July 4th, 2009
If this morning was any indication, today threatened to thunder uncontrollably down hill into what all you cool internet types would recognise as a Big Fat Über-Fail!
Having this week purchased additional gear to make the most of drawing and sketching on-site (as opposed to snapping photographs and sketches then working purely in my “studio”), I [...]
June 29th, 2009
I am sketching at a nearby church late on Sunday morning (see image), and experience an interesting encounter. Some of the dialogue here may be paraphrased but I assure you not exaggerated.
I stand at one side of the gated entrance – the most interesting composition in that particular light – and peek up from my [...]
June 12th, 2009
I had forgotten the challenge of rendering short, fluffy cat fur in pencil!
June 7th, 2009
The latest batch of artworks are up on my flickr and artBlog. The most recent (above) is something of a departure from previous work there, and perhaps might surprise a few regular visitors.
Before becoming wrapped in the world of the web, I earned some of my crust as an illustrator. Mostly for publishing but also [...]
April 15th, 2009
I adore Moleskines. I love them for writing, but I struggle to be satisfied with them for sketching. So the once quiet hunt for the ideal sketchbook recently took a turn for the better.
What’s wrong with Molesknes for sketching? The very uniform and predictable paper – which is either a little too heavy or a [...]
April 14th, 2009
Sometimes the intent fails but the outcome is far more interesting!
A short outing to Weyland’s Smithy (an ancient burial site) yesterday resulted not in great photos of the barrow itself, but what we found when wandering around nearby.
Much of my fail yesterday was due to not spending enough time learning (or rather re-learning) how to [...]
March 12th, 2009
It’s been a while since I’ve put pen to paper several thousand times and come up with a new drawing.
So here are two! Each are 190 mm x 190 mm drawings, pigment ink on acid free cartridge.
See the full versions on my flickr stream by clicking one of the images above. Both will shortly be are [...]
February 6th, 2009
Our 2008 visit to Spain captured our hearts and souls, in particular, for me, the little village of Guadalest. A tourist trap it might be, but there is a sense of longevity, of firm foundations and the taming of a sometimes malevolent landscape.
Guadalest comprises a small, roadside cluster of inns, hotels, restaurants, and tourist shops [...]
October 16th, 2008
A vacation in Dénia, Spain last October may ultimately change our lives – our ambitions for a better quality of life, may result in emigrating to this region near the Eastern Spanish coast.
April 09 will be a revisit to the same town to understand whether this could be a place we might one day settle, and to understand more about its people, the town, and daily life as immigrants in coastal Spain.
The surrounding area has triggered a significant inspiration within me to pick up paintbrushes and watercolours for the first time in many years. A particular mountain castle at Guadalest, is a place I could happily spend the rest of my life trying to capture – it is a magical place.
The drawing of a tugboat above was captured in Dénia harbour, which serves both fishing boats and ferries to and from Ibiza.
October 2nd, 2008
Just a brief dabble with the evil that is watercolour, and one immediately understands that taming it’s wild, watery ways will take a lifetime. However, I recently came to realise that without actually trying, I don’t stand a chance in a dozen lifetimes.
The latest project is a tutorial piece from David Bellamy’s Developing Your Watercolours. [...]
