Contre jours

Thumbing through a back issue of the SAA's magazine "Paint" I came across an article by Paul Apps in which he explained how he did a contre-jour painting in oils of Venice. Contre jours simply means "into the light" and although this is something I've done in photography, it is something I've never attempted with my art.  I was very interested in the article and the evocative descriptions of the intense light on the water but tossed it to one side as I don't do oils.

However, the image stayed in my mind especially the bright highlights on the water and the muted, almost non-existent colours of the city behind, and eventually I mused "why does it have to be in oils .... why not graphite?". In my opinion, graphite is underrated and underused for landscape and seascape work so I decided I'd have-a-go and see what I could make of it.

I used artistic licence to darken the sky considerably from the light, twilit sky in the reference photo, and it's been necessary to darken the water too, in order to make those highlights sing. The end result gives a much darker picture but I'd like to think it's captured the atmosphere of a day drawing to its close.

This probably sounds like a very silly thing to say, but while making this picture I felt less as if I was drawing and more as if I was 'painting with pencil'. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment.

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

Stormy Sea

During a recent spell away looking after my elderly parents I fancied doing some art but wanted something I could pick up and put down every few minutes. I didn't want to get bogged down in detail so thought of subjects that didn't need any accuracy. I decided to try my hand at drawing a rough sea and waves crashing against the rocks. The reference photo I found using Google contained some buildings but, to avoid copyright issues and to keep things simple, I felt I could easily leave them out.

Longnor Market Hall

When on holiday in the Peak District last year we stayed near the sleepy little village of Longnor. In the centre of the village is a cobbled square and amongst the buildings surrounding the square stands this fabulous Grade 2 Listed building which was once the Market Hall. These days the Hall is a Craft Centre and Coffee Shop and if you're ever in the area it is well worth dropping in.

The last time I drew buildings it was of Robin Hoods Bay and I drew every detail right to the edge of the paper, leaving no white space (apart from sky). Somehow I think that made it artistically unappealing, probably because it was hard to see a focal point. So this time I have isolated the Hall from it's surroundings. I also decided not to use a ruler or straight edge and although I'm not unhappy with the straightness of my lines, a building such as this has razor sharp edges and that doesn't come across in this drawing.

One problem I had was of parked cars. I took a photo of the Hall with the intention of drawing it one day, but I couldn't get a car-free shot from anywhere. My photo was a fine reference for everything above 5-foot from the ground, but below that it was close to useless. However, I resorted to using Google Streetview to give me alternative views from different angles and despite the fact that it too contained unwanted cars, I was able to piece things together reasonably well.

It seems as if it's been a very long while since I last used my pencils for a serious drawing, and I really enjoyed doing this one. I think I may tackle one or two other buildings in this way.

Ooops!!

I drew a mirror for a current project in my art forum but dropped it putting it in the scanner. lol.

A couple of days ago, on the 70th Anniversary of D-Day, I felt the urge to draw my own tribute to those who took part and made the ultimate sacrifice. My father went across 3 days after the main invasion but thankfully he came home ... so many didn't. It's a simple drawing and didn't take very long, but it was something I needed to do.

Tess and Sally

Back in 2006 I attempted a double portrait of my 2 dogs. I had owned them at different times, first Sally thoughout the 70's and 80's (she died in 1987) and then Tess from 1987 through to 2003. Sally was a joyful Jack Russell and a lot of fun. She became very protective of my daughter when she was born in '78, so much so that one day, as we were walking through a local woodland, a large Red Setter came lumbering directly towards my daughter who was only toddling at that stage, and Sally sprinted in front of the Setter and threw herself bodily into the large dogs throat. The Setter turned and scurried away.

Tess was a troubled Collie/Whippet cross that we found at a rescue centre. Her heavily pregnant mother had been found abandoned in a ditch and close to death. The mother didn't survive but the rescue centre managed to save Tess and her 6 brothers and sisters before she died. Tess was a seriously traumatised animal who shook with fear whenever a man approached and who curled into a trembling ball at the sound of a chain. Some months after bringing her home we happened to bump into someone who had taken one of Tess's brothers and they reported the exact same traumatised behaviour. Though it took many patient years, Tess eventually put her fears behind her and developed the most gentle caring nature.

But back to the portrait. It was one of my earlier pencil pieces and I hadn't discovered the art of blending, or even proper shading. Still, I was very pleased with what I achieved as the portraits looked like the dogs in question and the framed picture has been hanging in my lounge ever since. However, just lately I've been looking at it and thinking it's really not that good ... or at least, I felt I should have done better. And in the end curiosity got the better of me and I just had to have another go at it.

One of the main objectives of my web site and this blog, is to encourage beginners to have a go, and to enjoy the art journey. And one of the things I always say to beginners is keep all of your work so that you can look back in the future and see how much progress you've made. For that reason I display BOTH of my portraits together. The differences are very noticeable and the message is very clear .... though we may not always feel as if we are making progress, as long as we're drawing or painting, progress IS being made.

Looking back at old work shows us how far we have come, but doing the same picture again is even more revealing .... and even more rewarding.

Merry Xmas

It has been far too long since I last posted on my blog, and even longer since I spent any time visiting the blogs of my friends here in in blogland. As we all know, life sometimes has a habit of getting in the way. But I couldn't let Xmas pass without getting in here to send my very best wishes to you all.

The painting above is one I copied (for my own amusement and pleasure) from a Xmas card I received this year. For quite a long time I have been wanting to find a subject that would allow me to work again with watercolour and pencil, and I really liked the opportunity this scene provided. It's all a bit rushed, especially the buildings and background trees, but I like the way the graphite background has pushed the Robin, Holly and Post box to the front. I will definitely being doing more of this mixed media combination.

Though very busy I have been keeping my hand in with occasional small sketches. As you know I really like working with pen and soluble ink, and loose watery sketches like this one of a small church surrounded by fir trees was great fun to do and only took a few minutes. This was using a new Rotring ArtPen which was a birthday present back in October, and I really liked the way it flowed over the paper. I also received a set of Carbon Pencils which I haven't yet been able to do a lot with but I believe they can work quite well with water to, so I'm looking forward to playing with them in due course.

A few weeks ago I painted this Fairy for one of the Painting Projects in my Art Forum. This was something completely different for me as I studiously avoid painting people. That's something that I really must address and when I'm able to get back into my art properly I think 'people' must be high on my agenda of things to paint. It's too early yet to be thinking of New Years Resolutions but when we get to that point this may be a very good subject to put near the top of my Resolutions list.

On the other hand, I'm hoping good ol' Santa will bring me a new Macro lens for my camera. I have a page on my web site showing the flowers in my garden during every month of the year. The present photo's are passable but I'd really like to improve on them and then paint them. I quite fancy doing more floral work. Hey, if we were living in the sixties I could do paintings of the Flower People and kill two birds with one stone. lol.

Finally a word about 'motivation'. I have none. Lifes little tests have a way of knocking the stuffing out of us and robbing us of what inspiration and motivation we may have once had. I have recently come to realise that when I say "I haven't got time" I really mean "I don't feel like it". That has to change and I am determined that it will change.

I wish you all the very best Christmas you can have and, if I don't see you before, a very Happy and Peaceful New Year.

Henry

Though lacking the time to do very much art, it's very important to me that I try to keep things ticking over in my forum. It's only a small group so it's all too easy for discussions to dry up and for people to drift away. Regrettably, since I promote it as a forum for beginners that has a tendency to stop accomplished artists joining in. I say 'regrettably' because accomplished artists have so much to offer beginners by way of WIP's and simply sharing hints and tips about technique. To that end I frequently set painting and drawing challenges to try and drag beginners out of their comfort zones.

The most recent drawing challenge is of a wooden duck called "Henry". The challenge was to make him look wooden and varnished. This is my effort and although it only took a couple of hours, it was nice to be working with my pencils again.

A few weeks ago we spent a few days in the Peak District and the nearest village to where we were staying was called Longnor. On our first morning we went for a short walk round the village exploring the pathways and  narrow alleyways between the old stone buildings. It's an enchanting place full of character. One view in particular, of the church behind old stone houses, caught my attention and I would have loved to have pulled out my sketchpad and pen there and then. As it was I contented myself with a photo and the promise to myself that I'd tackle it back at home. For a bit of fun the other day I pulled the photo up onto my computer screen and tackled the sketch as if I was there in the village. It only took 10 minutes, if that, but I love this technique of washing over non-permanent ink with a wet brush.

Horse and Carriage

First of all, an apology to my fellow bloggers. I just haven't been able to get round all of your blogs of late due to family commitments. Following a recent illness and a few days in hospital, my elderly parents (87 and 94) have reached the stage where they can no longer manage to live in their rather large (for them) 2-storey house. So I am heavily involved in driving across town every day to deal with the things they can't manage and I'm also house-hunting to try and get them a smaller bungalow close to where I live. I'm as enthusiastic as ever to look at your creations and I'll get to your sites as and when I'm able.

Wanting to continue with my art but seriously lacking time, a couple of weeks ago I decided to start a new pencil drawing because I knew this would be something I could work on a few minutes at a time as and when opportunities presented. And this is what I've been working on ......

If any of you have ever visited Cockington, in Torbay I know you will have seen this local horse and carriage. It actually provides a valuable service as it is a fully licensed Horsedrawn Hackney Carriage and offers a taxi service from the seafront in the nearby town of Torquay, along the country lanes to the Blacksmith's Forge in Cockington village. 

I underestimated the amount of detail in the carriage and chose A4 paper (Daler Rowney Heavyweight paper 130lb 11" x 8"). I'm thinking it might be nice to do the drawing again but much larger and I'm contemplating doing a series involving different carriages. In readiness I intend to research carriages and try and identify this one but if any of you know what type of carriage it is please let me know.

Double Portrait

Some time ago, around the middle of November, my very dear friend Ingrid (Ingrid Ormestad Art) asked me how I would feel about drawing a pencil portrait of her husbands sister and brother-in-law, Caroline and Ian. Caroline had sadly passed away some weeks earlier and this was to be a gift for Ian. I was honoured to be asked, and accepted with much delight, but I do confess to being somewhat apprehensive.

I knew I wanted to work on this drawing slowly, over time, and without frequent breaks away from it. Knowing what a crazy month December is, I decided not to touch it until the new year. Thankfully Ingrid was happy for me to do it in my own time and that helped a lot.

About two weeks ago I picked up the reference photo, sharpened my pencil and laid out a blank sheet of paper. As I progressed I took many Work In Progress photo's so that I could show the various stages to my forum members. I won't bore all of my fellow bloggers with them but if anyone would like to see them, and their accompanying explanations, they can be seen here. Work-In-Progress

Although not everything went as well as I would have liked, as you'll see in the WIP, I can't remember the last time I was so content with my art. Sitting at my desk with my favourite music playing and my mind totally absorbed in the movement of my pencil, I was in seventh heaven. The frustrations of trying to control watercolours often drive me to despair but a few minutes with my pencils and those frustrations just melted away.

I have been struggling with my art for some time, especially watercolours, and my confidence has been taking a few knocks, but this project was just what the doctor ordered.

Size matters.

In my art forum we have a number of projects going on for us all to join in with. I haven't had a lot of time for my art over the past few weeks but found myself with the best part of an hour available so I looked at the challenges to see what I could do.

The result is this quick sketch of Robin Hoods Bay on the Yorkshire coast. I'm the first to admit that it's not the best drawing I've ever done.

HOWEVER ....

What I AM pleased about is that the topic I chose to do was "Small". This sketch is only 4cm x 3cm (approximately 1½" x 1"). I've never drawn so small before but found it much easier than I'd expected. Stating the obvious, keeping the pencil sharp was essential (understatement). Under normal circumstances we have to reduce our images to get them online but this time I've had to enlarge it. LOL.

I show the sketch here with some postage stamps just to put it into perspective.

This was a fabulous practice exercise and was great fun. I shall be doing more if these miniatures.

Things to come?

I had finished breakfast a short while ago and crossed to the window of my 367th floor apartment. The aircab was approaching and would soon park on my landing bay. I had packed my case the night before and was almost ready to leave for sunnier climes, but I just needed this last painting to be produced. 

During an idle moment I had imagined what is probably the finest landscape I've ever envisaged. It's beauty is nothing short of breathtaking. As soon as I realised what an outstanding image had developed in my mind I summoned MICRA (Mental Image Capture and Replication Artistry) to process my thoughts and create the painting. The client I have in mind for this piece is a lover of old English oils, so I elected to have MICRA emulate the style of Constable. I've often wondered about the way paintings used to be produced and I can't help but think that, although it was a hugely messy and often hit and miss process, it must have been extremely rewarding when a painting came together as intended.


LOL .... Forgive my inane ramblings. The truth is I treated myself to a new Rotring Rapid Pro mechanical pencil and I couldn't wait to try it. I made a couple of random shapes to see how it felt in my hand, and then I tried a bit of shading to see how well I could control tonal values. Then a few more shapes .... then some more shading ... and one thing just led to another. Had great fun!!! The pencil? Love it!!!

On another matter, I am in the process of reorganising my garage and would like to tell you about some future projects. I have come across a bag of Tile offcuts from when I had my bathroom done. I kept them so I could have a go at a mosaic or two. I've also found some large sheets of Hardboard that used to be the backing to a wardrobe AND a few dozen tins of paint that are the remnants left over from various room redecorations. All the colours are wrong for painting anything serious but I think I'm going to spend this winter in my garage having an absolute ball!!!

OAP on Board!!

Last Sunday was my 65th Birthday. Yippee .... I once again have a source of income. When I retired early last April I was unable to start collecting my retirement pension so I've been one of the countries 2.53million unemployed, and technically NOT a pensioner. Well now I am, and after 46 years continuous employment during which my longest absence was 2 weeks a few years ago following surgery on my shoulder, I am very proud of my long and conscientious work record. I've never ever taken a 'sickie' ... not one. Hey, you've all seen those car stickers that say "Child on board", well my daughter sent me one that says "OAP on board" ... I love it!!! She has a great sense of humour and also sent me a T-shirt with the words  "I don't want to .... I don't have to ... You can't make me ... I'm retired".

I had lots of great presents and as a special treat my wife booked us into a converted barn on a farm in the Cotswolds, near Broadway. Though I was away on holiday, I didn't spend a huge amount of time painting/drawing as we went out everyday to see places of interest, and when we arrived back at the 'barn' we were staying in, I used the time to catch up with a bit of reading and watching some DVD's I'd received as presents. Still, I did manage a little art, and I'd like to share it with you.

One of my presents was a small set of Faber-Castell PITT artist pens containing Sepia ink. I was keen to try them so sketched a collection of pots and containers sitting beneath one of the windows. Pen & Wash is one of my favourite mediums and I haven't held a brush for quite a while, so it felt really good once I'd finished the sketching and started to apply some colour. It really wouldn't have mattered how this one turned out as I was just enjoying the process to the max, but as it happens, it turned out quite well and I'm really, really happy with it.

On Monday we went to Tewkesbury. I had heard tell of "the hidden charms along narrow alleyways where the eaves of crooked timber buildings nearly touch". I had visions of streets like the famous "Shambles" in York. Disappointingly, the claims are either grossly exaggerated or we failed to find them. But we did find the famous Abbey only for it to start raining just as we pulled into the Car Park. As we sat in the car waiting for the rain to finish, which it didn't, I did this sketch in my Moleskine. The ex-accountant in me won't let me discard my Moleskine until it's full, but I may have to give in and toss it ... I really can't get on with it.

Tuesday found us visiting the nearby village of Broadway and the famous Broadway Tower that sits high on the surrounding hills. The tower is an odd shape having an hexagonal core flanked by 3 cylindrical towers (yeh, I know, I've only draw two - lol). I took lots of photo's from the top of the tower and was amazed to discover that, on a clear day, some 16 different counties can be seen over a distance of 62 miles. I started the sketch standing in the field at the tower but finished it later back at 'the barn'. I found the Moleskine resisted my every attempt to achieve a smooth graduation of tones and it was hard to get the graphite to take once a couple of good layers had been laid.

Another pressie was an Introductory set of 10 tubes of Windsor & Newton Designers Gouache and I'm waiting until I am able to have a long and uninterrupted session before opening them.

With some DIY tools, a set of Olympic stamps for my collection and a bottle of my favourite Talisker Whisky, I've been very well treated and consider myself very, very fortunate. What's more, I can now apply for my free bus pass. lol.

Ahhhhhhh!!

It's been quite a few weeks but I'm nearly finished with my redecorating. Just had to spend a few minutes with my sketchbook ...... and my chair. ;-)

The Grey Lady

Here is a drawing I did for a bit of fun. I took it from a photograph sent to me by a good friend who saw this street performer at the Edinburgh Festival. The performer was dressed all in grey, including grey make-up on her face, and it was that monochrome appearance that appealed to me from a drawing point of view. The shape of this lady was entirely defined by shadows, highlights and textures.

We are not certain, but we believe the street performer was portraying "The Grey Lady" who haunts the family chapel at Glamis Castle. She is said to be the spirit of Lady Janet Douglas who was burned at the stake as a witch on Castle Hill, Edinburgh in 1537. She was accused of plotting to poison the King but the charges were likely fabricated for political reasons. Allegedly, the ghost has been seen quite recently by a number of witnesses.

I'm not entirely convinced by this as the period dress doesn't really suggest 16th century to me, but since it's only a bit of fun, it's as good an explanation as any other.

Rose

A week ago I sat down to draw a Rose. I wanted to try and get some nice smooth blends so looked for the smoothest paper I have. What a mistake that was! I chose Extra Smooth Surface Bristol Board (250 gsm) thinking it would 'be the business'. I wanted to build up my tones gradually so started light with a hard (5H) pencil. All was well until I started to blend, and then I found the tortillons were leaving unpleasant streaks on the paper rather than giving a smooth graduation of tone. I switched to paper-based stumps but they were just as bad. I persevered, building up tones with more graphite, switching to a softer (H) pencil, and blending, blending, blending. The end result was very disappointing ... and I was disappointed in my own efforts because I've never been a workman who blames his tools.

To try and salvage the drawing, I went over it all again with softer (2B; 4B) pencils and eventually, after a very many hours and much toil, achieved a result that was 'passable'. But it was bothering me that I'd had so much trouble so I just had to try again. I was unsure if the problem was the paper, the pencils, the blenders or me, I didn't want to change everything or I'd never answer the question. I've always felt happy with the pencils, the blenders have always worked before, and I didn't want to change 'me' or I'd have missed the experience, so I looked for a different paper. This time I chose Daler Rowney Heavyweight (220gsm).

Apart from the change of paper, I approached the whole thing as I did first time around ... but what a difference. The tones built up gradually, as planned, and the blending was smooth and delicate. I felt in control again and things were happening the way I wanted them to.

I can only conclude that the Extra Smooth Bristol Board just doesn't have enough tooth for this sort of work ... and if I'm wrong please don't tell me 'cause I'm finally feeling happy again. ;-)

More Bridges

The good weather coupled with getting caught up with a few things, has allowed me to get out for another walk and some more plein air sketching. This time I went to some local lakes popular with the local angling community. The walk took me through woodland, along open paths alongside the lakes, past fields of hay so tall it must surely be ready for cropping, and past many families of ducks clearly not impressed at my ambling through their territory.

The walk also took me over some small wooden footbridges. One was made of sawn timbers but was surprisingly ornate in it's construction and looked almost out of place out in the middle of an overgrown woodland track. It had seen better days and many of the floor boards were showing signs of rot and I wonder how long it will be before someone puts their foot through it. I was intrigued by is diagonal design, stepping onto it from the side, and off from the opposite side.

Others bridges were less fussy and were nothing more than a few planks nailed together without any form of hand rail. They looked barely capable of holding a persons weight. It is most concerning because if someone were to fall from the bridge they would find themselves immersed in the fast flowing stream right up to their ankles. But I shouldn't joke. This one in particular crossed a stream that could easily have been stepped over, but the ramp up to it tells me it is there to make the area wheelchair-friendly and hats off to the land owners for making the lakes accessible to all.

I decided to set up under the shade of some trees looking up the hill towards Castle Ashby Manor and it's church. The manor is a typical 16th century manor house and was seat to the Marquess of Northampton.

From a technical point of view, I really struggle sketching while standing. Both bridges were done this way. I could have set up my stool but I wanted to try again while standing as it's definitely something I'm going to have to work at. I found the painting easier than last time. Not that I did any better but I felt a little more at ease and a little more in control of what I was doing. I do find it hard to concentrate on colour mixing and tonal values while out 'in the field', but I had a general feeling of 'doing better'. While sketching the ornate bridge a couple appeared out of the woods and made their way across the bridge. I stood my ground and carried on sketching ... and that is progress indeed.

Can't wait for my next walk.  :-)

Robin Hoods Bay

Last year, when on holiday in Yorkshire, we were based just a couple of miles from Robin Hoods Bay, which is a quaint little fishing village built into the side of the cliffs. The first record of the village was in the 16th century and there is no evidence whatsoever to link the village with Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest. In the 18th century it was reportedly the busiest smuggling village on the coast of Yorkshire due to it's natural isolation. Wandering through the narrow alleys between the cottages conjured up a great sense of smugglers and hidden contraband. By the middle of the 19th century a thriving fishing industry existed.

King Street, Robin Hood's Bay - Graphite

We had to leave the car at the top of the cliffs and walk down the steep hill into the village.  I wandered through the narrow alleyways between the buildings, firing my camera almost continuously ... every turn revealed a new photo opportunity. One such alleyway brought me out at the top of King Street, just up from "Ye Dolphin" Inn. I couldn't figure out why the Inn sign had a painting of a galleon on it, rather than a Dolphin and I guess that will remain one of life's mysteries.

I chose Winsor & Newton Medium Surface Cartridge paper (130 gsm) because it has a strong grain when used with graphite and I thought that would help with the textures of the old buildings. It made it harder to get clean, sharp lines, but the tooth in the paper made the darks easier to achieve. I'm quite pleased with the effect as I think it really adds to the Olde Worlde scene.

Obviously I used artistic licence to omit various 21st century eye-sores such as Wheelie Bins, Television Aerials, roof lights and telephone cables. But one way in which 21st century did help was with one of the buildings which was badly obscured on my reference photo by a large "For Sale" sign. I was delighted to be able to use Google Street View to see what was there. lol.

Bridges and Lock Gates

As my regular followers will know, a while ago I decided I wanted to get out into the countryside and paint en plein air. I did this to some extent with my friend Ingrid when she came to visit a few weeks ago but the weather wasn't very kind to us. Anyway, I've bought myself a backpack specifically for the purpose and the other day I loaded it with sketch pads, paint pads, pens, pencils paints, small folding stool, bottle of water, etc, and headed out into the countryside. Eventually I want to do some long walks but for now I'll keep it local.

The first thing I headed for was a series of bridges near here called The Causeway. They look olde worlde as you drive over them and I felt sure they would make a great subject from down near the river but from that position they actually looked quite ugly being mainly industrial bricks and concrete slabs with a 'decorative' stone wall on top. It was disappointing but I spent about 20 minutes doing this pencil sketch, just for the practice.

From there I headed off along the river bank and after crossing a footbridge and following a narrow trail for a while, I finally came upon these lock gates. This looked like the perfect place to paint so I wasted no time getting set up. I have to say, painting outdoors with the pad on your knee and the paints on the floor, was far from perfect. The sun was really hot and the paint was drying as soon as it hit the paper. I found it hard to be too precise and I've really got to learn to be less detailed when painting outdoors. But it was a great experience and I enjoyed every minute.

Before heading home I pushed through a narrow overgrown path to see what was there for another day and came across another branch of the river next to a Hay field. In the distance I could see what I knew to be the buildings of a local boatyard. I shall come back to this spot another time to paint the scene but for now I spent 10 minutes doing a pen sketch.

Though none of this is what you'd call 'great art', it was great fun. I feel that my art will benefit enormously from making myself do this regularly because painting/sketching en plein air is certainly different from painting/drawing at my desk from a photo. I can't wait for my next opportunity.

Fuchsia "Winston Churchill"

This painting just had to happen one day. I have several hobbies one of which is growing Fuchsia's, and I have about 300 plants covering about 60 varieties. I have a number of favourites but one that has been right at the top of the list for a long time is called "Winston Churchill". Why it was named after him I'll never know because it doesn't typify my understanding of the man. This flower has a very frilly double bloom and is far from hardy, neither quality being very Churchillian. 

Not only do I love this plant but Churchill is my all time favourite hero. As some of you may know, another of my hobbies is photography, so you can imagine just how many fuchsia photo's I have. So it just seemed natural that sooner or later my favourite fuchsia, named after my hero, and photographed by me a zillion times, should make it's way onto my art easel. 


This painting provided a number of challenges and new experiences. It is the first 'serious' painting I've done with both my new Sceptre Gold brushes and using Arches paper. While the painting experience was great with both brushes and paper performing beyond my expectations, the drawing experience was far from good. Drawing a relatively small portrait on a very rough paper like Arches was far from easy and I can't believe I didn't think about this before I started. The paper was very scratchy under the pencil and any form of serious blending was next to impossible. Still, a reasonable likeness was achieved, and I'm pleased about that.

If any of you are interested in seeing some of my flower photo's there is a small slideshow in the sidebar, but I also have a web page on my site showing flowers in my garden from every month of the year. A year in my garden. And for anyone interested in growing Fuchsia's I will soon be adding a page about training Standards to the ones about Taking Cuttings, keeping them bushy and over-wintering.

Unknown Knight

Well, I'm sure someone knows who he is, but I don't.

When my wife and I stayed at Bodelwyddan Castle in North Wales some weeks ago, I spent many hours wandering around the castle grounds and formal gardens taking hundreds of photo's as reference material for future drawings and paintings. One of the features I discovered was this statue of a Knight set into an alcove in the East wall of the castle. Despite asking a few people at the time, and checking online since, I've failed to learn the identity of this guy.

I run various painting and drawing projects in my art forum, the primary aim of which is to encourage, help and challenge beginners. I chose this chappy for the most recent drawing project as I thought it might be a good way to tempt people who don't normally draw people, to draw a person without really drawing a person, if you know what I mean. LOL. Anyway, this was my effort and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.