Girl

I like your hair.
So neat and simple.
And I had to sketch you.

I hope you don't mind.

So neat, ordered.

Your hair.

( Channeling William Carlos Williams today we are )

The art of recording art.

I should be detailing up doors, but am taking a bit of time out to post.

Was in Tate Britain just before this job started, to see the watercolour exhibition. And sketched this guy who had been photographing sculpture, and now sat to check his camera.

Thus this is a sketch of someone looking at photographs of art. 

Somewhere in there the Universe folds in on itself, and those fluorescent marker pens come into their own.

Incidentally, last week someone told me a story about how their dog ate a highlighter pen whilst they were out, and when they got back it stood, wagging it's tail and greeting them with bright glowing teeth.

That makes me smile even now.

Copper band

Sat opposite two London transport policemen, so had to sketch.

The one I sketched was unaware, ( so much for eagle eyed keeness ) but his mate clocked what I was doing.

And then I remembered that new law about being an offence to record the image of police officers when they are working.

Was I about to be arrested ? My sketch book impounded as evidence, bagged and labeled exhibit A my Lud.

No... just dull, brilliant life as always... they just carried on discussing their work shifts, and who was on after them, and what Tom had done with the work rotas.

So I sketched more.

He leant forward and started turning his cap around and around in his hands as he spoke, like checkered worry beads.

It deserved a sketch of it's own.

Excellent

Nipped home for the weekend, to check for unpaid bills, water leaks, dead plants, etc...

Instead a nice little package awaited me.

A sketch book from my mate Tiff, over in Ohio.

Thanks Tiff. It is brilliant. Look...

The cover is an old cut down 45 record. And it says LONDON. How neat is that ?

Can't wait to start filling it.

Thanks Tiff. Love it.

So....

...guess where I was the other saturday ?

Or even better.

Ga Ga goo goo.

First day of shooting, have spent whole day responding to other's requests and got nothing done of my own work. Need to regroup my head and get on with the next block...

But enough of that.

About a month ago the new Lady GaGa album came out, and she screamed in black and white from every magazine and bus shelter in town. Liked this mild looking guy, ignoring her siren cry from the cover of the Metro paper.

Techie

Sorry, Busy in Durham at the moment, haven't posted for days.

So a quick one to assuage my guilt.

This guy spent the whole journey telling his mate about computer programme writing. Which is not dissimilar to string theory, or the fluorescent pen thing. I admire it, but don't expect me to repeat it.

Knuckles - 2nd attempt

This guy was all in black, and his hands, or rather his knuckles stood out like eager landmarks on a simple map, so was glad to get the whole of him in the sketch before he moved.

He had a heavy gold wristband which added to the weight of his hands.

This is the post I was going to do a week ago, until I realised I hadn't scanned him yet.

Man you are hammered !

Coming back late on the tube the other night. This guy got on, and he was soooooo drunk he could hardly stay upright.

He slumped in a seat, and checked his phone, but fell into a coma before he had even looked at any updates, and just lay there, unheeded phone in hand.

Then he roused, rubbed his forehead shakily...

Then hunched forwards, as though suddenly nauseous.

But didn't hurl. Thank heavens.

The train pulled into a station, he looked up blearily, stood, and wobbled his way off into the night.

Whereupon another guy in the carriage asked me why I had let him get off there ? I shrugged and he said, "oh, I thought he was with you."

Had I somehow taken ownership of him by sketching him ? Was I the designated sketcher ? A graphite version of In loco parentis ?

I like that, like my line is a lasso, and I'm rounding you all up, taking care of you all. 

( In your best creepy League of Gentlemen voice ) You're my sketch now !