The Surfer

From time-to-time I get the urge to tackle a seriously challenging pencil drawing. When this happens I like to find a subject that has drama or is a little bit out of the ordinary. When looking for a suitable subject I pass over hundreds that just don't shout out at me whether I think they're do-able or not.

I actually fancied doing another stormy sea drawing like the ones I've done previously of the lifeboats or ship in distress. While I was browsing Pixabay (for anyone who hasn't heard of it, it's an amazing copyright-free resource) for a suitable subject I came across a photo of this surfer. It's not exactly a 'stormy sea' but it has the crashing waves and breaking surf and it was definitely shouting out at me. I just couldn't resist having a go at it. 

Oh, and it was certainly challenging.  :lol:

(Drawn on Winsor & Newton Medium Surface Cartridge paper using a 2B mechanical pencil and is 11" x 14")

Other Seascape Drawings

Force Ten

Flamborough Lifeboat 1971

Bridlington Lifeboat

Kitten on fence

 

As you will all know, I run a small Art Forum on my web site. My site and the forum are specifically aimed at encouraging beginners to art in the hope that we can help them through that initial "I can't do this" phase. 

To that end we run a few projects and challenges and one of the most popular is the Monthly Painting and Drawing Project which invites all the members to paint or draw the same subject. Members often find themselves attempting a subject that they wouldn't normally attempt, and the expression "out of my comfort zone" is very common.

Being outside of one's 'comfort zone' is an excellent place to be because it causes you to have to try harder and it leads to more mistakes, and as we know, 'mistakes' are where you do all you're learning. There's not a lot to learn from something that you can do easily and competently.

One of the members chose this picture of a kitten walking along the top of a fence for one of the challenges. I can't imagine I'd have ever chosen this subject to draw under normal circumstances but I really enjoyed doing it. My young granddaughter loved the picture too, so it's now hanging on the wall of her bedroom. Happy days!!

Some more Pencil drawings from my web site

Rain Stops Play

Sunset Over Buttermere

Sunny Daffodil

Lighthouse in storm

 

Following on from my previous 'stormy sea' drawings, I decided it was time to try another one. Scouring the 'net I came across a fabulous photograph of a lighthouse at dusk taken by John Lund, and his photo ticked all my boxes of crashing waves, high seas and lots of atmosphere. To avoid copyright issues I dropped John a line and asked if he would kindly give me permission to use his photograph for reference, and he agreed.

The drawing is on my usual Daler-Rowney Heavyweight paper and was drawn with my favourite mechanical pencil containing 2B leads. I used a regular 8B pencil to touch in some of the darkest areas. Before I started I gave much thought to the square format of this picture. I used my image editing software to crop the photo into a landscape format but found that the reduction in sky and sea reduced the impact of the lone lighthouse .... the scene needs the big sky as much as it does the big sea, to drive home the smallness of the lighthouse when surrounded by the elements.

More Seascape Drawings

Force Ten

Flamborough Lifeboat 1971

Bridlington Lifeboat

Steam engine 41218

Once upon a time, as a teenager, my friends and I used to go train-spotting. Sometimes, as a special treat, we would take a packed lunch and catch a train ride to another station a stop or two down the line so we could 'spot' other trains. One very regular engine on those runs was an Ivatt class 2MT 2-6-2T No 41218.  It was built at Crewe works in September 1948 and remained in service until July 1965 when it was withdrawn and ultimately scrapped.

Talking about trains with my brother-in-law, who used to do the same runs and is immensely enthusiastic about steam engines, we reminisced fondly over 41218. Fired with interest I did some googling and found a couple of photo's of similar engines of the same class. I used them for reference to recreate the engine in graphite.

While drawing this engine I took photo's along the way and created a Work In Progress page for anyone interested.

Other Work-In-Progress drawings on my site

Sunset over Venice
(Pencil)

Eilean Donan Castle
(Pen and Ink)

Gorilla
(Charcoal)

Harley Davidson

Having gone through a long spell of not drawing anything significant, I fancied trying something challenging and something that I haven't tried before. I've always liked the way silver and chrome can be easily replicated using graphite pencils and I had the urge to find a chrome subject to play with. I couldn't get inspired by the numerous pictures of silver teapots, cutlery, and shiny ornaments but I eventually found something that hit the spot. I chose this picture of a classic Harley Davidson motorbike.

The picture isn't very large. I decided on A4 size (8.3"x11.7") Daler Rowney Smooth Cartridge paper and it's the first time I've used it. For a smooth paper it took many layers of graphite quite well. With the benefit of hindsight I wish I'd used something larger but that's only because it might have made some of the complex areas a little easier. For anyone interested I've put a better explanation and a step-by-step Work In Progress page on my main website.

Here are some more Pencil Drawings

Force Ten

Radiating Fog

Flamborough Lifeboat 1971

Bridlington Lifeboat

Five years ago I attempted a drawing of the Flamborough Lifeboat based on a photograph by photographer Paul Berriff, with his kind permission. Paul also gave me permission to use two other photographs, one of the mfv Galatea in a Force Ten gale and a third one which is the subject of this blog post.

It's been quite a while since I last had time for any serious art and when an opportunity presented itself recently I felt I needed something dramatic and challenging to get my teeth into. To add to the 'challenge' I decided to post frequent work-in-progress posts both in my art forum and on Facebook. Confidence in my art has always been a big issue for me and there's no better way to challenge self-belief than show off your work before it's finished.

The subject is of the Bridlington Lifeboat heading out in gale force winds to the aid of a fishing boat. The entire picture has been drawn with a 2B pencil. I used my favourite Rotring Rapid Pro mechanical pencils, one with 0.5mm lead and the other with 0.7mm. I also used a regular 2B pencil for the sea so I could use the flat edge of the lead rather than the point. The paper is Daler Rowney Heavyweight 135lbs A3 size. For anyone interested, the various stages of the drawing can be seen in the Work-In-Progress section of my web site.

Radiating Fog

First of all, just a brief update on why I haven't posted for over 6 months..... we've moved home. After 18-months of braving the roadwork-ridden motorway to travel 120 miles each way to see our granddaughter, we decided to move into the area. So the last 6 months have been crazy as we first threw everything we possessed into a few hundred (so it seemed) cardboard boxes, moving to our new home just 1 week before Xmas, and then unpacking and getting ourselves settled into a new way of life. We now live on the edge of the Pennines just north of Sheffield and it is hugely different from where we've come from.

Now to the drawing. From time to time I see an image or scene that I just know I have to try and draw regardless of how difficult or unappealing (hang-ability) it may be. I feel almost compelled to tackle it no matter how doubtful I may feel about the outcome. It happened to me again a while ago when I saw some online footage of Radiating Fog swirling around a church. Initially I dismissed the notion to try and draw the scene and didn't really have the time, but recently time has been easier to find and the urge to do the drawing was still as strong. It was good to finally have my pencils out again.

For anyone interested I have put a Work In Progress page on my main web site showing the various phases this drawing went through.

Force Ten

Quite a long time ago I came across a photograph by Paul Berriff of a Lifeboat in rough seas and felt compelled to draw it. I contacted Paul and he was happy to give his permissions and some of you may remember the final picture... "Flamborough Lifeboat 1971". Recently I've had the urge to do another powerful pencil drawing so went back to Paul's site to see what was there. I discovered a dramatic photo of mfv Galatea, a fishing boat, battling huge waves in a raging sea. Paul again kindly granted permission for me to use it, so here it is. The original photo contains chains and railings from the boat on which Paul was standing when he took the photo but I've left those out to increase the sense of isolation of the Galatea.

Paul's original photo contains many really dark tones, almost complete black, and as any pencil user knows, such deep blacks are next to impossible to achieve. Following on from my recent "Gorilla" drawing I did consider tackling this picture in Charcoal but I think (no, I know) that would be a step to far for me. What I am now considering is adding darker tones to this drawing using charcoal just where needed. I'm concerned about how well the charcoal will 'take' on top of already shiny graphite so I need to do some serious experimenting first. If any of you have experience of charcoal over graphite I'd love to hear from you.

The original photo and more of Paul's work can be seen on his website 

Rhinoceros

While doing this drawing of a Rhinoceros I had serious doubts about some really bad habits that I've allowed to creep into my technique. Not for the first time I've been very conscious of how much blending I do. I'd go as far as to say I draw more with my tortillions than I do with my pencils. I'm aware that over blending flattens the tooth in the paper and leads to more 'graphite shine' so it's not necessarily a good thing to do to excess. That said, it's become an essential part of how I draw so that raises other questions in my mind, mainly, if the end result is acceptable then how much does the process of how we get there matter? What are your thoughts on Technique versus Results?

I took a photo of this grazing Rhino at the West Midlands Safari Park a couple of years ago with the express purpose of capturing him in graphite, which just goes to show I get there in the end. LOL.

"Ian"

For quite a long while now I have been absent from blogland partly due to the loss of my mojo and partly due to a lack of time, however, I've recently had two events that have spurred me on to doing some art again. Firstly, after a long absence from my blog, I was staggered to receive an enquiring post from one of my followers, Hilda Muxo Klinger. To say I was very touched is an understatement. Thank you Hilda. The second event was a commission.

In October 2015, my sister and her husband, Ian, were out together when he suddenly collapsed. An ambulance was called but despite the determined efforts of the paramedics my brother-in-law never regained consciousness. He had shown no signs of illness and was a very active 63-year old. His loss came as a massive shock to us all and my sister was devastated, the suddenness robbing her of any opportunity to say 'goodbye'.

A couple of weeks ago, my sister asked me if I felt like tackling a portrait of Ian. At times like this our 'mojo' is irrelevant and I said I'd be happy to do a pencil portrait for her. Suitable reference photo's were hard to find and none showed his eyes as anything other than black blobs, which showed no life. However, a little artistic licence allowed me to create some 'sparkle' and detail where the photo's had none. I have been quite anxious about doing such an important portrait but today I handed the framed portrait to my sister and I was delighted with her response..... she was thrilled.

And now, with the portrait finished, I find myself wondering "What's next?". That's a good sign, right? But first of all I'm off to have a look at some of Hilda's wonderful pastels.  ;-)

A little nostalgia

Once upon a time, as a young teenager, my friends and I used to go train-spotting. Sometimes, as a special treat, we would take a packed lunch and catch a train ride to another station a stop or two down the line so we could 'spot' other trains. One very regular engine on those runs was an Ivatt class, 2MT 2-6-2T No 41218.  It was built at Crewe works in September 1948 and remained in service until July 1965 when it was withdrawn and ultimately scrapped.

My brother-in-law/cousin is a keen train enthusiast with a substantial model layout in his spare room. He also used to train spot at the same time as I did and it was reminiscing with him that inspired me to want to do a drawing of this fondly remembered engine. Fired with interest I did some googling and found a couple of photo's of similar engines (different numbers but the same class) online. I used them for reference to recreate engine 41218 in graphite. 

It's been a long time since I last did anything like this and I thoroughly enjoyed every second.

N.B. For any beginners interested I've posted a series of Work-in-progress photo's on my web site.

Scurry racing

For some time now I've fancied trying to draw something bursting with drama and action but finding a suitable subject hasn't been easy. A few weeks ago I had the idea of Horse & Carriage racing having seen a photo of Prince Philip doing just that. Searching the web I discovered the Facebook page of photographer Paul Orchard whose wife Chris Orchard races scurry's. Paul's site is oozing with fabulous photo's of this action-packed sport and one photo jumped out at me. Dropping him an enquiring line I was delighted when he replied saying I could use his photo as a reference.

The picture is of Chris Orchard (driver) and Charlotte Kenyon (counter balance) and the scurry is being pulled by ponies "Rough and Tumble". The event was the Horse of the Year Show  at the NEC in October 2015.

If at first ...

As we all know, not every drawing or painting comes out  to our entire satisfaction. Some artists will paint over work they are displeased with, or scrap it and do it again. That is something I have never done .... until now.

You may remember that just before Christmas I produced a pencil portrait of my father. Though I was fairly pleased with it, there were a few things about the drawing that have always bothered me. Nothing that stops me thinking it's a good portrait and a good likeness, but just little things that maybe only I would notice. These things have been niggling at me and causing me to think I could, and should, have done better. So here is my second attempt .... "Dad 2".

Smoke

Ever since I did the drawing of the steam locomotives a year ago I've been itching to do something else involving steam or smoke. I recently came across a photograph of an urban landscape that ticked my boxes ... and tickled my fancy. It's a dark scene and isn't the sort of 'art' that people would want to hang on their wall, but technically the challenge was just what I'd hoped it would be and I really enjoyed it. ;-)

"Vina"

Though we're already two weeks into 2016, I'll still take this belated opportunity to wish all of my blog followers a very happy, healthy, peaceful and arty 2016.

Mid-January already .... where does the time go? One minute we're finishing off our Christmas shopping and getting ready for the big day, and then, in the blink of an eye, we're halfway through January and we have nothing left of Christmas other than some nice memories and a big dent in our bank balance. Bah-Humbug!!! ;-)

Following on from the portrait I did of my father, which I finished just before Christmas, I was both delighted, and honoured to be asked by a very good friend if I would do a portrait for them. Obviously I didn't hesitate and soon received an emailed photograph of the subject, "Vina" (short for "Davina"). The finished pencil drawing was so well received that it has kick-started my 2016 art pursuits in the best way possible and I have a head full of idea's that are bigger, bolder and more challenging (for me) than ever before. I march onward excited and enthusiastic. ;-)

"DAD"

"DAD"

It's been a while since I last played with my pencils, January last year to be precise. but I felt the sudden urge to dust them off and tackle a portrait of my father who we lost last year. Dad has figured in my blog many times over the years. He was a keen woodworker who, although he lacked precision woodworking skills, nevertheless managed to "knock together" some fine pieces. My garden still holds a Gazebo, wooden bench, pair of wooden chairs with matching table, a dovecote, a small log cabin, a decorative wheelbarrow planter, a Train planter and numerous bird tables and nesting boxes. Most of them have been posted here at one time or another. His last piece (made in his 95th year) was a Dolls house mackled together from bits of old plywood, and it came complete with items of furniture fashioned from off-cuts of which there was always plenty strewn around his shed floor. He was extremely pleased with the Dolls house and wanted to give it to a local nursery or play group but it really wasn't good enough for that .... too many unfinished edges and dangerous corners for it to be safe for little people to play with. To ease his disappointment I told him I'd love to have it in my garden as a feature amongst my plants and he seemed to like the idea, so it has stood proudly in one of my flower beds for the last 2/3 years.

I'll be coming back to the Dolls House and it's contents in a future post. In the meantime I knocked out this small pen sketch by way of saying "Merry Christmas" to all my followers.


You're comments and encouragement are very important to me and I can't tell you how much I appreciate your continued support.


Merry Christmas one and all.

Famous Pair.

A couple of weeks ago I posted that I'd been working on something special as a gift and that I wouldn't post it online until it had been finished and delivered. Well I'm just back home from doing just that so now I can safely display the piece.

My brother-in-law is a keen model railway enthusiast and I decided I'd like to draw a train engine for him. I searched the net for railway engines that I know he's fond of and found two of his favourites. I happened to have a wide, narrow frame that I thought lent itself perfectly to a train, however, when I came to compare various pictures with the frame I couldn't find anything that I felt happy with. After a lot of hunting around and head scratching I had the idea of using BOTH trains in the same picture.

Since the picture is about the engines I chose not to include any background or foreground and, in my opinion, the wide, narrow format makes the images look more dramatic than they would have done individually and the backward sweeping smoke provides a sense of movement.

For any rail enthusiasts, the engine on the left is "6100 Royal Scot", the first of the 4-6-0 Royal Scot Class express passenger locomotives. Introduced in 1927, like many engines it has experienced many upgrades and rebuilds, and this is how it looked in the mid-1950's. The class was withdrawn from service in the early 1960's. The engine on the right is "4468 Mallard", a Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive. Built in 1938, Mallard holds the world speed record for steam locomotives of 125.88 mph. It was withdrawn in 1963 after almost 1.5 million miles of service. Mallard went through several redesigns and liveries which saw it with streamlined 'skirts' over it's wheels, twin tenders and double funnels. It is currently on display at the National Railway Museum in York.

Flamborough Lifeboat 1971

In my last post I mentioned that I was excited about a new drawing I was working on, well this is it.
A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a black and white photograph of the Flamborough Lifeboat leaving Bridlington Harbour in 1971. I had recently picked up my pencils and was working on a drawing of a pair of dogs and was enjoying being back at my drawing board. Something about this picture sparked an enthusiasm in me that I don't think I've experienced before and I just knew I had to draw it. I sent an email to the photographer, Paul Berriff and sought his permissions for me to use his photograph, which he gladly gave.

I used artistic licence to remove a harbour wall that occupied the left quarter of the original photo as I wanted to emphasise the isolation and peril that these brave men find themselves in whenever they go out in stormy weather. Somehow the harbour wall gave the impression they were still in a safe haven. As a result of this decision the waves on the left are somewhat invented, but I think they add to the overall mood of the scene and increase the drama.

I can't remember a time when I've been so excited about doing a drawing and to say I was buzzing is an understatement. I think I may do another of these in the not too distant future .... I just have so many other things I'm anxious to try.

For anyone interested I have put a Work In Progress page on my main website showing the various stages.

New year, new beginnings

Happy New Year to all my blogging friends. ;-)

For me, 2014 wasn't a great year. It started with me packing up my parents belongings and selling their home of nearly 50 years, helping them to move away from the town they've lived in for almost all of their 68 years of marriage. They now live 130 miles away with my sister, and whilst that has been the best result for them, it has been difficult for all concerned .... and I miss having them nearby. They have both had periods of illness that involved many journeys up and down the motorway visiting them and providing support to my sister. Sadly Dad passed away in October. He was 96 and suffering with Alzheimers, so in many ways it was a blessing I think. Mum has had more than her fair share of problems but, at this time, she is doing very well.

My art will never be more important to me than family and so it has been on the back burner. There have been periods during the year where I've found myself with the time to pick up my brushes or pencils, but I just haven't been able to get excited about painting or drawing anything. Sure, I've tried, and there have been times when I've made a determined effort to get back into my art, back into blogging, and back into following what the rest of you are doing. But those times have been very short-lived.

Just before Christmas my aunt, during a brief pre-Christmas visit, saw the pencil portrait of my two dogs hanging on the wall of my lounge and asked if I'd drawn it. When I said I had she wasted no time in asking me if I'd do a similar drawing of her daughter-in-law's two dogs. Though she wanted to give the drawing as a Christmas gift, she wasn't concerned if it wasn't ready in time. With some trepidation, I agreed.

My cousin, a co-conspirator, sent me a number of reference photo's and I set to work just before Christmas, finishing the drawing around the New Year. On Sunday we all went out for a family meal and the drawing was handed over. The reaction was out of this world and I couldn't be more pleased with the way the portrait was received.

As I drew the dogs I felt myself buzzing .... enjoying every moment .... and thinking about what to draw next. Many times I've been asked if I have made any New Years resolutions and I always say "No", because I don't do that. However, something inside me is telling me that 2014 has finished and that 2015 is going to be a much better year. And so it is that as soon as the dog portrait was finished I put a clean sheet of paper on my drawing board and started the next one. It's my most ambitious yet ... I'm buzzing with excitement .... loving every minute of it .... and it's almost finished.

I think 2015 might bring me renewed enthusiasm for my art and I hope it brings you whatever you're wishing for too. 

Forth Rail Bridge

I've often thought of drawing the Forth Rail Bridge but never seemed to get round to it. When I saw a photograph taken by my good friend Ingrid Ormestad on a misty, murky day I was intrigued at the way the bridge gradually faded away into the distance and appreciated the challenge in trying to capture that with pencil. This was drawn on Smooth Bristol Board. I know a lot of artists swear by it but I wasn't that impressed. I prefer more of a tooth but I felt the smooth surface was essential given the amount of detail. I think I need to try a few other smooth-surface papers.

I actually finished this drawing about three weeks ago but, just at that time, my 96-year old father became poorly. A week later, on October 12th, he passed away. Apart from the last couple of years as Alzheimers slowly started to take him from us, he has had a good life, being married to my mother for 68-years.

Now that my easel is empty and things are slowly returning back to normal, whatever that is, I'm thinking that my next serious drawing should be a portrait of Dad. Watch this space!!