goodbye 2013

Okay.

Already have 1 resolution. To post more in 2014.

Been a bit lax this year, completely failed on my 2013 sketching project. And then the scanner refused to accept electricity as a power source which hampered the process even more.

Too many other things went on go slow this year as well, most probably my own fault.

So shaking off this year like a heavy old army coat that needs a damn good wash.

New coat tomorrow.

Something lightweight and waterproof and ready for adventure.

Have a big old night tonight everyone.

K

Failure to post...

... due to kaput scanner again.

Interesting

A friend sent me the link to this.

Excited by the drawing done at 2 hour 35 mins when he decides to draw the whole thing in one line. A goal after my own heart that.

Worried that I may have to start taking class A drugs now.

Not a direction I had considered for myself.

life and nothing but.

Still pushing on with life drawing.

Good models this week. Not sure I am progressing at all, but keep on keeping on.

Did some quick one line sketches but when I scan or photograph them they disappear.

So you will just have to imagine them.

Not the best

But it is all I have to offer at the moment.

From a life drawing session the other day.

And, just to clarify, he is holding a broom handle.

2 quick portraits

Again. The eternal quest for the one line portrait.

Four lines here. 

And went for some shading here which negates the line.

Always amuses me.

a small glass of something

Stumbled on a smart pre dinner party in a bar while we were in Barcelona.

We felt out of place in our day-smudged scruff. But we had ordered our drinks so we held steadfast.

Here are two of the guests engaged in casual chit chat.

Ha. It was the night before we came home 'cos you can see the Easyjet sketch on the next page bleeding through there. 

TWO ON THE TRAIN

Nothing really to say about these two. Just sketched them on the way into town the other day.

Like them, but nothing more.

Arms and the man, and woman

More arms from life drawing sessions yesterday.

Haven't got the arm right here. Upper arm not long enough. Just needed a shove more, just to stretch it out, just a bit more, just a bit.

And by cropping this one like this I sneakily remove the slightly dodgy right elbow that didn't quite work.

2 heads and a reclining lady.

Bit of a round up.

Did quite a few of this guy as he was the only person on the train at the time. These two are the ones I like. Am trying to push stuff on and go beyond drawing the usual. These don't really advance anything but I like them. Maybe the less shaded version has something of what I am on about... ?

And one from life drawing the other week. 

Feel I'm sort of moving towards a better level of drawing, but not there by any length of chalk. ( have tried chalk, not the answer ) Something to do with weight and arms and legs and skin and just the being of a person. The weight of a pulse ?

I have been on about this before, still not sure what it is. But the finding is interesting.

Sounding as mad as ever... oh well.

Homeward flight

Not the best of drawings, a bit reverting to my old usual laziness way of drawing. But my view on the Easyjet flight home.

With the Attendants' names recorded for extra measure.

Can you spot the Starbucks logo ?

Postcards home

This man sat in the cafe at the Joan Miro Foundation. Writing all his postcards. Sending news home.

" Having a lovely time, but bothered by bloke sitting opposite me in cafe who keep looking at me and scribbling in a pad. Wish you were here... to go and beat him up"

I don't like to boast...

But this was the view on the beach in Barcelona the other day !

Another

Drew the same person several times again, getting faster each time.

Always interesting to compare the results.

A lot of bleed thru from other pages on the middle one. Funny how that happens. Like seeing different viewpoints all at once.

Read all about it

(... a sentence that always used to always be said in a broad street news-seller type accent, but has now been usurped by Emeli Sande's version of it...)

More Life Drawing

Not sure what I am looking for at the moment.

Am interested in flesh, and bodies, and arms... very much arms.

Hmmm. sounding a bit Hannibal Lecter there.

Other work too big for the scanner so will need to photo and post later.

Face

A quick post.

Up or down ?

The age old problem with hair.

New book.

Have a new sketch book. It's a sort of cheap imitation Moleskine, but I like it a lot. It's pages are yellowy creamy smooth and good for pen.

These were done on the tram in Manchester one saturday.

I liked how this guy was sitting in the seat in front of his friends, and sat sideways with his arm over the seat to talk to them. 

2 more from the same book

Hepworth Cello

You know I can't resist a cello. Something about the curve of the neck or the little twiddly bits...

Ahhhemmm.

Went to the Wakefield Hepworth gallery. A beautiful building inside and out. Go.

And there was a cello recital by Ryan Madhok in one of the galleries. 

Sketches not the best by any standards but such a pleasure

He sat in front of a huge William Scott painting which made the composition even better. William Scott is one of those British Painters whose work you walk past in the Tate and think nothing of. Until you see a whole room full of them, and then you fall in love and wonder why you ever walked past them in the first place. I urge you, if you haven't already, go and look at them. Properly. Wonders.

Turban

Really enjoyed sketching this guy.

A seriously impressive beard.

3 seated commuters

A quick round up of recent sketches.

This guy was with a mate who talked the whole time and he just nodded and agreed with him, and looked ever so slightly bored with the flood of opinion his mate had.

Friendship often has such moments.

This guy had been shopping in Manchester city centre and I liked the designer bag on the seat beside him. Bags that stand up on their own, so the thing inside can be tiny tiny, but the bag bigs it up and makes it ultra important.

This girl dozed on the train in the sunlight, with a shawl wrapped over her arms and shoulders, which accentuated her face even more. I started a second sketch of her because she was so good, but, and I'm not sure if she was aware of me or if it was just sun avoidance, but she then draped the shawl over her face so all I had was a tuft of hair sticking out the top.

Ho hum.

Just noticed

that the USA has overtaken the UK in numbers of visitors according to my Flag Counter.

It had been UK at the top all along until now.

Arm and Cap

Am back into elbows again, as always.

Liked the way this guy was holding his head in his hand, but he moved the first couple of attempts...

...but happy with the final sketch. Feel I got the cap peak right for a change.

Maybe, somewhere in between all the lines and tries and sketching there is something approaching the truth of him. 

Maybe.

Ringbinder spine

Although not really, but I really like where the spiral ended up in this drawing and I think it contributes to the slightly elongated way the drawing ended up.

Ha.

Adjusted leg

I always do this.

When I stand at an easel to draw, I always draw the legs too big.

Because I am looking down at the lower half of the drawing and I draw from my perspective, standing there at that moment, and when I stand back and look at the drawing later the legs are out of proportion. It's like you have to cut the drawing in half and hold the top bit closer to your eye, then it balances out.

So I have had to adjust the leg in this one, as you will see if you look closely. I did a quick cut and paste to bring it all in balance. But confessing my sins here so as to keep the page true.

Mind you it is rare I even get there, I often run out of paper before then and have to leave the figure feetless. I am sure I have gone on about this before.

So I was very pleased that I got the whole pose in in this one, and seemingly in scale. Like the bulk of the body. it seems to sit down on the legs just right. 

I do love life drawing. It really shoves you forward. You can't help but get better.

Back from the dead - with life drawings !

Heya. I know, I know. It's been an age.

It was looking like I had wandered off and found something else.

But no such luck. It was just a combination of work away from home, and a new laptop, and no scanner.

So I need to kick things off again.

Went to the Spirited bodies Life drawing session in Holborn last night.

It was brilliant. it challenged my usual, possibly even lazy preconceptions about how I draw the figure.

You were stumped as to where to start with so many models posing together. And I did get lost in some of the set-ups, and the sketches almost make no sense out of context, so I'm keeping them in the sketch book.

But I did take the easy way out and just pick one figure to draw on a few of the poses.

Think the front arm is a bit off, feels it should be longer, but the shoulder was being held quite high. Not sure. On it's own it feels right, but overall it feels out.

Anyway, highly recommend this life class, if anyone is London based and looking.

More tomorrow.

Q

This guy worked for Network Q. It said so on his fleece.

He had brilliant definition on his eyes, and the sunlight only caught that even more. He was talking to two girls who sat, one aside him, one opposite, which meant he kept moving his head from one to another, and I had four goes at starting a sketch before I got something down I felt happy with.

More Life drawing

Went back for another session of life drawing this week. Love it.

But drawings too big to scan easily, so here are a couple more from the first session.

Don't look Mum ! Rude bits !