I’ll Scribble Anywhere, Me.

I know I bang on about artists getting out in public and be seen doing art, but that’s because I feel really strongly about it. The visual arts have been getting a bad press in recent years. They’re seen, often justifiably, as elitist and obscure and this is because a small number of artists whoContinue reading “I’ll Scribble Anywhere, Me.”

Posing at Grand Central Station

  I take my sketchbook travelling with me. I haven’t always done so, I used to take photos but I ended up with loads of images that I never looked at, especially after I started using a digital camera. Sketching takes me longer than snapping so I have to stop and immerse myself in theContinue reading “Posing at Grand Central Station”

Speedy Sketches With Seconds To Spare.

I carry a little sketchbook with me at all times [even in the bath lol] and it’s good discipline to take it out and sketch whatever is in front of you, at random. It means that you can’t be too precious about what you’re drawing and also you have to capture the essence of theContinue reading “Speedy Sketches With Seconds To Spare.”

Jeeps Up The Karakorams

  About 4 years ago we visited Pakistan, an amazing country, and travelled around in a minibus. We did an incredible 2 day trip up the Karakoram Highway, from Islamabad to the North East mountain region – Pakistani Kashmir. We managed to avoid altitude sickness because our journey took so long, we became acclimatised asContinue reading “Jeeps Up The Karakorams”

Another Drawing On Another Train

  I love trains and I love drawing on them. People are usually very respectful and watch over your shoulder but don’t disturb you. It’s something to occupy yourself on the London tube because nobody ever talks to anyone else, unless they’re foreign – that is, from outside London. I don’t know why the LondonContinue reading “Another Drawing On Another Train”

Wherever I Lay My Hat

  I try to sketch every day – don’t always succeed unfortunately but carrying a sketchbook and a packet of drawing pens in my bag helps to motivate me. I think it’s important to just get on with it and not worry too much about what it is you’re drawing. It may not be theContinue reading “Wherever I Lay My Hat”

Drawing Through A Window Darkly

I always carry a sketchbook and I’m ready to take any opportunity for a quick sketch. I was sitting in a restaurant in Berlin with a group of artists a couple of winters back. It was freezing – literally 20C, and we were eating, drinking and chatting. Jane was gazing out the window into theContinue reading “Drawing Through A Window Darkly”

Drawing A Postcard From America.

When I’ve visited New York City I’ve spend a lot of time hanging out and sketching at Grand Central Station. It’s a gorgeous building and there’s a vast crowd of people moving through it and lots of opportunities for sketching. There were always a lot of apparently homeless people there, getting their heads down inContinue reading “Drawing A Postcard From America.”

Big Drawing, Little Drawing.

Last week I went to the opening of Mary-Ann Kokoska’s fabulous exhibition ‘Drawing: Land and Sky’, featuring her HUGE three-dimensional drawing installations based on the vast landscape and wild weather of Colorado USA, where she lives and teaches. Her drawings are room sized and overwhelm the viewer with their vastness and intensity. This floor toContinue reading “Big Drawing, Little Drawing.”

Rickety Stairs and Giant Mountains.

  Travelling across Pakistan in a minibus 4 years ago along the Karakoram Highway, we stopped in Kohistan for lunch and a cup of tea. The ‘cafe’ was an ancient wooden building with wobbly rickety stairs on the outside leading to the flat roof. It was unbearably hot inside the dark little shack so weContinue reading “Rickety Stairs and Giant Mountains.”