small drawing of a surfer and enjoyed trying to create the spray of the breaking waves. This picture appealed for the same reason.

This is the first drawing I've done with some new leads I bought for my mechanical pencils. The lead is by Pentel and is called Ain Stein. It is made using a new process which Pentel claim makes the lead stronger and blacker than ever before. I have 2B leads in sizes 0.5 and 0.7mm and can report they were a joy to work with. Highly recommendable.

Laptops

2011-11-23T14:29:00.001Z

I'm right in the middle of my annual audit and am not at all happy. The source of my frustration is nothing to do with my books, records or accounts, but the attitude the auditors have towards trees!!! I have a company wide network of PC's and on it I run professional accounting software. I do all of my work using it, and often extract data into spreadsheets for further analysis. At home I have a business grade PC with a remote link to my office network. So whether I'm working in the office or at home, everything I do is computerised - so yeh, I have square eyes. lol.

The auditors arrived Monday morning, each with their own laptop slung sexily over their shoulder. They make themselves comfortable in the Board Room and set up their laptops. It's at this point that I would dearly love to hand over a memory stick containing the accounts together with all of the working papers, spreadsheets and schedules. I have it all ready for them .... but no, they want it all printing out for their file.

But that's only the beginning. One at a time (there are 3 of them) they come to speak with me about whatever part of the business they are looking into at the time. They pull a chair up to my desk, open their laptop and peer accusingly over the top of the screen as they fire at me their questions, furiously typing my answers into their machines. Cool, so they're not totally unappreciative of the need to embrace modern technology .... are they? Yes, they are!!! Once they have completed the 'interrogation' the report will be printed off for their file. On one occassion, during 'questioning' I pulled up a report on my screen to show them a transaction they were interested in. "Ooh good, can I have a print of that then?", he asked excitedly. "Yes ... just that page" I replied, pretending I wanted to be helpful. "No .... the whole report". "Whaaat???" I exclaimed "but it's 63 pages and you're only interested in one item on page 57". "Sorry, but I have to have the whole report so the item can be seen in context". How #$@%$*@ ridiculous is that?

Sadly, that is the way it has been going all week. I protest and even greet them sarcastically with "Take a seat - have you come to cut down another tree?" .... "What do you do in your spare time - Oragami?". I even tried reducing paper usage by reducing the font size (too small to make notes against) and duplex printing to use both sides of the paper (not convenient for their files). I will be having a moan (which is something I'm rather good at) to the senior partners of the firm just for my own satisfaction.

And talking of computers, as if the audit isn't enough, my laptop decided to die on me a few days ago. Suddenly, inexplicably, it went off and can not be made to come back on. Though annoyed, I wasn't too upset because I am fairly disciplined with back up's and know there is nothing important on the disk that I haven't got somewhere else. I also knew the machine is only 3-years old and I took out an Extended Warranty when I bought it. However, the bad news is that the extended warranty expired in October, just a few weeks ago. I don't often swear but the air turned blue when I discovered that.

So as I approach the remaining days of the tree-hungry audit, witnessing a team of professionals spread their carbon footprint far and wide, I drop my broken laptop into the bin. It's not the greatest of weeks so far but I'm looking on the bright side ...... it will soon be the weekend and then I'll be able to do some painting. Hey-ho!!

A tight fight!

2011-11-16T16:02:00.002Z

My natural style is best described as 'tight' and the long-term followers amongst you may remember that from time to time I try to do something to help me loosen up. I will try quick ink and wash sketches and sketches against the clock, for example.

Eilean Donan Castle

This Sepia Ink pen and wash sketch is a very good example of one problem I struggle to deal with. Many of my verticals lean to the right. Now it happens that my natural handwriting also leans to the right, very much so. I have always written in an 'italic' style with a very pronounced lean. When I am sketching with gay abandon (as gay and abandoned as I ever get), that sloping tendency shows through into my drawing. I know I can do something about it when I try to, but by concentrating on getting the verticals upright, my work becomes tight(er) again. I guess I just need more practice ... either that or a block under one side of my chair. LOL.

So, have you noticed the "Making art fun" picture in the top right corner. It's just a little thing we do in my forum and I'm really pleased I managed to figure out how to have it automatically updating here. My 'square' is the second from the right on the top row.

Raising the bar

2011-11-08T10:29:00.001Z

For my recent birthday I put together a list of arty-bits that I wanted, as we do. What I didn't receive as direct gifts I purchased myself using money given to me for just that purpose. Electric Eraser, electric Pencil Sharpener, pads of paper, Fountain pen, ink, Pencil Wrap, and mixing palette.

The pièce de résistance was a book by Lee Hammond on drawing realistic portraits. Her work is outstanding and, as pleased as I am with my own drawing, there is no doubt in my mind that I can do better. I'm hoping Lee's book will help me with that.

Though I haven't had time to read the book in detail yet, I have read some parts and am bursting with enthusiasm to try out a few things. I've always been too impatient to work steadily through the practice stages of anything, so I dived in and had-a-go at this eye. It hasn't turned out too badly and I'm quite pleased overall, but I notice how uneven the blending is compared to what I can see in the book.

So yesterday evening I sat down to concentrate on nothing more than blending. I've come to the conclusion that there are no short cuts to a good result. Pencil on, blend, pencil on, blend, more pencil, blend ... layer after layer ... gradually building a smooth and even graduation. This simple sketch took me over an hour. The original looks better than this scanned version and I'm very pleased with the result, but I still have a long way to go. Still, I know I can raise my game when it comes to pencil work, so I've move my personal bar up a notch. Watch this space!!!

The final gift, which I bought with birthday money, arrived in the post yesterday. My first ever Moleskine Sketchbook. It looks great and I can't wait to take it for a spin. One thing I didn't get for my birthday which would have been the best gift ever .... more hours in the day. LOL.

Perfect remedy

2011-11-03T10:25:00.004Z

I'm told it happens to us all, but just lately I've been feeling quite low about my art, especially my painting. On top of that, my watercolours aren't coming out too well as I seem to make mud with every brush stroke and a busy period at work is leaving me too mentally drained to want to concentrate on a detailed pen or pencil drawing. I feel myself getting more and more discontent ....

.... so I had some fun!!!

Hat Shop - Robin Hoods Bay

I knocked out a quick pen sketch of this fabulous little Ladies Hat & Bag shop in Robin Hood Bay (I was quite fascinated by the way the window had been shaped to fit in between the two flights of stone steps). After sketching I applied a watery ink wash. This is the first time I've tried washing with ink and it didn't behave quite as I'd expected, although I'm not quite sure what I expected. lol. I found quite small changes to the ink/water ratio made quite noticeable changes to the tone of the wash, hence the darker-than-I wanted steps. Though I hope to do better next time, I really like the effect and will be doing a lot more of these. I've also decided I must get some Sepia ink ... that could be even more fun.

Boats at Staithes

After that I remembered some advice I'd been given about sketching against the clock to help loosen up, so I decided to have a go at that. I allowed myself no more than 2-minutes for the sketch and 8-minutes to apply the paint. I was amazed how quickly the clock ticked as there was barely no time to think about what colours to use. Compared to my usual 'tight' style, this was definitely a case of splashing it about!!. The subject is the small tidal estuary at Staithes in Yorkshire.

These may not be great art but they've certainly put the spring back in my step. Ah, that's better. ;-)

Fisherman's Cottage

2011-10-27T18:38:00.000+01:00

During my recent visit to Robin Hoods Bay I went down into the village itself. Built on the cliffs it was a steep walk down ... and a steeper one back up. It is an artists paradise with a picture lurking around every bend. The narrow high street is of motorway proportions when compared to the narrow alleyways that comprise most of the 'streets' in Robin Hoods Bay. As I ambled along narrow paths that led up and down steps, I was enthralled at the way one persons garden would sit adjacent their neighbours roof and the shapes of some of the cottages is amazing as they were obviously built to fit into the small spaces available. Front doors reached by a flight of well worn stone steps was a common feature. This one was fairly well weathered and close to dilapidation with the black painted woodwork and steps showing the signs of times long gone.

At the time I took the photograph I was thinking this would make a nice watercolour but I have to confess that I'm not doing so well with my painting right now. I keep making mud and struggle to make the paint go where I want it to. At times like this I get frustrated with my art, and I never like to feel that way. Fortunately, I enjoy using pens and pencils so decided to try this one in pen. I'm glad I did because I think the subject lends itself very nicely to the medium .... and I thoroughly enjoyed every second.

Surfing

2011-10-20T22:59:00.000+01:00

When on holiday last week I took a sequence of photo's of a guy 'riding a wave' on his surf board. Looking through my photo's a short while ago, I was looking at the spray being thrown up from the top of the breaking wave by the wind. I couldn't help but wonder how you'd go about drawing something like that, as you do ... so I just had to have a go. This is only a small sketch (6" x 4") but it served the purpose.

Back from holiday

2011-10-16T20:57:00.001+01:00

Scarborough - South Bay

First of all, I must apologise to all you bloggers I follow regularly for not keeping up with your posts. I have been away on holiday and although I had some limited internet capability with me, there was not enough online time to get round the blogs. Anyway, I'm back now and I'll be catching up just as quickly as I can.

It had been my intention to do lots of drawing and painting especially to push myself to do some more plein aire work. Regrettably, it was so damp and windy that sitting outside for any length of time was not enjoyable. However, needs must, and although I didn't do any plein aire painting, I did manage a few quick sketches. The one of Scarborough was sketched looking through the rain splattered windscreen of my car as we sat on the harbour wall beside the Fishery.

I spent the week near Robin Hoods Bay on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors. As a 'towney' wanting to appreciate the countryside, I decided to stay on a working farm for the week would be a relaxing experience. That said, there were no animals and I don't know what the buildings and machinery were all about but it looked more like a factory than a farm.

One of the things I'd looked forward to was a trip on the old steam railway. When the day came, it was a disaster. Having parked the car I went to buy the tickets and was very disappointed to be told that the steam engine had broken down so the train was being pulled by a Diesel. That's just NOT the same. Still, I couldn't do the trip on another day so decided to do the trip regardless. After a short wait we were finally in the carriage and pulling out of the station.

I was looking forward to seeing the best of the moors from the train and had my camera ready but the worsening rain and reducing visibility were making photo's less likely. Suddenly the train screeched to a halt and the guard ran through the carriage looking most concerned. Long story short, the engine had broken down in the middle of nowhere and we had to wait over an hour for another engine to come and tow us on to the next station. That was actually good news as I was already having visions of us all walking along the railway track to the nearest station. Thankfully I had my sketchpad with me and used the time to attempt a drawing of my camera. Eventually we were pulled to a station where we were told no more trains would be running and a bus would take us back to where we started. Cold, damp and disappointed we arrived back at our starting point several hours later.

Robin Hoods Bay

The highlight of the week was a visit to Robin Hoods Bay itself. The village is built into the cliff face and is a maze of narrow winding alleyway's between the quaint old smugglers cottages. It was fascinating to see how one persons roof was on the same level as another persons garden. An artists paradise as every step I took revealed an ancient doorway, steps worn by centuries of use, crooked windows and cottages built to abnormal shapes in order to fit them in, like 3-dimensional jigsaw pieces. Had I been on my own I would have loved to have sat and sketched all day long but as it was I contented myself with taking scores of photo's. I didn't manage to get as much drawing done as I'd hoped during the week but I have enough reference material to last me a very long time. Can't wait to get started. ;-)

Good for the soul

2011-10-04T09:12:00.002+01:00

Some times, for no particular reason, we just can't summon the enthusiasm to paint or draw. We've all experienced it. Some call it 'artists block' and others just that they aren't in the mood. Some times lifes little problems come along and knock us off track. Some of us are more resilient than others but we all have a point beyond which the pursuit of our art seems trivial and unimportant by comparison. This is where I am right now.

However, fearful that my 'mood' would only deepen the longer I allowed it to, I made the decision to spend a short while doing something arty even though my heart and mind just wasn't in it. Not wanting to think a great deal, nor get involved with setting up my stuff or looking for something to paint, I opted for the simplest, quickest solution and the medium I am most comfortable with. I picked up my sketchbook and a water soluble pen and took down from the wall a Wildlife calendar that had been sent to me last Xmas by my good friend Ingrid (Ochil Art). I sketched what I saw before me without any thought as to whether I would apply water later or just abandon it when I'd had enough. As I forced my pen to sketch shapes on the paper I felt more at ease with what I was doing and I started to get more absorbed by the art rather than other things.

The end result is far from a masterpiece (classic understatement) and some of the dark areas are too dark because I didn't give enough thought to how much ink to lay down to give me the right tone, but none of that matters. A little over an hour after I'd started, I put my pen down feeling more satisfied and relaxed than I had for many days ... and keener than ever to pick it up again.

More than just a Planter

2011-09-15T22:57:00.001+01:00

I'm very fortunate to still have both of my parents. They are getting on in years now - mum is 86 and dad is 93. They still look after themselves very well and only need me to drop in on them a couple of times a week. They celebrated their 65th Wedding Anniversary yesterday and I arranged another card from the Queen, which made them very happy.

My Dad has always enjoyed woodwork. He doesn't do the proper stuff ... joints, mortice and tenons, etc ... and tends to 'knock' things together with a hammer and nails. But his leaky shed at the bottom of his garden is his sanctuary and he spends hours and hours knocking out bird tables and nesting boxes. A while ago he was saying he wished he could do something else, but didn't know what.

I was pruning a tree shortly after and had an idea. I took him some branches of varying thicknesses and asked him to make me a Planter that I could put a few of my fuchsia's into. He looked puzzled but said he'd give it some thought. A week later, this is what he presented me with. It is about 18" long and 5" wide, and the 'coal tender' behind the 'drivers cab' is the perfect size for a plant pot. It has sat proudly on my patio since that day. It is looking weathered now, which adds to it's character, and many of the twigs are losing their bark. But it is a treasured possession and will always be so much more than just a Planter.

Lindisfarne

2011-09-06T10:26:00.001+01:00

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is one place I've always wanted to visit. It is too far North for me to do it in a day trip so I need to take advantage of being in that area. Despite a holiday many years ago in the North Yorkshire Moors and another some time later in the Durham region, both within and hour or two of the Island, I haven't managed to get there. The nearest I managed was in 2007 as we were travelling back from a weeks holiday in Scotland. We passed within 20-30 minutes of Lindisfarne, but there wasn't enough time to make a worthwhile detour. So the island remains one of those places I just long to visit.

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne

Lindisfarne Castle sits on top of a volcanic mound known as Beblowe Craig. The castle was built in the 1550's following the dissolution of the monastries by Henry VIII, in defence of the realm against attack by Scotland and in pursuit of their Spanish allies. The island is reached via a tidal causeway that is completely submerged when the tide comes in. I think the boyish sense of adventure of being in the castle when the tide comes in, totally cut off from the mainland, is one of the attractions for me.

Ingrid provided a photograph of the castle for my Art Forum's latest Painting Project, and this is my effort. It's been a while since I last had time for a painting and I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Another sketch.

2011-08-29T20:14:00.000+01:00

As is so often the case, yet again I have found myself without time for any serious drawing or painting. I am not one of those loose painters who can quickly splash some paint onto the paper and create a masterpiece. I so envy artists who can do that. To produce anything even half decent I have to mark out some pencil guidelines first, and then the painting itself takes me ages. And when I am drawing, everything takes so long, especially if it's a tricky subject and I decide to do a grid. I know from the feedback I get in my art forum that I am not alone.

Lindisfarne - Water Soluble Pen - A5

Rather than not do any drawing when time is short, I am pushing myself to sketch. A sketch can be very quick and doesn't require the fiddly precision of a proper drawing. In addition, there is nothing better for building confidence than going straight onto the paper with a pen. When sketching with pencil I can't help but reach for the eraser when I make the smallest slip, yet when working with pen, that is not an option.

A sketch doesn't have to be 'good' to be a worthwhile exercise. Take this sketch of Lindisfarne (Holy Island). Although not a great picture it was superb practice at interpreting perspectives, judging proportions and recording the shapes of the buildings. The pen required a confident approach and by using water soluble ink and a wet brush, it also forced me to study the tones in the scene. The picture took just a little over 15 minutes to do and, best of all, it was FUN!!!

Bloody cats!!!

2011-08-16T22:25:00.002+01:00

I arrived home from work this evening to see the tell tale signs of a problem I detest. There were a number of feathers strewn across my front lawn. After I'd parked the car and dropped my briefcase into the hall, I went for a look round. Sure enough, I found what I'd expected ... a headless, well mutilated body of a pigeon.

Some of you may remember that a couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to witness the activities of a pair of pigeons from their courtship, through their intimate moments, nest building, egg hatching and finally first flights of the fledglings. The pigeons always hang out on pairs and I was acutely aware of this pigeons mate standing forlornly in the middle of our drive looking lost. As I cleared up the remains, the lone pigeon sat quietly on a nearby fence ... still ... watching. What was going through it's mind?

I know what was going through my mind!!! If I knew which of my neighbours had allowed their cat to exercise it's natural instincts in my garden, I would have taken the mutilated corpse back to the neighbour and told them to shove it where the sun doesn't shine!!!

My apologies to any of my followers who are cat owners, but I am seething right now. So much so that when I sat down a few hours later to pickup my sketch pad and pen, there was only one thing on my mind.

Fuchsia - coloured

2011-08-14T14:29:00.003+01:00

Fuchsia "Blackie"

I stood the ink drawing of the Fuchsia (see previous post) on my shelf where I could see it as I came and went into my 'study'. I always do this as it helps me to see them through the eyes of others after a while.

Anyway, the starkness of this sketch has been screaming at me to add some colour. In the end I gave in and washed in a weak Cadmium Red on the Sepals, and a weak Purple Lake to the corolla (petals).

In truth, the sepals should be much more vivid and the corolla ought to be very dark, almost black. Even so, I like this much better and have decided to do a proper painting of this flower when I can.

Fuchsia

2011-08-11T23:07:00.000+01:00

Fuchsia "Blackie"

I just haven't been able to do any drawing or painting lately and just had to do something. You know what it's like ... that itch just has to be scratched, no matter what.

With very little time I decided a quick pen sketch was the order of the day. Besides, I like the challenge of going straight onto the paper with ink. It is unforgiving and is a great confidence builder. As my regular followers will know, I'm rather partial to using non-permanent ink and a wet brush.

Normally I would choose a hard landscape to sketch with pen, but I thought it would be interesting to try something softer this time. I'm a very keen Fuchsia grower with several scores of different varieties. The delicate frills of this "Blackie" (really a very deep dark purple) was just what I was looking for.

Lost my virginity ...

2011-07-30T19:20:00.001+01:00

... or in other words, I've finally had my first plein air experience.

I promised myself that the next opportunity I had, I would try and be courageous and attempt something plein air. I have been inspired entirely by my blogger friends. I have long been a fan of Keith Tilley and thoroughly enjoy his exploits into the wild and rugged Scottish hinterland where he lives. The first urges to try it myself came from Sandra Busby's account of her day with Sue Pownall and I can imagine how wonderful that must have been. More recently, Michael Bailey's quick sketches have inspired me to finally make the effort. There are others whose blogs have contributed to the many small 'kicks' that have ultimately led to me losing my virginity.

Sketch 1 - Beach Gardens

My wife and I have just spent a couple of days on the east coast and the opportunity to embarrass myself in front of scores of strangers finally presented itself. Before I say any more I must say that ALL of the sketches I produced are poor. They were very hastily and nervously scratched out but for me the pleasure, satisfaction and sense of achievement comes NOT from the quality of the sketches, but from the challenge of drawing in public and the barriers I succeeded in breaking down. I am not a confident person and I have a low opinion of my art, so to attempt something in public was a double challenge.

Sketch 2 - Southwold Pier

While doing the first sketch of the Beach Garden at our holiday resort, two ladies who had been sitting nearby, passed behind me and one of them said "Wow, did you just draw that?". We exchanged a few brief pleasantries and they went on their way. Though they couldn't see much since I was using a small A5 pad, it was nice of them to comment and made my first experience a pleasant one.

The second sketch was done sitting on a cliff top bench high above Southwold pier. The bench was on the public pathway and scores of people were passing by. None of them spoke and I kept my head down, but I was aware of the passing eyes.

Sketch 3 - Beach Gardens

The third effort was a more serious attempt at producing a worthwhile picture, though it had to be done standing up, which I found particularly difficult. Again I used pen but this time on an A4 pad. I had my watercolour pencils with me so I was able to add some colour which I then touched up with my Aquabrushes.

My final effort was a very quick doodle of the view in front of me as we stopped beside a lake for a quick snack.

Sketch 4 - Lakeside picnic

As I've previously stated, I'm under no illusion as to how poor these are from an art perspective, but this exercise was never about the art. Whether or not I ever reach the stage of attempting a proper watercolour painting plein air remains to be seen, but I will certainly be making a bigger effort to carry a pen and sketch pad with me when I go out and about. To all my blogger friends who have inspired me, thank you. ;-)

The church with the door

2011-07-23T11:28:00.000+01:00

All Saints Church, Earls Barton, Northampton

Well here is the finished version with the washes added. In reality the area to the left of the church is a combination of dark trees, brick walls and rooftops. It looks very unattractive. This is where my 'need' to put in every detail as best I can often lets me down. On this occasion I've made up an alternative view in order to make a better 'painting'. I had considered not including anything there at all but then realised I needed somewhere for the sky to stop.

The church with the door

2011-07-22T09:41:00.000+01:00

All Saints, Earls Barton, Northampton

I recently posted a painting of a door situated halfway up the side of a church tower and doing the painting caused me to think it would be nice to paint the whole church. On this occasion I fancied doing a Pen & Wash and I decided I'd like the pen work to be complete enough for the drawing to stand in it's own right, before the addition of colour. I think I've accomplished that, though I do keep getting the urge to add another pen mark here and there. One of the things I can't really capture properly are the different architectures. The lower section of the church is made of stone blocks, the upper section of bricks, and the tower itself is rendered. Hopefully the different colours will help in the final painting.

Old Lime Kiln

2011-07-17T09:56:00.002+01:00

From time to time I have looked at a picture drawn in pen using the cross-hatching technique and thought it's one of those things I'd like to have a go at. For some reason, it is one of those things I never seem to have a go at. However, I recently visited Sue Pownall's blog and saw her drawings of the ruins. Yet again I was inspired to have a go myself and guess what .... this time I DID!!! Yaay!!

Old Lime Kiln in Yorkshire

Some time ago I did both a watercolour and acrylic painting of an old Lime Kiln I'd discovered in Yorkshire. It was the perfect subject for my first hatching experience. It is extremely similar to Sue's Ruin III, and I hope Sue doesn't mind the extent to which I am copying her. I do so through respect and appreciate of her skill.

It was a very interesting exercise and I learned a lot. There are certainly things I would do differently the next time I try this style of drawing but I thoroughly enjoyed the process and I will definitely be doing more of these.

Zebra

2011-07-15T09:50:00.000+01:00

Considering my next drawing/painting I reflected on how much I enjoyed drawing the Leopard with all of his unique markings and tried to think of another animal whose markings made it unique. There are several, but rummaging through some of my old photo's for inspiration I found this chappy.

Some years ago my family and I were driving slowly around the Woburn Safari Park here in the UK when a small herd of Zebra strolled aimlessly in front of us. It was a great photo opportunity. Zebra's are very social animals spending all their time in herds and they live in small family groups much as we do. Each animal's stripes are as distinctive as fingerprints, and no two zebra's are exactly alike. I'd like to think even this one's own mother would recognise him. LOL.

Door without purpose.

2011-06-30T19:15:00.000+01:00

In the nearby village of Earls Barton is a very nice church, and it is the sort of thing I like to take Photo's of. Recently, while looking at some photo's, I noticed what looked like a door halfway up the tower close to the clock. I wondered if it was there to provide access to the clock, but that made no sense. Then I thought that maybe it wasn't a door but a shuttered window of sorts ... but it looks like a door. Intrigued, I made some enquiries and what I discovered is quite interesting.

This church is famous for its mixture of architectures dating back to c970 a.d. Apparently, it started life as nothing more than a keep (tower) and it was used as a place of refuge by local peasants to escape marauding bands of Vikings who sailed down the River Nene. At times of danger, the locals would climb a ladder to the keep and then pull the ladder up behind them. There was a small church close to the tower and many successive modifications to the church eventually brought the two buildings together. At one time, the local priest was known to give his sermons from the doorway to his congregation below. Architecture from every century from the tenth onwards is represented in the fabric of the church.

I understand that the door we can see today is the original door and now I know why it's there it no longer seems so pointless. Any one who likes to look at old buildings, especially churches, should put this one on their 'must see' list.

My graphite favourites

2011-06-28T14:15:00.000+01:00

As some of you will know, as an extension to my art forum I like to give artists the opportunity to Showcase some of their work online. I have just launched a new Showcase and have decided to make use of it myself on this occassion.

Rather than show off a cross section of my work in different mediums (media?), I thought about what pleases ME the most. LOL ... I actually reflected on how some of you displayed you own personal favourites around the New Year and I thought what a great idea that was. Anyway, I reflected on the 3 mediums that I use. Although I enjoy getting messy with watercolour and get a great deal of satisfaction from pen work, I chose my pencil work for this Showcase.

I feel that I have turned a corner recently with this medium and that makes me feel good about my art. Each of the pieces I have displayed are pleasing to me in their own way. I found a massive amount of satisfaction and achievement with my first portrait (Capt. Jack Sparrow) and took forward what I learned from that one into the next one of John Wayne. But of all of them, the picture that I like the best is the Old Shed. I'm not even sure I can say why I like it most, it just touches the spot for me and I get a deep sense of self-satisfaction and contentment (with my art) every time I look at it.

Though it hasn't been that long since some of the pieces were posted on my blog I hope you'll hop over to the Showcase and have a look. And, as always when I'm posting about the showcase, I'll remind you that if YOU would like to showcase some of your work, then please contact me.

Summer is here!

2011-06-21T19:48:00.000+01:00

For a while now I've fancied trying my hand at drawing something silver. I like the way black and grey pencil strokes can combine on white paper to make an object look metallic and shiny. But though I've had the notion at the back of my mind for quite some time, I've not come across a suitable object to draw. By suitable I mean, takes my fancy.

Anyway, at the weekend, despite the frequent showers, we decided to have a barbecue and when I fished out all the paraphernalia what did I find but my stainless steel utensils. No, not silver, but the same difference as far as a drawing is concerned. "Ping" .... it was like the proverbial light bulb being switched on.

I was very pleased with the initial drawing of the objects but they didn't stand out from the background enough to 'shine'. Since lights come from darks, I shaded the background and that has worked just fine. This isn't one of my favourite pieces, but it was a great exercise .... and the burgers were good too.

Cotswold Chimney

2011-06-14T23:19:00.000+01:00

As I explained in my last post, a couple of years ago I saw this chimney and it appealed greatly as a watercolour subject. Well, I've finally managed to paint it and it's proven to be an anti-climax. I imagine we're all the same with regards to getting satisfaction from our work - some pieces please us, and others we're not so sure about. For me, this is one of the others. I don't know why it is, but I didn't get an inordinate degree of pleasure from doing this one and I'm not very satisfied with the result. Could it be that the enjoyment of doing a piece has a bearing on how satisfying it is? It is quite remarkable to me that I found more satisfaction from doing the 20-minute pen sketch, than this 3/4 hour painting. Oh well, 'tis done now ... onward and upward. ;-)

Love these quickie's

2011-06-08T23:12:00.000+01:00

A couple of years ago I was in Chipping Cambden in the Cotswolds waiting for my wife and friend who had popped into a shop. Looking up I was taken by an interesting chimney stack and roof arrangement and just had to take a photo with a view to painting it one day. I still will, but I just came across it and decided it would be a great exercise with the pen. With the interesting perspective and many angles, to attack it without pencil guidelines was a great confidence booster. Taking just 20 minutes tops, it represents another satisfying 'quickie'.

First Sale

2011-06-04T17:33:00.001+01:00

I'm just back from visiting our local "Art in the Park" exhibition in which I entered my "Steel Worker" painting. Guess what? It has sold!!!
This is a first for me and I have mixed feelings over it. I thought I'd feel hugely excited but I don't. I'm very pleased that someone liked it enough to pay real money for it but I am going to miss having it hang on my wall. Still, I had a count up and there are 70 paintings in the exhibition, of which only 14 have sold, and I find that very flattering, especially since we are only 2 weeks into a 6 week run. It's a big confidence booster that's for sure. I must make a bigger effort to track down some other exhibitions. ;-)

Scratching the itch.

2011-05-31T22:15:00.007+01:00

I had that desperate urge to throw out a painting but no time to dip my brushes in water. I scratched my itch with a very quick sketch using my favourite medium, non-permanent ink and a wet brush. My 'instrument of choice' is an Aquabrush. Since these contain their own water they are perfect for taking out into the field. I find these quick ink sketches to be excellent exercises ... not only do they help practice our drawing skills but they're great at building confidence. When you're sketching with a pen you have to just go for it!!!

Old Shed

2011-05-25T21:02:00.006+01:00

Here's a drawing of an old broken down shed that I've been working on during odd idle moments over the past week or so. I'm estimating it's probably taken me about 5 hours in total. I didn't find the shed itself particularly difficult but it was interesting trying to vary the shading and tones to create a 'weathered' look. But the biggest problem I had with the drawing was the grass/weeds. I didn't know whether to go for the simple sparse, "suggestion of" approach, or whether to attempt a detailed approach. In the end, I attempted detail, got lost, and finished up filling in with generic scribbles. Surprisingly. it's worked quite well but drawing grass is certainly something I'm going to have to look into. Overall I'm very pleased with the result.

Glencoe

2011-05-10T20:51:00.000+01:00

It seems like an age since I last did some drawing or painting, but a few days ago I had the opportunity to tackle a quick picture. Knowing how I get more and more embroiled in detail once I start messing with my pencils, I decided a quick excursion with my brushes would be more in order. I decided to have a go at this view of Glencoe in Scotland.

Discussing the location with my Scottish friend uncovered an interesting issue with the name. I had looked up some things online and found that the village of Glencoe was referred to as Glencoe, but the area of Glencoe was actually referred to as Glen Coe. Well, when I called it Glen Coe I almost got smacked. Thank goodness you can't send 'physical contact' by email. Anyway, I did some more checking and found sites like Wikipedia and organisations like Ordnance Survey using Glen Coe, but others like the Scottish Tourist Board using Glencoe. But as far as I'm concerned, if my friend says it's Glencoe, then it's Glencoe.

The painting is a very long way from being one of my best, or even good, but you know what .... it doesn't matter. I splashed on the paint, and even managed to get some on the paper, and had a thoroughly enjoyable hour or two. Whilst it's always nice to get a good result, the true enjoyment comes from the doing.

Stupid accidents!!!

2011-04-16T23:32:00.004+01:00

I haven't been around for the past couple of weeks because my wife had a small accident at home that has literally knocked her off her feet. She tripped and tumbled awkwardly, twisting and straining her knee. She has serious torn ligaments and can only hobble around on crutches. Of course, this means yours truly gets to do all the housework, shopping, laundry, cooking, etc, etc. Even though I only work part time now, I've taken some extra time off work, but there's still no time for art, which is why my blog has stood still since the beginning of the month. After her fall, my wife said "I feel so stupid", to which I replied "aren't all accidents 'stupid'?".

Talking of stupid accidents reminds me of one my father had a couple of years ago. Though we shouldn't laugh at another's misfortune I have to confess to often laughing about this one. It began by my mother (86) getting out of the bath. As she stood up she felt a little dizzy so reached for the door handle to steady herself ... the door handle turned; the door came open; my mother fell backwards and landed in the bath. My father (93) came to the rescue; helped her to bed; and after a short rest she was fine.

You mean like this?

Now for the 'stupid' bit. Some time later, as my mother explained to my father what she'd 'stupidly' done, he couldn't believe that such an accident could have happened, so he said "Right, let's get this right ... you got out of the bath; reached for the door handle like this; and then ...." THUD!!. Yes, the door came open, my father fell back; and he landed in the bath ... quite heavily. He'd hurt his back sufficiently for him not to be able to get out of the bath and according to my mother, throughout his 'rescue' the paramedics were struggling to keep a straight face. When she finally laughed out loud, so did they ... and it took my father 2 weeks in bed and many more weeks discomfort to get over his 'stupid' re-enactment. I don't think he'll ever get over how stupid he felt.

Anyway, my apologies to my fellow bloggers that I'm not visiting your blogs as much as I'd like to. I'm not ignoring them and will catch up just as soon as I can.

Leopard

2011-03-30T14:03:00.000+01:00

When I came across the photograph of this big cat, I felt I just had to have a go at drawing it. Thoughout the process I've been thinking of this fine animal as a Cheetah, but I've been looking at other images on the net and am fairly sure this is a Leopard.

I know some of friends will tell me I shouldn't mention my mistakes but my blog, web site and art forum are aimed at beginners who may well find themselves in the same situation one day, so for them here are two things I could have dealt with better.

Firstly, I was working from a colour photo so I converted it to greyscale to help me get the tones correct. A leopards markings involve a brownish-goldy colour and black spots. By converting to grey, I lost the goldy colouring completely. Had I referred back to the colour version from time to time I would have noticed this. The second mistake was leaving the white whiskers until last. I completely forgot all about them and by the time I got to them they would have been difficult to do, so I opted for black whiskers.

I also used hard pencils for the first time. My normal selection is HB, 2B, 4B, 6B and 8B. For this drawing I used 5H, 2H, HB and 6B. Fewer pencils but a broader range. I had expected the hard pencils to not produce a very black line but was pleasantly surprised.

Different pencils and two serious mistakes ... am I disappointed? No ... I am three more step along this wonderful journey of discovery.

Another portrait

2011-03-16T22:43:00.000Z

Flushed with the success of my first portrait, and floating in the clouds on the back of the encouraging comments from my blogger friends, I've had a go at another one. John Wayne was my film hero back in my younger days, many lifetimes ago. I know he played many parts during his career but I always think of him as a cowboy.

While I have no intention of giving up on watercolours, I have to recognise how differently I feel when working with pencil. When painting I know I struggle. I find it difficult to make the paint do what I want it to do and although I've produced one or two passable pieces, they have been hard work and I've felt I've stumbled my way through each one. Pencil, on the other hand, feels comfortable to work with and I feel in control at all times. I feel I am at the limits of what I can do with watercolour, but I feel I am only just beginning to understand pencil and can take it a lot further.

What next? I've a long list of subjects I'm just itching to draw, so watch this space.

My first portrait

2011-03-04T19:49:00.006Z

Captain Jack Sparrow
(Graphite on smooth Bristol Board)

I've been feeling reasonably pleased with my pencil work of late so decided it was time to step outside my comfort zone and attempt my first ever portrait. I confess to cheating slightly as I deliberately chose a subject that would be easily recogniseable even if I messed up some of the facial features. Captain JackSparrow was a good choice in that respect, but I won't be sorry of I never see another dreadlock as long as I live.

I used a full range of pencils, HB to 8B, on smooth surface Bristol Board (115lbs), as well as a kneadable putty eraser, Blu-tac and home-made blending stumps (must buy some proper tortilions one of these days - LOL).

I saw him .... and he saw me.

2011-02-22T09:29:00.001Z

Pencil on Smooth Surface Cartridge Paper

While strolling on the beach in Torbay last year I saw this Gull standing at the waters edge picking things out of the water in his beak. I took out my camera, as you do, and took a few shots. With some 'in the can' I moved in closer ... and then closer still. He seemed quite happy to continue 'fishing' for his dinner, though when I was framing up this shot, he did give me an inqisitive stare. Out of all the shots I took of him, this is the one I like best.

I'm not very good at identifying birds but though I've been referring to him as a Seagull I suspect this chappy is more correctly known as a Herring Gull. I'm happy to be corrected if anyone out there knows for sure.

Pen Sketch

2011-02-15T15:29:00.001Z

When in the office, I usually check my emails and forum while I'm having a sandwich at lunchtime, but today some unplanned maintenance prevented me from using my computer for a while. At a loss for something to do during my break I picked up a sheet of copier paper and a black pen. Looking around my office for inspiration, I decided to sketch my jacket that hangs on the wall nearby.

Yesterday I was looking at the fine pen work of Sue Pownall and in particular her hatching. Creating shadow by hatching isn't something I've done much of so this gave me an opportunity to try my hand at it.

Favourite piece

2011-02-08T14:20:00.000Z

At the weekend my wife and I were out dining with friends and the conversation turned to art, thanks to a rather stunning drawing hanging on a nearby wall. My friend asked a few questions about drawing in general and then asked which of all my pencil drawings was my favourite, and why.

This is it ... "Glasses". It was very much an experiment with the concept that you need dark to create light, and I wanted to understand how you can put 'highlights' into a clear object to make it look solid. The background is supposed to be graduated from very light grey at top left, down to quite dark in the bottom right, but that hasn't worked as well as I'd hoped.

Running a very close second is "Newtons Cradle". Another experiment with highlights, this time trying to understand how to make something look silver. I chose not to have a background at all for this one and in this case I don't think that matters.

Though I discovered art through watercolours, and despite the fact that I spend much more time painting than drawing, for some reason I get a lot more satisfaction from my pencil work.

Artist Showcase

2011-02-05T17:16:00.001Z

It is time for me to update my Artist Showcase again. Though normally a facility taken up by my forum members, on this occasion (as some of you have figured out) the 'victim' this time as a good blog-follower friend of many of us, Barbra Joan Araneo.

Most of you will already be familiar with Barbra Joan's work through our blogs, but if any of my visitors are not familiar with her, then please visit my Showcase and see her fine watercolours and stunning pencil drawings for yourself.

As always, if any of my blog followers would like to be showcased, please use this contact form to get in touch.

More than just a game.

2011-02-03T19:40:00.003Z

Once upon a time, my Father taught me to play Draughts.

He explained the moves,
forwards not back,
diagonal not straight,
jump over a piece to take it,
get to the other side to be King'd
then become all-powerful and move all ways.
And we played our game,
our one-sided game,
as I floundered without strategy or purpose.
He did his best to let me win
but his task was hopeless.

And time passed by ...

And we played again, my Father and I.
I had an idea of what I was doing but lacked skill.
It was no longer annihilation.
Bless him he tried to let me win.
Sharp intakes of breath accompanied with
eyebrows raised as if to say "are you sure?"
"You'll regret that"
"Not the best move you can make"
as he did all he could to steer me towards victory.
Yes, I won but he worked hard to accomplish it.

And time passed by ...

And we played again, my Father and I.
I was confident in my strategy,
yet play as good as I could
his skills were greater than mine.
No false victories now.
No quarter spared.
No hints given.
Man against man
and the better man won.

And time passed by ...

And we played again, my Father and I.
It was close.
Very close.
Sometimes he would win,
sometimes I would win.
Single Kings chasing each other,
trying to win,
trying not to lose,
trying to avoid stalemate
yet preferring it to defeat.
Two opponents equally matched.

And time passed by ...

And we played again, my Father and I.
He was confident in his strategy yet
play as good as he could
my skills were greater than his.
No false victories now.
No quarter spared.
No hints given.
Man against man
and the better man lost.

And time passed by ...

And we played again, my Father and I.
He had an idea of what he was doing but lacked skill.
Not annihilation but close
as I tried to let him win.
Sharp intakes of breath accompanied with
eyebrows raised as if to say "are you sure?"
"You'll regret that"
"Not the best move you can make"
as I did all I could to steer him towards victory.
Yes, he won but I worked hard to accomplish it.

And as time passes by ...

I hope we will play again, my Father and I.
Could it be that I shall need to explain the moves?
Forwards not back,
diagonal not straight,
jump over a piece to take it,
get to the other side to be King'd
then become all-powerful and move all ways.
And shall we play our game,
our one-sided game,
as he flounders without strategy or purpose.
I will do my best to let him win
but will my task be hopeless?

Playing Draughts with my Father is more than just a game.

Written with deep affection for a great man.

Miniature

2011-01-28T20:00:00.000Z

In some ways I'm disappointed with this latest painting as it's a bit too 'rough and ready'. On the other hand, I'm quite pleased with the overall effect as it is only 3" x 2" in size. I don't know if there is a generally recognised size that defines 'miniature' but if this doesn't qualify, it's certainly very small.

I found working with watercolour quite interesting at this scale as there just isn't the same scope for running out the water. It was all to easy to just deposit a drop of paint on the paper and find it bound by its own surface tension. Working drier than normal seemed to be the best way.

The other problem I had was actually seeing what I was doing. I have to take my glasses off to see things very close up but I was copying this painting from a reference photo on my computer. I can't see my computer monitor very well without my glasses and I couldn't see my painting properly with them. So most of the time I had a brush in my right hand and my specs in the left.

It was another of those things I wanted to try, and I enjoyed doing it. Might have a go at something smaller next.

Portmeirion

2011-01-23T21:10:00.000Z

My plans to spend more time painting took a set back, both because of unexpected events offline and, of course, the crash of my web sites which took several days to reinstate. However, I've finally taken up pen and brush to do this Line and Wash of Portmeirion in North Wales.

Portmeirion was a very small settlement until 1925 when it was aquired by architect Clough Williams-Ellis. He soon began building and converting cottages, and many were found in other locations and transported brick by brick. Williams-Ellis wanted to prove that architecture didn't need to ruin the landscape but could be sympathetic with it, and you don't need to be there long to see that buildings and landscape are in perfect harmony.

Portmeirion is most famous as the setting for the 1960's TV series "The Prisoner" starring Patrick McGoohan. The unusual shapes and colours of the buildings create a surreal and idyllic environment.

Winter blues?

2011-01-22T15:53:00.000Z

Not me! Here in the UK (he says, bearing in mind that our cyberworld is truly global), we still have a lot of winter to get through, and in some area's the worst of the snow and bad weather is still to come. It's all to easy to stay indoors in the belief that spring is a long way off.

Having just spent a delightful couple of hours in my garden, sucking up fallen leaves and clearing away dead and rotten foliage from deciduous plants, I couldn't help but notice the signs that spring is coming. Some trees and plants just seem too impatient to wait for the better weather.

With the birds whistling and singing, and buds forming in the Lilac's and Ribes, the rebirth that our gardens experience every spring is already clearly evident. The Verbena's have already formed clusters of small flower buds and their dark green leaves look just a little less weary than they did.

I found Ladybird sheltering on this one so carefully took her into my greenhouse where she'll be much warmer. She'll repay me later when all those nasty aphids try to make my young cuttings their home.

The Snowdrops have been busily pushing up their new green shoots since Christmas and the first of the flower buds are now visible. Another week should see some of them opening, and a couple of weeks from now, they will be in their element. As usual, I will be out there with my camera, getting down in amongst them.

So whereas the first half of winter is about watching our gardens die off into hibernation, the second half is about awakening, new growth and the promise of a joyful spring just around the corner.

Old Fishing Boat

2011-01-15T17:59:00.000Z

Probably my favourite medium, certainly at this time, is soluble pen. I just fancied doing a quickie sketch and was trying to think of a subject when a friend posted a photograph of an old fishing boat on another forum. The biggest problem I have with sketches like this is leaving them alone. I see lots of pen lines and brush strokes that cause me to think "why did I do that?" and there is this massive urge to pick up my pen and try to correct things. I think the technical term is 'fiddle'.

977,656 and counting

2011-01-14T20:59:00.003Z

That's the present number of 'hits' I've had to my main web site to date. It means I am only a couple of weeks away from receiving my 1 millionth hit. Phew!

Of course, in internet terms 1 million isn't a huge number. Google eats up millions by the bucketful and there are lots of sites out there that would think nothing of getting a million hits over the course of a few days, weeks or months, but at my end of the spectrum ... the small home-made hobbyist site, it's a different matter.

I built my site in order to encourage people to have-a-go at painting. I've never professed to be any good at it, but it's very enjoyable nonetheless, and that's the message I want to send out into the world wide web ... that it's great fun no matter what level you're at.

My main site is now only one of many I own. As a result of feedback I was getting from my site I set up an Art Forum to encourage beginners to at least try. I made a site called "Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra" introducing 5-10 year olds to the instruments of the orchestra. I receive much mail from readers of my "Fuchsia" pages, and I've incorporated another of my hobbies by including photographs of my year round garden. I've set up a separate site as a platform for the sale of my art, though I'm not sure I will continue with that.

An exciting feature I added a while ago is the "Artist Showcase" where I like to showcase the work of a chosen artist. I'm presently displaying the work of one of my forum 'beginners' and this gives me a buzz because this lady, in the autumn of her years, dare not ever have dreamt that one day her paintings would be seen by other artists, let alone lots of them from all corners of the globe. And I'm equally 'buzzing' over the fact that one of my blog followers is the next artist in the frame and their Showcase will be launched around the end of the month. Which follower? Well you'll just have to wait and see.

But for now I watch my stats eagerly as I try to predict exactly when I will hit that landmark first million. Who will be the person who makes the one millionth hit? Will it be someone we know? Watch this space!!!

More time on my hands

2011-01-06T14:07:00.002Z

Well that was the plan, but now I'm not so sure.

Though I still have a couple of years before my official retirement when I can finally start drawing my pension, I decided, with my wife's blessing and enthusiastic support, to stop working now and live off our savings. It was a huge decision and took quite a while to arrive at. In September I handed in my notice with a view to finishing at Christmas. Unexpectedly, the company was not happy about losing my services entirely and after many discussions and much thinking I accepted their offer to continue in a part-time capacity. So, for the time being I am only working 3-days per week, and I hope to reduce that to 2-days in due course.

During the last few months I've been eagerly planning my days off .... but so have others. LOL. My wife, bless her heart, hasn't said a word over the last few years about my reluctance to do any DIY. We almost always had some decorating on the go, but I found it harder to work in the evenings after a day at the office, and became very neglectful of things that needed doing. To reward her patience, my first priority for my new-found time, is to start doing some decorating and make up for lost time. We also have a number of significant changes we want to make in our garden, especially the expansion of our vegetable garden and the growing of lots more produce.

I have also been planning my hobbies. I have a large box full of thousands of stamps. I inherited it years ago and decided to put it to one side until I retired from work. I have also promised myself some quality photo-shoots. As a keen amateur photographer I have been looking forward to getting out places with my camera, as well as trawling back through all the thousands of photo's stored on my computer waiting for me to do something with them. Of course, I also have my art. Plans include experimenting with different mediums, taking more time over my work, doing much more by way of practice, and (heaven forbid) even taking my pads outdoors for some plein aire work. Finally, I have my web site, which is long overdue for a serious upgrade (rebuild) and as a part of my extra online activities I planned to spend more time on my blog and certainly make a better effort to get round the blogs I follow.

So now I look at my two free days per week and expessions about quarts and pint pots come to mind. And the more I think about it the more I think that maybe the Monkey's got the right idea.

Hillside Cottage

2011-01-04T13:34:00.000Z

It began with my "Steelworker" painting. I had used kitchen roll for lifting off mistakes, but not as part of the 'creation' process. I decided then that I wanted to do more by way of experimenting with 'lifting off' in a constructive way and I eventually tackled the foggy scene in "Boat on Bala Lake". This latest painting, "Hillside Cottage", has been done solely as a means of trying to paint hills whose tops are bathed in low cloud. It's not my finest painting and the cloud effect could be much better, but it was an interesting task nonetheless. I'd be very happy to hear from anyone as to how you tackle cloud over hilltops.

Boat on Bala Lake - 2

2010-12-29T17:06:00.001Z

I wasn't disappointed with my first attempt at "Boat on Bala", but as all my artist friends well know, sometimes we just wish we'd tried something a different way ... a slightly different colour, a small difference in composition, a different technique. That is how I feel about the first painting. My attempts to create a 'foggy' scene were only partially successful and were not helped by how bold I had painted the boat.

So, I've had another go, this time applying the 'fog' in a different way and at a different time. Though I'm still not completely satisfied with all aspects of the painting, I am happier with the 'fogginess' (if there is such a word), and experimenting with painting 'fog' was the sole reason for having a go at this one in the first place.

Boat on Bala Lake

2010-12-27T17:36:00.001Z

I saw this lone boat at anchor on Bala Lake, North Wales. It was a very frosty winters afternoon and the sun was trying to break through the fog. The solitude of the boat was emphasised by the quietness of the surroundings, the stillness of the water and the eeriness of the freezing fog.

Artist Showcase

2010-12-22T23:12:00.001Z

As my regular followers will know, I like to showcase artists and their work on my web site.

On this occassion I am delighted to be showcasing the work of an artist friend from my art forum. Ann Craig is a sweet lady from New Zealand who loves to paint English cottages. Her work is light and fresh and I love the way she includes a figure in each piece which causes each of her paintings to tell a story. The Showcase can be seen here ... Artists Showcase

If any of my blog followers would like to be showcased, please use this contact form to get in touch.

Then and Now

2010-12-20T19:59:00.000Z

When I built my first web site 12/13 years ago, it never occurred to me that one day I myself would appreciate looking back at it. I was so thrilled at having discovered a new skill (though I use the word loosely) in my fifties that I started my 'website for beginners' with the aim of encouraging others to have-a-go. I hoped to pick up feedback and comments that would help me progress, but spreading the word that we can ALL paint was the main goal. But now my website has paid me back in a way I'd never expected. It has served the purpose of a first class chronology of my development (again, using the word loosely - LOL). For years, artists who have tried to help me have been nagging me about tonal values. "Push the darks" one would frequently tell me - "Push the darks". Would I listen? Yes, every time. Did I push in those darks? Nope. For some reason, probably confidence, I've just not been able to get 'heavy' with the tones.

More recently, as my confidence has improved, I've started laying in those dark colours but hadn't really noticed ... until now. The other day I was dealing with an issue on my website and it caused me to look back at one of my older pages. I was shocked as to how pale and insipid my art was back then. I currently have 6 pages of watercolours and stepping through them in order, it is only when I get to the last page that my work has any degree of contrast and tone. The difference in my work between pages 5 and 6 is very noticeable.

I know we can keep our paintings and arrange them chronologically, but how many of us do? Many of us have blogs, but how many of us look back at our early posts and compare those paintings to our present ones. However you store or record you paintings, have a look back at how you were painting several years ago. Will you notice a difference? I think most of you will.

Due to a full time job, a shortage of time for hobbies and a significant lack of talent, my development has been very, very slow. But seeing older work alongside newer work proves beyond question that development, as slow as it has been, has nevertheless happened ... and that makes me very happy. ;-)

Castle Wall - Chester

2010-12-05T18:10:00.001Z

Around the end of October we went on a late holiday to Cheshire. Early in the week we visited Chester itself and I was fascinated to learn that, although the castle no longer exists, the wall does. What is more, I discovered that it completely surrounds the city centre and it is possible to walk it's entire length. We didn't have time on that day, but on the last day of our holiday we returned to Chester and walked the 4.8 miles (I think) around the city centre on top of the wall. At places the wall comes down to ground level, and at others it's at the height of nearby rooftops. Views of the city, the racecourse, the river and many historic buildings were superb and my camera was running on overdrive. This pencil drawing is of the section at the rear of the Cathedral and is on Medium Surface Cartridge Paper.

Red Cliffs

2010-11-24T23:16:00.000Z

Last summer we visited Torbay, the English Riviera. While there we went to Babbacombe and took the old Victorian Railway down the cliff face to the sandy beach of Babbacombe Bay. The railway was a wonderful experience. It is a pair of Victorian carriages joined by a cable such that when one is at the bottom, the other is at the top. The contraption is water powered and simply by filling tanks in the top carriage with water, while emptying those of the bottom carriage, one goes down as the other comes up.

When down on the beach we hired a couple of deckchairs and tucked into the picnic we had taken with us. The sand was soft, the sun was hot, the sky was blue and the sea was calm. Looking across the bay the tall, bright red sandstone cliffs of Babbacombe stood proud over the landscape, and the distant shore was littered with white houses bearing terracotta coloured roofs making it plain to see why the region is known as the English Rivierra.

What are the chances?

2010-11-21T18:43:00.000Z

Unbelievable? I would have thought so had I not seen it with my own eyes. This photograph is not contrived in any way. I was clearing fallen leaves in my garden yesterday when I spotted this one 'skewered' onto a spikey leaf on my Cordyline Australis. I can't imagine the odds of a leaf falling in just the right way for this to happen. Just had to share.

Barn in a field

2010-11-21T10:25:00.000Z

For my birthday last month my wife bought me a book by James Fletcher-Watson. I love his work but sadly his books are no longer in print. However, my wife managed to get me a good condition second hand book off the 'net, so I'm in heaven.

I've only read a few pages of the book so far, but this very quick painting of a barn in a field was copied from his book to give me a feel for how this great artist approached his work. Mine is nothing like his (lol) but I know I'm going to learn a great deal from him.

Second attempt

2010-11-17T10:08:00.001Z

Well here is my second attempt at drawing the white German Shepherd. This time I decided on a head and shoulders portrait as there are more tones around her ears and muzzle. I was desperate not to have to shade in a dark background in order to make her look white and I think I've achieved that to some extent, though there are some parts of her that I'm less pleased with. She's a very 'fluffy' dog and I found it difficult trying to capture the softness of her fur.

I again used Bristol Board and I have mixed views of it. It is heavy and very smooth, which makes it tollerant of the eraser, but it lacks 'tooth' which results in very pale tones. The jury is still out as far as I'm concerned and I'll reserve judgement until I've used it some more. The light tones could just be me trying hard to keep the subject white.

PS - I've just visited Crystal's site and looked at her Labrador on Bristol Board. Can't fault the medium there - it's wonderful.

One that went wrong

2010-11-10T13:51:00.000Z

Both my blog and my web site are aimed at beginners. Not because I think I can teach anyone anything when it comes to art, but because most beginners need a lot of encouragement. Beginners get things wrong and that can be soul destroying. I suspect many beginners have given up before they've even started, just because that first effort turned out poorly and they decided they weren't capable. I like to show beginners that it's ok for things to go haywire and that no picture is a bad picture, as long as we learn from it.

In that vein, here's one that went badly wrong. It is a graphite drawing of a white German Shepherd and so I decided a grey background was necessary to help the subject stand out on the paper. I decided to use Bristol Board for the first time. I'm not the bad workman blaming his tools and I make no excuse for the quality of the drawing, but for some reason I did have a lot of trouble shading the background and I just couldn't achieve the smooth, even tone that I was trying for. All of my horizontal pencil lines were clearly visible, so I decided to go over again with vertical strokes. These were also visible so I went over again with diagonals. The more I did, the worse it became, and in the end looked like the scribbled mess that 4-year olds produce (with apologies to 4-year old's).

Having decided the picture was ruined I consoled myself with a 15-year old malt. I pondered on my drawing and decided that rather than discard it I would think about how it might be salvaged in some way. Rubbing out the background didn't work as I couldn't get a clean enough canvas, so I decided to add 'scribble' on top of 'scribble' to create the impression of field and trees.

The end result is still awful, but it is better than it was. It's not good enough to give to the dog's owner so I shall start over and try and get it right next time. I learned as much about drawing, pencils and Bristol Board during the rescue process as I did before it all went pear-shaped. So my message to beginners is don't be afraid to attempt a 'rescue' when things go wrong; even if it can't be salvaged, find a way of finishing it off that adds to your drawing/painting experience; and don't be ashamed to show your effort to others, nor afraid of the feedback that may come as a result.

Now it's back to the drawing board to start over ... although I may attempt a head & shoulders portrait this time.

Sun setting in the Lakes

2010-11-01T13:52:00.000Z

This painting is taken from a photograph I took in the Lake District a couple of years ago. It was autumn and we'd been for a drive through the lanes and passes that weave around the hills and mountains. Towards the end of the afternoon, just as the light was beginning to fade, I rounded a corner to see the most spectacular of views. Most of the landscape was in near silhouette and the sun was hidden behind a cloud, but it had powerful beams of light shining down on Buttermere Lake creating a breathtaking vision. Luckily I saw somewhere to pull over and jumped from my car with camera in hand. The water was still, there was no breeze, there was no sound. I took my photo and within minutes the vision had gone.

Trees, rushing water and an apology.

2010-10-25T21:32:00.001+01:00

Firstly, to my fellow bloggers, an apology. I haven't had a great amount of free time of late and that hasn't only impacted on my time for painting and drawing, but has seriously affected my ability to get round all the blogs I like to follow. I have selfishly found a few moments here and there to post an old picture or two to my blog, just to try and keep things 'ticking over', but not the time for reading other blogs as much as I would like.

Thankfully that is changing now. I managed to get away for a nice break last week and my ever-tollerant wife (bless her heart) made sure I had plenty of time for my art. Though I could have painted all week long, I tried not to take too much advantage of her thoughfulness, but I did manage a few hours every day, hence the recent postings of the Coal Mine and Sherwood Forest.

Here is another watercolour I did last week. I confess to 'fiddling' with this one a lot as I just couldn't get the trees right - I'm just no good at trees. The subject is called "The Strid" and it is where the normally calm flowing River Whare in Yorkshire funnels through a narrow channel carved in the rocks.

My other big passion is photography and I took plenty of photo's on holiday, especially when we visited the zoo, so don't be surprised to see a few animal photo's posted in the near future.

Coal Mine - take 2

2010-10-23T23:01:00.000+01:00

I enjoyed doing the pen & wash of the Coal Mine so much that I was just bursting to do it again. I've always been a huge fan of water-soluble ink. I enjoy the challenge of sketching with pen, which is so unforgiving, and I get a buzz when I take a brush full of clean water and make that ink run. I decided the soluble ink medium would be just right for this scene and I have to say that I like the result more than the coloured version.

Coal Mine

2010-10-22T15:20:00.000+01:00

When in Yorkshire a couple of years ago I visited the National Coal Mining Museum. It was a fabulous day out and I can highly recommend it if you're in the area. As usual, I wandered around with my camera glued to the front of my face and took the usual scores of photo's. In particular I was looking for a scene that adequately summed up the colliery and that would make a nice painting. Of all the photo's I took AT the mine, the view I like the best is this one taken just after we'd left.

Sherwood Forest

2010-10-20T17:25:00.002+01:00

To celebrate her 60th birthday, I recently took my wife away to a luxury hotel in Sherwood Forest. To share her weekend, and to make it even more special, my daughter and son-in-law were able to join us. Obviously we had to visit the Great Oak where Robin Hood and his merry men were reputed to hide, and though we'd had a wet start to the day, the sun came out for us just at the right time. We took an unhurried stroll through the forest on the way to the Oak, and the view I had of my daughter and husband walking arm-in-arm just had to be the subject of a painting.

Canal Cottages

2010-10-05T20:53:00.001+01:00

I haven't had a lot of time for art just lately and I'm itching to get some quality time to get started on that dog portrait. Actually, quality time to get started on anything would be good. In the meantime, here's a small sketch using one of my favourite mediums (media? ). This was made with water soluble pen and a wet brush. The brush was one of those "aquabrush" refillable brushes - perfect for use outdoors. One mistake I may have made is with that door on the right hand side. It is so crooked that it grabs the eye and looks all wrong. The door really is like that, but this may be one of those times when artistic licence should have been used to make it more regular and therefore less obvious. We live and learn. ;-)

Windscreen Warning

2010-09-22T20:02:00.000+01:00

About 6 weeks ago, as I was driving to work one morning, a stone flew up from the vehicle in front and cracked my windscreen. I wasn't too concerned and contacted Auto Windscreens to come and fit a replacement for me. It was almost a week before they could attend. The fitter appeared to do a good job, not that I'd know if he didn't, and I signed his piece of paper for him happy that my car was as good as new ... or so I thought.

The first time I drove the car, it didn't feel like mine at all. It was noisier in every way ... wind noise, traffic noise, engine noise. My car, a Toyota Avensis Tourer, is of reasonable quality and one of the main reasons I bought it a few months ago, was the quiet ride. This wasn't MY car. Undeterred I contacted Auto Windscreens ... or at least tried to. If you're one of those rare people who like impossible menu systems, continual diverts and lots of piped music, give Auto Windscreens a call - you'll love it. I didn't. When I did finally succeed in getting through to someone I was told that poor gluing can create wind noise, but I must be imagining the other noises. I have no intention of detailing all the many phone calls and arguments I've had over this, just suffice it to say my mission has been challenging, my temper has been frayed, and my blood pressure has been high.

But cutting a very long story very short, let me get to the point. What I eventually discovered through internet research, and what has now been confirmed, is that some manufacturers use Acoustic Windscreens. These are glass screens with soundproofing properties specifically designed to minimise the amount of engine, road and traffic noise getting into the cab. They are of particular importance on Diesel engined vehicles, such as mine.

Finally today, after 6 exhausting weeks of battle, Auto Windscreens attended my vehicle and replaced the previously fitted screen with an Acoustic one. Hallelujah!!! I have my car back. My preference was to have a genuine manufacturers screen fitted but they refused to do that, and I can't be certain that noise levels are now down to what they used to be before that blasted stone hit my screen, but they are certainly an improvement on the last one.

And the reason for this rambling post is to let all my followers know that there are such things as acoustic windscreens. I was unaware - I had no idea - and I almost got taken for a mug. If you're unfortunate enough to need a replacement screen, make sure you get the real deal. Oh, and don't get it from Auto Windscreens.

The tree? Nothing special and certainly nothing to do with my story ... but this is primarily an art site so I thought I'd better include some art. ;-)

Christmas is coming

2010-09-14T09:29:00.000+01:00

For the past few years I've always had the serious intention of painting my own Christmas cards. Every year I am determined that this will be the year ... and every year I fail to get started early enough and finish up complaining that I've no longer got enough time to sit and do them.

Last year was the nearest I got and I actually painted a couple of scenes before running out of time to incorporate them into a card design and deal with the printing. This is one scene. I used a photograph I took of a shop front in the high street in Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds. It was a hot summers day and the sun was beaming down - a long way from the cold wintery scene I needed for my card. But some artistic licence soon converted the scene into a more festive one.

I used my Image Editing software of choice (Paint Shop Pro) to create a suitable 'card' design based around my painting, allowing me to 'frame' the picture and add a festive greeting. The result is a passable card though I'm hoping to do better with the rest. I intend to do about five paintings which will be incorporated into various designs and that should give me enough combinations to print off a reasonable quantity to send around my family and friends.

Anyway, this post was done as a friendly 'nudge' to all my cyber artist friends out there to say Christmas is coming and if you're thinking of making your own cards this year, it's time to get started.

Excited about this one.

2010-09-10T20:38:00.000+01:00

I haven't enjoyed any art or posted to my blog for quite a while because I simply haven't had time. I had a long-overdue garden project to deal with that involved moving a concrete slabbed path, and I also got roped in for changing my daughter and son-in-law's bathroom suite. Throw on top of that my usual day-job and planning and arranging a special weekend for my wife's 60th birthday, and important matters like art just get pushed onto the back-burner. Whatever online time I've been able to find has been directed into trying to maintain some sort of presence in my art forum.

One piece of bad news is that my wife developed a rather nasty mouth infection leading to a massive absess just days before her special weekend. As a result we've had to postpone our trip, but it will still go ahead in due course. It won't be the same, not being on her birthday, but at least she will still get her treat.

While all this has been going on, a friend of my wife's has approached me to do a drawing of her brothers dog. I popped down to her house the other day to take some reference photo's and fell instantly in love. What an animal this is. A white German Shepherd, with hints of gold here and there, a fine brown nose and the bushiest bushy tail you could ever imagine. I have never painted an animal portrait before though have done reasonably well with graphite. Consequently I'd not thought of using anything other than graphite ... until I saw the dog. I took 66 reference photo's and have no idea which pose to use, but as soon as I saw the colouring I realised that graphite was never going to do justice to such a fine animal. I'm always happy to hear suggestions and advice so feel free to give me your views. In the meantime I'm in 'think' mode. I've often wondered about buying some Bristol Board and having a go with coloured pencils ... maybe now is the time.

HDR photography

2010-08-18T20:01:00.001+01:00

As my regular followers will know, my other main passion aside from art is photography. Today, while having a good rest following a few days back-breaking work moving a concrete path, I decided to mess with my camera and took a fairly poor shot of a flowering cactus on our kitchen window sill. Knowing that the light coming through the window would make exposure difficult I took 3 shots, one under exposed by 1 stop, one over exposed by 1 stop, and one exposed normally.

As you can see from the first three photo's, if the cactus was correctly exposed, the outside was too bright, and if the outside was correct, the cactus was in shade. Even the third shot - the middle route - doesn't show much of the detail on the cactus.

It's at this point that I remembered that my digital imaging software of choice (Paintshop Pro) has an HDR facility. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and what that means in plain English is the ability to display exposures at either end of the scale.

HDR effectively merges these 3 photo's to get the best of all worlds and as you can see from the result in the fourth photo, the outside is properly exposed whilst the detail of the cactus has been retained. This isn't the best of examples and it certainly isn't the best of photo's, but it shows how effective HDR can be at making a good photo from poor conditions.

Fishing Boat

2010-08-18T09:13:00.000+01:00

When in Torbay last year I came across this small boat laden with fishing paraphernalia. With grapling hooks and harpoons, I can't imagine what sort of fish it's owner tries to catch.

Watercolour - 12"x9"

Irish Church

2010-08-15T19:00:00.001+01:00

It's been a while since I last did a serious pencil drawing so I decided to put that right. I've always believed that Drawing helps us tremendously with our painting. Not only does it help us to outline our subject before picking up our brushes, but it teaches us a lot about tonal values. I also have to admit that I am much more 'at home' with a pencil in my hand, than a brush. I enjoy painting, but I always feel more satisfied with my drawings than my watercolours.

I found this ruined church as we drove along the narrow country lanes of County Kerry in Ireland. Looking through the open window revealed the pews still in place and the graveyard was still in reasonable order. It was an odd discovery.

Comfort Zone

2010-08-06T23:01:00.002+01:00

I'm not sure I have a 'comfort zone' when it comes to watercolours, but if I do this painting certainly isn't in it. I've again decided to tackle something I've never tried before. I wanted to use what I learned making the heat and steam clouds in my Steel Worker painting, but in a different scenario, so I decided to create a war scene with troops deploying from a helicopter in a swirling cloud of desert sand.

Just like my previous painting, I didn't know where to start nor how to get the effects I was looking for. I had a significant problem with scaling part way through and the final painting is the result of a 'rescue' job. I'm not thrilled with it, but I'm not disappointed either given the learning curve I was on. And I certainly did learn a lot from doing it.

The full story and step by step pictures are here .... Work In Progress

Having fun as a group!!

2010-07-26T13:58:00.000+01:00

How's that for a subject title ... I wonder what you thought I meant. LOL.

It's been a while since my Art Forum ran what we call the 'Picture Puzzle' but we are again pooling our resources to contribute to another painting.

None of the artists have seen the photograph that the painting will be taken from. They have each been sent a small portion of the photo, which they will paint in their own way. Each painted segment will then be slotted into place on a blank template, and the complete painting will gradually take shape.

Although the main purpose of the 'puzzle' is to have some fun with our art, there is a serious side to it. The sides of each segment must be accuratey reproduced or the portion won't fit very well with it's neighbours. It's also a great way of appreciating the particular style of each artist. On this occassion we've thrown the picture open to any medium, including Digital Imaging, so the final result will be even more varied than it usually is. This image links to my main site so it will update automatically as new squares are completed.

Great fun!!!

Steel Worker - Mark 2

2010-07-21T14:07:00.002+01:00

Though being very pleased with the painting of the Steel Worker, my eye was continually being drawn to those horrible stark white lines in the bottom right hand corner. They were caused by my extremely poor application of candle wax, which I thought would be a good way to generate some highlights for the wet factory floor. I didn't think it through properly and hadn't appreciated just how bold white highlights would look against such a dark background.

Anyway, though trying to resist the temptation to 'fiddle', and despite my wife's protestations that I would ruin the picture, I eventually gave in and tackled the problem. It took several layers of muddy watercolour applied thickly and dried with a hairdrier between coats to finally cover the wax. Then I added a little texture by use of some greys and oranges mixed with a little white gouache. Though I'm not at all pleased with that corner of the painting, it is an improvement on what was there before.

Steel Worker

2010-07-18T18:53:00.000+01:00

Here is something radically different for me. I wanted to experiment with lights and darks, in fact, I wanted to try and create 'dazzle'. This subject fitted the bill perfectly, though I usually back away from painting people. So this one proved to be a double challenge.

I have to say that I'm quite pleased with it in general. As always, there are things that didn't work quite as well as I'd hoped, and there are things I'd do different next time. But I guess that's the nature of our art. Are we ever totally satisfied? We certainly never stop learning.

Artist Showcase

2010-07-14T22:53:00.002+01:00

As my regular followers will know, I like to showcase artists and their work on my web site. For the first time, I've invited an artist back to do a second showcase. It is my good friend Ingrid Ormestad and I'm delighted to be displaying a new selection of her work. I find Ingrid's excellent use of wet-in-wet quite inspirational and I know of nobody who does it better. To see Ingrid's showcase, click here ... Artists Showcase

If any of my blog followers would like to be showcased, please use this contact form to get in touch.

Rose

2010-07-11T19:16:00.001+01:00

This is something different for me, and I'm quite pleased with it.

Most of us have a favourite Rose, or a Rose that has a special meaning to us. Like many pet owners, when our beloved dogs pass on, we like to buy something for the garden as a token of remembrance. Our last pet was a brindle greyhound/sheepdog cross called Tess. Soon after she died we came across a rose at a garden centre called "Tess of the D'urbervilles" and we just had to buy it.

This Rose has no special meaning. It is just one of the Minature Rose varieties, but it's small size in no way detracts from it's beauty.

Gulf Challenge

2010-07-03T22:04:00.000+01:00

A short while ago, Sandra included me in her Gulf Challenge. Here is my effort.

Lime Kiln - Mark 2

2010-07-03T09:56:00.001+01:00

Well, I did the Lime Kiln in watercolour and I'm really glad I did. When I first chose this subject I had considered it to be an easy picture and when I found it more difficult than I'd expected I thought it was because of the acrylics. Having done it now in watercolour I realise that the picture was harder than it looked. I'm not sure which I prefer and there is less of a difference in them than I'd expected. The acrylic looks flatter somehow.

It's been an interesting exercise and quite eye-opening.

Lime Kiln

2010-06-28T13:55:00.001+01:00

I decided to have a go with acrylics. To get the feel of them I wanted a simple picture and chose this view of an old abandoned Lime Kiln that I discovered in Yorkshire last year. I struggled to get a decent wash down for the background hills and found colour mixing difficult, although that applies to everything I do any way. I'm not pleased with the end result but don't know how much of that is down to my using a new medium so I will do this again in watercolour when I can, just to help me better appreciate the differences between the two mediums.

Gulf Challenge

2010-06-19T18:23:00.006+01:00

One of my followers, Sandra, invited me to take part in the Gulf Challenge. I have agreed though available time is an issue. Still, I will get there.

In the meantime, I remembered this photograph I took a while ago of a Black Headed Gull. The Gull's expression says it all. Click on the photo to see a larger version.

Artists block.

2010-06-17T10:13:00.001+01:00

It's been a while since I last posted art in my blog and that's because I haven't done any. There are many reasons ... very busy at work, jobs at home, family issues, other online distractions ... and there just aren't enough hours in the day. When I do find an opportunity to do something, I usually have only an hour or so and, to be quite honest, just can't seem to put my mind to getting out the stuff and looking for something to draw or paint.

I always believed 'artists block' was where an artist simply couldn't summon up suitable idea's in the same way as 'writers block' leaves an author devoid of words, but now I'm wondering if it's also a case of "can't be bothered". If you have any tips for getting the juices flowing again, let me hear from you.

This drawing was done a few years ago and is of a character created by a friend. It was a project to create a 3D image using computer software and he did very well. I couldn't resist getting it down on paper.

World Cup Forecast

2010-06-05T13:58:00.001+01:00

Back in 2002 I was wrestling with financial modelling and as an experiment and learning aid, I built myself a World Cup model that endeavoured to 'predict' the winner. I didn't do very well. In 2006 I built an improved model and successfully forecast 66% of the winners and losers. I've decided to have a go again.

This is only a bit of fun ... most of the scores won't happen as forecasted ... but the model 'learns' about the various teams' capabilities as the competition progresses and it's interesting (if you like that sort of thing) to see the forecasted results changing as the competition progresses.

If anyone is interested, I've built all of this into some web pages and it can be found here ..... World Cup Forecast

As I've stated on the web site, DO NOT rush out and place bets on the basis on this. I know absolutely nothing about football (other than kicking the ball into the other teams net counts as a goal and kicking it into your own net makes your team mates shout angrily). This is just a bit of harmless fun and if the actual results bare any resemblance to the predicted ones, it will be more by luck than judgement.

Enjoy the footie!!!!

Looser still ?

2010-05-26T16:22:00.001+01:00

Yes, the title is a question this time. I've had another go and set myself some distinct targets. I decided to do a sketch in my garden in the time it would take me to eat my lunch and have a cup of tea. So, with a sandwich in one hand, a pen in the other and my sketch pad balancing on my knee, I mapped out what I could see. I intended it to be really quick and loose, yet in many respects I failed. I did it in the time (30 minutes) and I've captured the essence of what I could see, but I still don't feel it is what we would call 'loose'. It wasn't until a friend pointed it out that I realised I'd drawn in the height-adjuster on the lawn mower. Duh!!! I was supposed to be dropping detail, not including it. LOL.

Loosening Up!!

2010-05-21T13:31:00.007+01:00

My last several paintings have been fairly detailed and I've commented on more than one occassion that I feel my technique is becoming very tight. A few suggestions have been made as to how I can loosen up a bit and I shall be giving them all a try in due course as I try to find the style I know I'm looking for.

Yesterday, I decided to do a pen drawing. I'm rather partial to working in pen and it has been suggested that it is my best medium (though I'm not sure what that says about my watercolours - LOL). I only had about half-an-hour so grabbed an old photo of Edinburgh Castle to do a quick sketch of. I really enjoy this technique of using a soluble pen and then teasing out shadows using a brush and plain water. I can't say the end result is as loose as I would have liked but it is definitely a step in the right direction - and it was great fun.

My First Exhibition

2010-05-18T09:37:00.009+01:00

I've never entered any work in an exhibition before. This is partly because I never seem to find out about exhibitions until it's too late but mainly because I've never felt my work good enough to show. Positive feedback through this blog and from visitors to my web site and forum have all helped me reach a stage where I feel I am ready to put some pieces in front of the viewing public. .

Here in Northampton we have an annual "Art in the Park" exhibition. It is hugely popular and artists come from all around. Some time ago I made some enquiries through our local council who run the event, and a very nice lady took my name and address. I hadn't expected to hear any more but, a couple of weeks ago, details of the exhibition and Entry forms landed on my door mat.

Due to budgetry constraints and renovation works at the venue, the size of the exhibition has had to be cut back this year. The organisers are going to try and take one painting from each entrant on a first-come-first-served basis. If there is any room left over after that, they will take a second piece again in order of arrival.

So, after much thought I have decided that "nothing ventured, nothing gained" and so last night I sat and completed the Entry forms. I'm far from certain about what I ought to exhibit but I finally decided to put in my pen drawing of Northampton as my first choice and my watercolour of Pateley Bridge as my reserve second choice. Now all I have to do is get the forms into the right hands before the closing date (Friday) and that is today's mission.

I do lack confidence in my work so I'm quite nervous about taking this step yet at the same time I'm quite excited about it. Can't wait ..... I think!!!

Ringwood Hall

2010-05-14T22:46:00.000+01:00

It's probably not a very intelligent way of trying to loosen up but I do enjoy working with pen so I thought I'd try a fairly quick sketchy painting and try not to be too fussy over straight lines and precise detail. I feel I was partly succesful but don't particularly like the end result. I would have been very happy if it was just a little more like the work of David Webster (http://www.david-webster.co.uk/) whose work I really like, though I do accept I'll never be in his league. LOL. Still, regardless of the end result, I really enjoyed doing this, and that's what it's all about, right?

An exercise

2010-05-08T15:20:00.001+01:00

When discussing my "Modern Home" painting with an artist friend I commented on how 'tight' I was feeling with my work and how I wish I could loosen up a lot more. My friend, an extremely accomplished artist, set me a simple exercise. He told me to do the same painting again but this time allow myself no more than 5 minutes for drawing a pencil outline and no more than 25 minutes for the painting. Given the detail in the original (which took me many hours over several days) this seemed like an impossible task. However, I gave it my best shot and although the painting is not one to be proud of, I am nevertheless quite pleased with how well it turned out. This is an exercise I will definitely repeat again from time to time because, despite the result, it was great fun not being so fussy about keeping within the lines.

Red Breasted Friend

2010-05-01T22:55:00.000+01:00

While moving some conifers in my garden I was joined by my friend the Robin. An inquisitive little chap, he was forever getting under foot. Mind you, if I put down my spade and picked up my camera he would hop it. And so we played our cat and mouse game all afternoon. I would do some digging while he dodged my spade, then he'd hide in the trees while I held my camera. In the end I finished my digging and cleared away my tools ready to go indoors. My playmate then sat on a tree and sang and I like to think he was thanking me for a couple of hours of fun.

Ringwood Hall

2010-04-30T14:35:00.002+01:00

Some time ago my daughter announced that she and her partner were to marry. We discussed various aspects of the proposed wedding and during that chat they asked me if I would do a watercolour of the venue that was finally chosen for the ceremony. I was obviously delighted and agreed enthusiastically. A few weeks ago the happy couple tied the proverbial knot by civil ceremony at Ringwood Hall near Chesterfield.

I don't wish to be unkind to Ringwood Hall but finding a suitbable viewpoint from which to make a presentable painting was not easy. I took dozens of photo's from all angles. Doing a painting of any part of the building wasn't going to be difficult, but making it a 'Landscape painting' rather than picture of bricks and mortar was a different matter.

After much deliberation I decided to try and recreate what the Hall might look like from a higher-than-normal viewpoint. This allowed me to pull in landscape from the surrounding countryside as well as include the wonderful relaxing and tranquil formal gardens. Getting my head round this 3-D object using only ground-level 2-D photo's was not easy but thank goodness for Google Maps. The satellite view of the Hall provided me with a wealth of useful information not only with regards to what was on the roof, but also the way the various parts of the building fitted together.
A lot of time was spent on preliminary pencil sketches and in drawing out the building itself onto the watercolour paper. Perspective was obviously going to be tricky.

At first I wasn't pleased with the finished result. One of my weaknesses is that I am too timid with colour, especially the darks. The 'finished' painting looked flat and disinteresting but some arty friends nudged me into getting some more darks in there and it has made a world of difference. Now I am very pleased with the painting. My daughter and Son-in-law haven't seen it yet and I'm keen to see their reaction .... just a tad nervous about it too.

Bellis Perennis

2010-04-27T13:33:00.011+01:00

I've long been a fan of these wonderful little flowers but only recently have I noticed their flowering habit. They are the Daisy family and only grow 4" tall but put out masses of little flowers. What has fascinated me about the way the flowers form is how it gradually develops from a 'daisy' type shape to a pom-pom.

First they create a tiny yellow head that looks much like an unopened bud, but it is only a cluster of stamen (I think). Very soon the yellow stamen around the outside edge of the flower begin to open producing tube-like petals. From time to time a stamen will produce a flower 'out of turn', as in this shot.

Gradually more and more stamen convert to petals ....

... nearly all done ....

.... until finally all we have is a perfectly formed pom-pom. It is only through the eyes of the macro lens that we appreciate that the pom-pom consists of scores of tiny tubes.

A modern English family home

2010-04-08T14:08:00.005+01:00

A while ago I was approached by a friend who wanted a painting doing of her daughters house. I was very happy to oblige and she provided me with plenty of reference photo's and some very clear guidelines as to how she wanted the whole thing to look.

The painting is a combination of pen and watercolour. I do call it Pen and Wash but in my mind 'wash' implies loose transparent colours whereas this is more a pen drawing that's been coloured in with fairly strong colours.

Using pen has enabled me to add quite a lot of detail that I wouldn't normally include in a watercolour painting, like the house number set into the stained glass panel in the front door. Of course, these details aren't visible in small interent-based jpeg's.

For anyone that's interested, I've taken several photo's and created a full 'work-in-progress' page showing the various stages I went through. It can be seen here.

Barmouth Viking II

2010-02-22T09:24:00.004Z

Some time ago I was on holiday in Snowdonia and visited Barmouth for the day. As we wandered around, I was snapping scenes that I thought might make potential painting subjects, as you do. One of my photo's was of this catamaran, Barmouth Viking II. She was sitting on the beach at low tide with her skipper doing a bit of routine maintenance on her.

As a small thank you to Skipper John for the use of the photograph let me tell you that Barmouth Viking II is 10 metres long and licensed and equipped to carry up to 12 persons and 2 crew for fishing trips up to 60 miles off-shore. Full details can be obtained from the Barmouth Viking II web site.

Northampton Town - Market Square

2010-01-09T18:32:00.003Z

Well, as those of you who have followed the progress of this drawing will know, it is finally finished. To help the off-white Cartridge paper look white I've used a cream mount, and to compliment the cold monochrome pen work I've chosen a silver-effect frame. The photo doesn't do it justice but the overall effect is very good. To say I'm pleased would be a gross understatement.

Since I have a dozen photo's taken at various stages of this drawing, I've also decided to make a Work-In-Progress web page for my art site. Though I'm no expert myself, hopefully the page will still be of interest to anyone considering having a go at Line Drawing. It can be seen at www.JWJonline.net/WIP.

Northampton Town in Pen

2009-12-29T10:45:00.014Z

Though very much an art novice, I have to confess to being extremely pleased with the way my Water Mill pen drawing turned out. So much so that I have decided I'd like to try something more ambitious. Even if it turns out quite poor I hope to learn a lot from the experience. I've also decided to show the drawing as work-in-progress so that any more experienced artists can toss in any words of advice as I go along.

I am showing the main reference photo so we can all see what I'm aiming at however, I will be drawing the Market Stalls across the bottom right corner which is more in keeping with their present deployment. They also have more colourful striped canvases which will be easier to depict than the drab plain blue canvases in the photo.

My basic plan is to draw a grid to help get the proportions and perspectives as accurate as possible and then lightly pencil in the main shapes and structures. Then I will ink over those and erase all pencil marks. I will then pass over the drawing adding in detail and finally review the picture for tonal values. I learned from the Water Mill drawing that a lot of detail involving a lot of lines creates dark tones naturally. I can't judge at the moment which parts of my drawing will need extra shading and which won't, so I'll leave that till last. I've chosen a Medium Surface Cartridge paper, 130 gsm and size A3. I've never used this paper with pen before but a small test on a scrap of the paper caused me to think it should be ok. I will be using a selection of fine point pens of different thicknesses.

In my forum I'm running this as a Work-in-Progress and we started right back at choosing the reference photo to work from. I'm posting my thoughts at each step and the full process from beginning to end will be documented. However, in this blog I will simply leave it at this one post, but the picture will be updated at each stage so if you wish to see it developing pop back frequently and I'll try and have an updated picture for you to see. If you want to follow it more closely, you can see my forum thread here.

Rosie

2009-12-01T17:06:00.002Z

This is a pencil portrait of 'Rosie', a German Shepherd owned by a friend of ours. I drew Rosie when she was a puppy but the only reference photo I had was of her looking into the bright sun with a very significant squint. I considered drawing her eyes open but they are so important that, without some reference, I was worried it wouldn't look like her.

Now she is a teenager. It's interesting drawing her without the fluffiness she had as a pup. Regrettably, the best photo of her had closed eyes again, but this time I had other photo's with eyes open that I could refer to.

I was in the process of scanning the image when my friend arrived. We were talking as the scanned image of Rosie scrolled down my monitor. My friends face was worth it's weight in gold because I could see for myself that she'd recognised Rosie straight off.

Artist Showcase

2009-11-30T14:13:00.005Z

Some time ago I decided to showcase some of the artists in my forum. The objective is to give some internet coverage to little known artists so that their work would be more widely seen. The plan, quite simply, is to showcase a different artist and their work each month. Having run successful showcases for three artists I have decided to put myself into the frame for the next showcase.

It was difficult choosing just 6 pieces to display but I decided to show some watercolour, pencil and pen pieces as they are my favourite media. I will probably do this again in the future and the next time I will concentrate on a single medium.

My showcase is now online at www.JWJonline.net/Showcase.php and a link on the main menu leads to previous showcases.