I draw people and occasionally, at a push, animals but I don’t do nature. I’ve just finished Martin Gayford’s book about his conversationas with David Hockney and he discusses his new-ish paintings from the countryside surrounding his home in the north of England, so I thought I should break out of my comfort zone andContinue reading “I Don’t Do Nature”
Tag Archives: art
Saturday Night Curry
Went for a Saturday Night Curry with a friend and his little girl, to celebrate his birthday. Best birthday present if you ask me. The food always takes a while at The Vojon, but it’s worth the wait because it’s lovely. They take good care of children too. I sketched the little one peeking fromContinue reading “Saturday Night Curry”
A Lovely Line [female nude]
I had a nice life drawing in my sketchbook and decided to take it a stage further into a fully worked-up drawing and then, eventually, into a full-colour reduction monotype. I stretched a sheet of Bockingford 250gsm and gave it a couple of coats of rabbit skin glue, then washes of acrylic paint in yellowContinue reading “A Lovely Line [female nude]”
Man In A Black Square
Some time ago I took some digital photos from my second floor studio window, looking down on the people walking past below. I worked them up into drawings and I’ve been gradually cutting them into blocks for printing. I’m planning to do a series of nine block prints, all square and the same size, withContinue reading “Man In A Black Square”
Street Scribbling
Getting a bit stir crazy in the studio today so I went out into the street for ten minutes or so mid-afternoon and did some speed scribbling of passersby. I don’t try to hide but people rarely seem to notice me. The guy on the top right, who was swigging from a can of beer,Continue reading “Street Scribbling”
Drawings For A Dead Biker
There’s an odd little church nearby for born-again-bikers; the pastor and church members are outlaw bikers who have converted to Christianity and today they held a funeral for one of their members. There were hundreds of motorbikes, some really gorgeous ones – Triumphs, Harleys, a few vintage and everyone turned up in full colours asContinue reading “Drawings For A Dead Biker”
Stuff Behind My Eyes
Had a day away from the studio today to catch up on admin and do things I’d been putting off for a while, like getting an eye test. I’ve been squinting for a good while now and need new specs so finally got round to it today. I like the bit when the optician shinesContinue reading “Stuff Behind My Eyes”
Waiting For The Torch
We spent a happy couple of hours in our friend’s penthouse flat this afternoon, watching the ‘Olympic Torch’ parade go by. I did a couple of quick sketches of the street below while we waited. I normally draw a single figure so it’s good practice to draw groups, especially from a very high vantage point.Continue reading “Waiting For The Torch”
Chalk Nude [parental guidance]
I spend a lot of time doing life drawing and studying anatomy because my practice is figurative and representational, although I take some liberties: I like Egon Schiele, Toulouse-Lautrec, van Gogh and the German Expressionists so taking liberties comes naturally. But now and again I take a BIG liberty and head towards the abstract. ItContinue reading “Chalk Nude [parental guidance]”
A Highly Coloured Man [parental guidance]
Just got back from life drawing at Swansea Print Workshop – went a bit mad with the oil pastels tonight and had a good scribble all over the sketchbook pages before I started drawing the figure. I’ve been doing it a lot recently to break up the intimidating neatness of the plain page. Blank pagesContinue reading “A Highly Coloured Man [parental guidance]”