Monday 16 April 2012

Rain Stops Play (2)

Following on from the comments in the last post, I decided to do some more to the drawing. Firstly, I darkened the background to push it back as suggested by Sue. To make sure I kept the boy behind the glass I did as Pat suggested and darkened the edges of the raindrops. I also darkened the lower part of the boys shirt to make it look less even and I've done a little work with the hair. 

The changes have significantly increased the contrast of the drawing and given the whole thing much more depth. I don't know if it is something I see because I want to, but I also feel the drawing now has more atmosphere and mood. 

Thanks to everyone who commented previously but especially Sue and Pat.  

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Rain stops play!

As I mentioned in my last post, our annual Art in the Park exhibition is starting soon and Entries have to be submitted by Friday. I also mentioned that I had an idea of what to do but that it was ambitious (for me). Well, here it is.


I've called it "Rain stops play" and it's an image I've held in my mind's eye for quite some time, just waiting for an opportunity to have a go at it. I have been working on it for many hours every day for the last 4/5 days. Unusually for me, I haven't had a photo to copy, but I have used a number of photo's of rain for reference. I find with those raindrops that I can keep tweaking and fiddling ad nausium and it's hard to put the pencils away and call it finished.


My main reason for hurrying to get it posted is to invite constructive criticism from my blogger friends, especially those of you who work with pencil. I still have time to make a few adjustments and fine tune the picture. And I'm aware that pencil drawings don't fair too well when up against watercolours and oils so I want to make this as good as I can get it. It's also worth mentioning that I don't consider it to be a very commercial subject matter, so I'm under no illusions with regards to the likelihood of it selling.


Any comments, good or bad, will be very much appreciated. ;-)





Friday 6 April 2012

More than just a cake

It was a brilliant day for me yesterday .... my last ever day at work. These past few weeks have been frantic and intense as I've tried to cram a couple of months of handover into just a few weeks. My 'team' at work have been the greatest and I'm really proud of them. It's the end of the Payroll year and we had a massive target to reach this week made worse by it being a short week due to Easter. They worked their socks off, especially yesterday while I was out of town at a funeral, and I arrived at work on my last morning to find everything ready and waiting for me to just put the finishing touches to. I was well impressed and told them so.


My colleagues from around the company all chipped in to buy me a really nice  Lead Crystal Whiskey Decanter and 4 glasses. The Silver Nameplate hanging round it's neck simply says "JWJ". Perfect.


My own department ... my A-team ... bought me a cake. It's not really fair to call it a 'cake' as it's a complete masterpiece. The photo doesn't do it justice. The only thing not edible is the rectangle of paper used for the 'painting'. It has been hand-painted and includes my name in the bottom right corner. I couldn't bring myself to cut it. I know I'll have to, but I want to enjoy it a bit more first.


So now I join the ranks of the great unemployed. I've worked since I was 18 so I have done 46 years and can't have had more than a month off in total over that period. I've been 32 years, exactly half of my life, with this one company which could explain why I feel part of the furniture. Things are going to feel just a little bit strange waking up in the mornings for a while. Still, I have a great deal I want to do ... re-modelling part of the garden; redecorating the lounge, kitchen and main bathroom; reading; sifting through my stamp collection; photography ... but most of all, ART!!!


My next art project needs to be started without delay. It is our annual Art in the Park exhibition soon and my entry needs to be in by next Friday. I have an idea as to what to do, but it's ambitious and I'm far from sure I can do it in the time available. LOL .... and I thought hurrying would be a thing of the past. ;-)

Monday 19 March 2012

We've done it!!!

For several weeks now I haven't had the time to post to my blog nor visit any of the blogs I follow. This hasn't been through any lack of interest, but a simple lack of time. I have only a couple of weeks (3 at most) until I retire and my workloads have gone crazy as I try to effect a proper handover to my replacement. I am determined to leave my office ship-shape and Bristol fashion with everything up-to-date and properly in order.

On top of that, I have also undertaken my biggest ever drawing project. Not huge for many of you, but MASSIVE for me. A little under two years ago my only daughter got married. Right then and there I KNEW I just had to do a portrait of her and my new son-in-law on their wedding day. Whilst a nice sentiment the reality is that I am too technically challenged for such a project ... or was. However, where there's a will there's a way ... right? A book by Lee Hammond, plenty of sketching and shading practice, and the will to 'raise the bar' have all contributed.

Scouring through the hundreds of photo's of the wedding I was struggling to find anything suitable. Nearly all the photo's were of posed groups with the happy couple looking straight at the camera. A few had them looking at each other but were obviously posed. Eventually I found the shot I was looking for. It was a poor photo of a crowd and towards the back, my daughter and new husband were exchanging a glance. It was moments after the ceremony and it didn't need words to be spoken for it to be obvious what they were thinking .... "we've done it!".

Daler Rowney "Heavyweight" paper.  220 gms - 15" x 11" 

The photo was taken with flash with a bright window immediately behind them, so lighting was appalling but, nevertheless, it was good enough to work from, especially with plenty of others to refer to for guidance. It has produced a picture of the day that is not in their album and that pleases me greatly. This has taken me almost 2 weeks and I took a dozen photo's of it during the process in order that I might post a WIP. I've had second thoughts about that now but if there is sufficient interest I would be happy to post the stages.

On Saturday I fixed, mounted and framed the drawing and yesterday my wife and I visited my daughter and son-in-law and presented it to them. They like it. ;-)

Friday 17 February 2012

Moka Coffee Pot

I almost called this post "Decisions, decisions!". I've been quite busy of late one way or another. As I mentioned a couple of posts back, my en suite bathroom is being remodelled and I've spent a huge amount of time trawling round bathroom showrooms looking for inspiration and buying everything needed. Since the job started I've been involved in clearing the room, removing tiles from the wall and then some of the decorating work like painting the ceiling and woodwork.

At the same time my job has exploded in terms of hours in the day needed. At Xmas I decided the time had come for me to retire and I informed the company on my return back to work in January. I've always promised them as much notice as I could give so set my end date at March 31st. There is a lot to do legally and in terms of organisation and handover and ever since my announcement I've been bombarded with meetings and other matters associated with my departure. Over half my time is now spent on such matters and my real work is suffering badly. I am determined to hand over a tidy ship, with a place for everything and everything in it's place, and everything up to date.

So, between the extra demands of my job and 'keeping up' with the bathroom, leisure time is harder to find. And when I do find some it's that horrible decision, art or computer. And if I choose computer, do I follow my blogger friends or play catch up in my art forum. Decisions, decisions!

I am hugely behind on visiting the blogs I like to follow, so much so that I'm now beginning to miss some of the posts. I WILL catch up, I promise.


"Moka Coffee Pot"
Graphite - 10" x 8"
That said, I had some free time today and chose 'art'. I like drawing silverware (not that I've done a great deal of it) and this months drawing project in my forum is this fine Moka Coffee Pot. With my recent passion for sketching and Pen & Wash, it seems like a long time since I last picked up my pencils with serious intent, and so this subject appealed greatly.

These pots are made of aluminium and used over a flame or electric range for making espresso coffee. It consists of two chambers, the lower one holding water and the upper one collecting the coffee. It produces the coffee by passing hot water pressurised by steam through ground coffee contained in a basket set between the two chambers. It was first patented by inventor Luigi De Ponti in 1933.

Now I'm off to try and catch up with a few more blogs. Hey, from the end of March I ought to have all the time I need for blogging .... and my art ... can't wait!!!

Saturday 4 February 2012

Secret Garden


Just a few miles from my home is Castle Ashby Estate. It consists of a superb old house sitting in 10,000 acres of splendid Northamptonshire countryside with extremely extensive and tranquil gardens. Work began on the house in 1574 and continued into the early 1600's. At the suggestion of King William III in 1695, four great avenues of trees were planted but all bar one were removed by Capability Brown, the famous landscape gardener, in 1761. The magnificent gardens are open to the public every day of the year and consist of Italian gardens, an Orangery, formal gardens, Rainbow Borders, Spring Walks, an Aboretum, a Butterfly garden and a Secret Garden.


When I was last there I had strolled through the Butterfly gardens enjoying the heady scent of Lavenders, Buddlea and Hebe's and watched the butterflies and bees flitting back and forth as they went about their daily chores. 


Pen & Wash - 11"x 8"
I made my way from the Butterfly garden through the box hedges and came across this ... the secluded Secret Garden. Filled with Lavender, Roses, Jasmine and Salvia the scent was out of this world. I made my way along the Rose covered pathway and sat for a while in the shade of the Gazebo just soaking up the peacefulness and contemplating the rich tapestry of colours and textures that lay before me. 


I took some reference photo's because I just knew I had to paint it one day. I will be going back this summer and I will be taking my sketchbook with me.


  

Thursday 26 January 2012

Shaping up!!

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.