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.

It's not always about the art

My latest 'plein air' adventure resulted in some fairly poor art, as usual, but that didn't matter in the slightest. I'm rapidly coming to the opinion that the 'art' is secondary to the sheer enjoyment of getting out into the countryside, on foot, ambling along listening to the birds, taking in the fresh air and enjoying the wildlife.

This time I headed to a 'wet' area near here that doubles up as a 'flood plain' receiving all the run-off water from the nearby concrete jungle. I followed a path alongside our main river, and after about a mile found that the river ran alongside a lake with the path being on a narrow strip of land between the river and the lake. It was there that I spotted a small shack under a tree in a field being ploughed by the farmer. I decided this was to be the subject of my painting. I set up my kit just to one side of the path and sat looking out across the river.

After about 15 minutes of sheer bliss and tranquillity on this warm summers day, I became aware of a movement further down the track. When I looked I saw a herd of sheep coming my way. They pretty much filled the width of the strip of land and there were scores more following the advanced party.

Being a 'townie' and never having had anything to do with sheep, or any other animals apart from my pet dogs, I admit to feeling somewhat insecure sitting in the path. So I stood up. I was hoping to make myself look big enough for them not to charge .... or is that Bulls? Anyway, I stood my ground and waited to see what would happen.

I need not have worried because, once they'd approached a little nearer, as if on command from some invisible shepherd, they smartly moved into rows of two.

If this had been a class of school children under the watchful eyes of their teachers I could not have been more impressed.

Most of them walked calmly passed without so much as a glance in my direction, though some were mildly inquisitive and couldn't help try and get a peep at my half-finished painting.

Some looked as if they wanted to say "Good morning" and have a chat.

And after several minutes of watching them stroll passed, still they came. My best estimate, for what it's worth, is that there were something like 100 sheep in all.

But I soon felt at ease with them and returned to my painting, aware that they were steadily passing by just behind me. 

Though feeling more confident now, when one of them suddenly let rip with a loud and rasping "Baaaaah", I jumped a mile and almost spilled my paints. Good job I didn't or this little guy may have received an unexpected make-over.






As I suggested at the beginning, the 'art' that took place that day was not very satisfactory. Within minutes of starting the watercolour I wasn't very pleased with the way it was going. I think we know when something just isn't working. Rather than persevere or worse, start over, I just left it. However, later at home I took a different view and decided to finish it from the reference photo's I'd taken.

And as I walked back along the river path I could see part of a Quarry over some bushes around a bend in the river. I climbed up on a fence for a better view and sat there to do this quick pencil sketch




I'm looking forward to my next walk ... whether I get to paint or not.  ;-)

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. ;-)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

A few days ago I went out for a walk and followed a path that cut through a couple of nearby housing estates before eventually leading out into the countryside along the edge of a Wheat field. After about half an hour I found myself on top of a hill with a lovely view of the next village. I set up my stuff and proceeded to paint. I struggled mixing colours and felt as if I was slapping paint around in a haphazard fashion, so much so that after about 40 minutes I gave up. This wasn't what I'd expected after my last, more successful endeavour ... and the church tower looking more like the Leaning Tower of Pisa didn't help in the slightest.

Disappointed in my painting effort but determined to become more proficient painting en plein air I decided to try again. This time I started with a pen on the assumption that the black pen lines would hold the painting together. I found myself moving the pen around quickly and the result was much more sketchy than I'd intended, but I liked it better than the first and so I headed home.

Later in the day, still feeling disappointed that my first effort hadn't turned out as intended, I downloaded to my computer a reference photo I'd taken of the scene, and set up my easel. This time I felt much more in control. I was happier mixing the colours, and was taking greater care with my brush thinking more about lights and darks. I felt that this painting was working and my earlier disappointments soon started to fade.

This is the first time I've painted the same scene both indoors and out and it has proved a valuable lesson. I've learned that I must not expect 'studio' level results when painting in the field, yet I must somehow try and approach a painting outdoors in the same way as I do when I'm at my easel.

The journey continues. ;-)

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.

Sandsend

Last year we were on holiday on the Yorkshire coast, near Whitby. One day we drove north along the coast road to Staithes, which is an artists paradise comprising twisting alleys amongst fisherman's cottages and a gorgeous small river estuary scattered with small fishing boats. It wasn't possible for me to sketch or paint so my camera turned hot taking scores of photo's. Eventually we found ourselves heading back to our holiday home but decided to pause at Sandsend, where the road turns inland briefly to cross a river before turning back to follow the coast. We enjoyed a short walk on the beach and sat to eat a sandwich mainly because that's the best thing to do with a sandwich. Standing with my back to the sea, I took a photo of where the road crossed the river expecting that I might paint it one day. Today is that day. ;-)

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.

Sharing our art

Last week, my good friend Ingrid (Ingrid Ormestad Art) travelled down from Scotland to spend a week with my wife and I. Ingrid and I promised ourselves lots of art, and that's just what we did. In particular we agreed to get out and about with our brushes and do some plein air painting, something neither of us have done before.

We visited Castle Ashby Gardens, which is where I found the Secret Garden I painted a while ago. The sun was shining wonderfully and we sat in the shade of the Arches in the Italian Garden to sketch. It is a very formal Italian style garden with perfectly manicured hedges and bushes. Ingrid chose pencil to sketch a large Urn, and I chose my soluble ink pen to sketch the Orangery at the far end of the garden. I washed in some shadows using my Aquabrush.

After exploring more area's of the garden, including the Secret Garden which looked just as beautiful as it did the first time I saw it, we found a bench to sit on and attempted some painting. We chose this Urn which was set back in dark shadows. Although I'm happy with the Urn, I wish I hadn't tried to paint the dark background.


On the Wednesday we went to London for the day, mainly to visit the Society of Women Artists annual exhibition in The Mall Galleries. It was a great day that started with the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and ended at Westminster, at the foot of Big Ben. The art exhibition was all we'd expected and it was fascinating looking at so many superb works.

Many of our plein air excursions resulted in us doodling on paper as we discussed painting and drawing techniques and shared idea's. We needn't have gone out to do those things but we just did what we wanted to do at the time, and it was as much fun sharing our methods as it would have been trying to create a new masterpiece. On one occasion, having just set up all our stuff, the heavens opened and the rain fell. We sat in the car until it stopped and then set up again. Not long into our painting, it rained again. My 'masterpiece' got washed from the paper and Ingrid said it looked like a Monet. lol. I may try and finish it because I did take a reference photo before we started.

Not all of our outdoor painting involved travelling. We had several sessions painting and sketching in my garden. One item of garden furniture that received more than it's fair share of our attention was my rusting cast iron Chiminea. Not only did we both paint it and sketch it on more than one occasion, but one evening the three of us sat out until late burning logs and talking.


This was my first art experience in the company of another artist and I have to say I had the best time ever. Exchanging idea's, discussing techniques, looking over each others shoulder and allowing our own shoulder to be looked over, was a very rewarding, informative and satisfying experience. Thank you Ingrid for the best week ever. ;-)

Jack of all trades …

My last several pieces have been in pencil and so I was keen to get back to watercolours. Apart from anything else, I have just treated myself to a new desk easel and 5 new Windsor & Newton Sceptre Gold brushes. But I am somewhat disappointed … not in the new brushes but my own ability.

Recently I found myself waiting for my wife as she attended a funeral and I couldn’t help but kill time (excuse the pun) by sketching the quaint little chapel. The sketch had to be done standing under the shelter of a tree as the wind brought in the beginnings of a shower. (That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it).

Later, at home, I decided to paint the chapel in watercolours. Fortunately I had taken a couple of reference photo’s which I was very pleased about as my sketch really wasn’t good enough to work from. But the resulting painting was not good. Much too wishy-washy, flat and under-defined. I managed to ‘rescue’ it, to some extent, by using a pen which at least brought in some definition and lifted the flatness … a little.

Another day I decided to paint a Lily from a recent photograph I’d taken. I wanted to make an indistinct background so thought I’d do some wet-in-wet. That soon turned into a mess. I lifted the background off and then reapplied it once the paper was dry, but only managed to achieve the same muddy mess as previously. I considered returning my brushes as “not fit for purpose” but thought better of it. lol. These recent, but not uncommon, struggles with the medium are very frustrating and it has me wondering whether I would be better off concentrating on one medium. Many of my blogging friends seem to work regularly in the same style and medium whereas I am frequently switching back and forth … and that can’t help. You know what they say … “Jack of all trades, master of none”. Ok … so I’m making excuses … I’m off to create a masterpiece … in my dreams. LOL.

Not just a flag.

As we all know, this weekend marks the Diamond Jubilee of the reign of our Queen, Elizabeth II. I'm not sure why we are celebrating THIS weekend as she acceded to the throne on 6th February 1952 and was crowned on 2nd June 1953. Hmmm, I'll have to go and do some research. lol.

My own contribution to the public celebrations going on this weekend is very small .... I have erected my Union Jack outside my front door. But that in itself is a very special thing to do. 

My father-in-law was a very proud and principled man. He served his time during World War II as one of the Desert Rats fighting Rommel. He wore a handle-bar moustache more associated with the Air Force; stood upright; walked with his chest out and stomach in; and was a stickler for time. "Time is time boy!!" he would say. I had a great deal of respect for him and was very sad when we lost him after a very long illness in the early 80's. He was the epitammy of Britishness and would have been as proud as anyone this weekend. 

In 1953, in readiness for the young Queens coronation, my father-in-law obtained two Union Jack flags on short poles. He marked that occasion, and many other events since, by hanging his flags out of his bedroom window. One of his flags made it's way to me after his death, and I treasure it. It is old, worn, grubby and to frail to withstand washing, let alone hanging outside in all weathers. But I can't think of a better thing to help celebrate the Queens Jubilee ......

.... except a large glass of my favourite 21-year old Malt Whisky. "Cheers Ma'am".

As a point of interest, on my web site I have a brief explanation as to the origin of the Union Jack for anyone interested.

Sunset over Buttermere

While working on the Daffodil and appreciating the need to push my darks, I found myself recalling a photograph I took a few years ago and just knew I wouldn't rest until I'd attempted to draw it.

It was late one autumn afternoon and we were driving through the Lake District. It had been raining but had stopped you could sense the sun trying to break through the thick heavy storm clouds. The light was beginning to fade as we headed back in the direction of our cabin. As I rounded a corner I saw the most spectacular of views. Most of the landscape was in near silhouette and the setting sun, though still hidden behind a cloud, was breaking through with powerful beams of light shining down on Buttermere Lake. I stopped the car to take a photograph and the atmosphere was magical. The water was still, there was no breeze, there was no sound. A moment later the spectacle had passed.

Daffodil

My Daffodil drawing was only intended as a quickish drawing just to kill an hour. Following the nice comments you all made, I felt inspired to take it stage further and see where it took me. This is the result. In order to make the Daffodil 'glow' in the sunshine, a darkish background was needed and some strong shadows. I think I may have taken it a step too far, and I'll be very interested to hear what you all think.

White Rabbit

I know I'm not alone in this but sometimes I feel like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland .... "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date. No time to say Hello, Goodbye! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!!!". With a number of household and family projects that I've taken on since retiring, and given that it's one of the busiest times for the garden,  I seem to have less time than ever for my art. Still, I am getting things done and enjoying catching up on things that have been left far too long.

My art forum forces me to at least dabble with my brushes as I like to take part in all the projects. I painted my square for the Picture Puzzle. Look at the picture at the top of my side bar called "Making art fun". My square is in the top right hand corner of the picture - the body of the bird hanging off the side of the tree trunk.

I also painted this goose for the Monthly Painting Project.




As a treat for myself, I spent an hour yesterday with my pencils and knocked out this Daffodil. It wasn't intended to be a 'proper drawing', just a bit of fun, but it's turned out reasonable and so I might do a bit more to it ... especially the background.


And these small and quick pictures are all it takes to keep me in touch with my art and to 'scratch the itch'. Anyway, can't stop. I'm late, I'm late ......

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.  

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. ;-)

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. ;-)

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. ;-)

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!!!

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.


  

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.

Boats at Scarborough

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

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. ;-)