Borrow your dog, Sir ?

Had the loan of a friend's dog yesterday afternoon, specifically for the purpose of drawing her.

Her name is Sunny and she was an excellent model.

I like Greyhounds. I like how their muscles and bones are so clearly visible, with just the thinest of skin stretched between the most minimal of points. Ergonomic, efficient, no waste.

There is a very languid Art Deco / Art Nouveau quality about them.

I will have to 'borrow' her again.

Some bloke's head

All there is to say about this one.

Contemplation

" Everyone of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false self..We are not very good at recognizing illusions, least of all the ones we cherish about ourselves."

   Thomas Merton

"

Calm

This woman sat with her family around her, the Son talked loudly about what they could go and do that day, the Girlfriend chipped in with comments and her Husband asked the questions.

But she just sat quiet, listening, smiling occasionally, nodding her agreement, but serene and centred.

I know she knew I was sketching her too, but she hardly made any acknowledgement of that either.

Profile

One of the guards in the National Gallery.

He took over from the previous guard and spent a while walking around, patrolling the space, making himself aware of who was around, scoping us all out.

Although I saw him eye the previous incumbent's buttock dent in the leather seat of the guard's chair with a certain disdain and I think he was really just waiting for the seat to cool off a bit before he sat.

I also have a feeling I have sketched him before.

Neat

Ha. look how the scanner chose to frame this one. Love it.

This was done without looking at the page, which has emphasised the trendy hair and wooly hat combo to some extreme. I have reduced him to a face with big scribbly lines top and bottom.

Which the framing only emphasises more.

Neat.

Intent

At a lecture in October.

And this guy was listening with total concentration.

Which I obviously wasn't as I found the time to sketch the audience.

The odd line coming from his head was my first line for his hood, which shows how drawings move about on the page as you draw them.

Also like how I had to redraw his nose a second time.

Birds ! Birds !

A heron

And a seagull

in a very damp and rainy Regent's park.

A rare appearance of other species in this blog. 

The heron never moved the whole time and was, I am assuming, asleep. The gull wouldn't sit still for one minute. Fidget fidget fidget.

I know which one I would want to have over for dinner.

Hurrah.., but Tech grump

Am now scannered up again. Which is very satisfying.

First test scan..

Liked his haircut. very short at the sides and all scruffy chaos on top. Is that a valid instruction to my barber next time I go ? What do you think I would come out with ?

Anyway... Tech grump...

Have spent the entire day getting the lovely new scanner/printer to do what it says on the box. ( i,e, scan and print instead of just sitting like a shiny black monolith - me being the 2001 ape waving his bone in frustration ) Turns out the scanner driver they supply isn't supported by Mac OS X, and you have to go to the Epson site and download a different one, ( they don't tell you this on the help site, I had to work that out myself ) which the Mac then refuses to open because Epson isn't a 'recognised' site and you have to sneak it in by the back door, so to speak.

Anyway now have printer running on WiFi, but scanner still needs USB. I will tackle that tomorrow.

But happy to be fully operational.

2014

" You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand."

Woodrow Wilson

Have an amazing 2014 everyone.