Virtual Sketch Date - February

'Lake Louise, Canada'

20.5cm x 25.5cm

Gouache on Paper

So it's Virtual Sketch Date time again :o) And a great image by Debbie Later . I really wanted to try something different with this so I cropped it quite extensively, used a restriced palette and added a fancy border/mount. I used gouache paints which I liked, I tried doing a watercolour but just couldn't get the effect I wanted, gouache did as it was told. The mount was a cheap plain one which I marbled at home (not done that for years, lotsa fun). I quite like the result.

The other artists interpretations will be listed on the Virtual Sketch Date site but you also see them on Flickr

Virtual Sketch date - January

'Clementine 1'

21cm x 16cm

Watercolour and Coloured Pencil on Paper

Bit of a tough cookie this month's VSD, or so I thought anyway. This is actually version two, the first I messed the background up but liked the clementine itself. I'm still not really happy with this one but it's ok. There are some really great versions done by the other artists participating, definitely worth checking out, on the VSD blog page (where you can also see the original ref photo by Jeanette Jobson). There's also a Flickr page too.

I had a short lived abstract moment, which was fun and the result is quite attractive I think. I used masking fluid and watercolour. Abstract art doesn't really float my boat but I think it's worth doing something completely different occasionally.

'Clementine 2'

15cm x 12cm

Watercolour on Paper

Catch Up - Oils & Sketchbook

Oil on canvas

5" x 7"

Been having some fun with oil paints recently. Here are two small practice canvases. Clearly I'm no oil painter, so I've been experimenting since I don't really know what I'm doing but in the end I quite like these two pears. I hope to do more paintings in oil, it seems quite forgiving of mistakes, if you mess up you can just go over it later on. My only criticism is the drying time, which I expected, but it takes ages to dry... Which does give you time to do other things in between of course.

'Gargoyle Sketch'
Coloured Pencil in Moleskine Sketchbook

This little gragoyle geezer was a Christmas gift, I think he's great and enjoyed doing this sketch in my Moleskine. He may well crop up again, somewhere...

Moleskine

Moleskine Ear

Graphite Pencil

For Christmas I was lucky enough to get a couple of Moleskine sketchbooks, one regular and one watercolour. Had to get past using that first page, with a pencil drawing of my ear. I wonder what will be in the rest of it...

I've also started on another of my 2009 goals and started oil painting, just a couple of small practice canvases to start with so that I can get a feel for it. It's fun but I can imagine it's going to be quite frustrating, the drying time alone will be a challenge. I've no real idea of what I'm doing, I'm just making it up as I go along. Good fun though...

New Year

'Pencils 2009'

21.5cm x 13cm

Coloured Pencil on Paper

Happy New Year...here's to a great 2009. Thought I'd kick it off with a new coloured pencil drawing. I don't seem to have done a lot of coloured pencil lately but I do like it, although I still find it frustrating at times. I'm still not sure I've found decent papers for this type of work, so I'm using all sorts and hoping for the best. This was one was done on fairly standard cartridge paper, nothing special but it seems to have turned out ok. I think this year I'll try illustration board, I've heard of sanded paper too but I've never seen it here in the UK. Once I've found the right surface I'll happily stick to it, but I think there's a lot more experimenting to be done before then...

Happy Christmas

Work is finished (until Monday!) so I wanted to wish everyone a very happy Christmas, hope you all have a great time.

I've been inspired by Rose Welty to look at some goals for 2009 and to reflect a little on what has occured this year. I only started this blog in July of this year so it has lasted 6 months, which is hopefully a sign I can keep it going for a bit longer at least. Incidentally it was only in the same July that I started to draw again, after a very long break, probably 15 years plus. I've no idea what prompted me back to art but I'm glad I made it eventually, and I've been constantly impressed, inspired and motivated by what I've seen over the internet, in art blogs and personal websites. But there is obviously a way to go, hence the goals for the coming year...

Art Goals For 2009

• Submit a piece to the local art gallery Open Exhibition, if not by Summer then definitely by Winter.
• Use computer time better - browse less!
• Use sketchbooks more.
• Draw and paint outside.
• Try using oils on canvas.
• Draw people, animals, landscapes - get out of the comfort zone.
• Choose a series or theme, experiment with different mediums - might help get through the idea blocks!
• Draw a self portrait.
• Blog - post more often, update profile - get seen by more people!
• Practice coloured pencil technique.
• Get some MOO prints done - give them out...
• Research favourite artists/illustrators and art movements - learn something.

That seems plenty to be going on with, nothing too drastic and all pretty achievable I think. As 2008 draws to a close I'm feeling pretty positive and motivated to continue, I even think I've made some progress in the short six months I've been back, I'm even feeling quite good about watercolours which I certainly wasn't when this all started.

So once again, happy Christmas, thanks to those who make comments, all are very much appreciated. I'm off for a whiskey now...

Mystery Plug

'Mystery Plug'

Graphite Pencil on Paper

18cm x 12cm

I found this plug the other day in a drawer, no idea what it's for or when I got it. It probably arrived in a box with a phone or a camera, but I quite liked the look of it so did this little drawing. Drawn with a clutch pencil, using stumps to blend, on a very smooth Bristol paper.