cream paper sketch

I know, pushing it a bit, but low on supplies at the moment.

Another sketch where the distortion adds to the overall, in my opinion. Everyone should have the lower half of their face bigger than the top.

Adds gravitas. 

Olive green - grey green - calm

Two more on coloured paper. A lovely olive greeny textured Ingres I have had for ages.

Long gotten over the fear of precious paper. Now I will happily scribble on newsprint or 100g HP, and not fret the difference.

Really love this last one, the angle on his head, and the roll-neck sweater.

Smusshy face

We shoot next week so manic. So much to do...

Have some more sketches but not the time to sit and scan and sort, so they will have to wait till later.

For now, two from an old sketch book...

Love the way I have smushed her face around. Not very flattering, but this is the kind of stuff that gets me excited about drawing, when you push yourself and the subject as far as you can and still be pleased with the image.

Big fan of Peter Howson.

Contemplating

I might have to break a rule, and start posting sketches of those I am working with, as I don't see anyone else at the moment and my stock is running low. Will have to see how that will work. Do I need written consent ? Subject approval ?

A special license ?

Vinegar and...

Brown paper.

I can never resist a Boxer's/Roman profile. Always amazes me. 

Blunt bruiser/noble genes, take your pick.

If their names were Jack and Jill that wold be too... wishful.

2 scarves 317 - 318

For to keep out the cold.

Traveling 2gether ?

These two sat quietly side by side as the DLR rattled through the tunnel on one of the Greenwich runs from back when. Not even sure if they knew each other, but stuck together now.  Like the line weight, finer than usual. Was using a ball point pen.

Green - the wannabe

Not on the same green paper this time, but he had a green army style sweater on, and the watercolour box was close at hand.

It's not easy being green - 274 & 275

Especially when it is this dark. Green is a tough colour as a base for a sketch of someone. Was surprised it scanned as well as it did. Have several done on green paper. Interesting.

This guy was on the opposite platform, waiting for the train to St. Albans.

And this girl ( who I have given a seriously sharp nose ) was on the train I got on, going in the other direction.

So this is the only place these two will probably ever meet.

Courtesy of Lining a Drawer online dating. - matching profiles since 2009

261 - 264 YELLOW pages

Have fallen behind, and realised that a catch up post would not only get me back on schedule but would get me to 264, which means tomorrow's post would be...

So, with that as incentive...

Have a tin trunk I got from my Grandfather that I keep 'useful' stuff in, ( and in my job, 'useful' covers just about every piece of crap you can think of ). Was reorganizing it all and found a sketchbook I had forgotten about. 

Somewhat pompously called a Fabriano artist's journal, ( but I won't hold that against it ), the paper is smashing, and in really strong colours, and I must get another one as it was a joy to sketch in.

Oscar Wilde was supposedly holding a copy of The Yellow Book when the Police came to arrest him at the Cadogan Hotel.  As if, in the face of what he knew was to come, and had refused to run away from, he was still going to maintain a certain degree of quality nonchalance. Yellow does that to people, it arms them against storms.

( I know this mainly because I made the copy of The Yellow Book Stephen Fry holds in the film " Wilde" ).

But the scan isn't doing justice to the yellowiness of these pages. It's AA van yellow, kid's drawing sunshine yellow, dribbly boiled egg yolk yellow...

You could cut some soldiers and start dunking.

And if anyone knew about dunking soldiers it was Oscar Wilde.

grey sketch

Another from the coloured sketch book.

The same train journey too, if I remember.

Shading getting a bit more assured.

Sketch 33

Another page from the coloured sketch book. This woman was on a train going out to Borehanwood. I can remember this one well, I was house hunting, and took this train several times. She reminded me ( then and now ) of Clare, an old flat mate from years back. She was wearing a cream sweat-suit.

It has the same crude shading of yesterday's sketch. So from the same kind of time, so I can date them better. 2004. Sound like some Museum archivist there. Or up my own arse, take your pick.

As often happens, women suffer somewhat at the hands of... well... my hands. My style isn't flattering. I think it emphasizes the solidity of people, and whilst that seems to work for men, it tends to leave female subjects a little lumpish. I like that, but I always assume that they wouldn't.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

A very old sketch to start a new year. And I like that it is on red paper. Festive.

This guy was sitting on a bench in the park in Soho Square, but I can't remember when. Sometime in the last five years, but can't be more specific on this one. Just went off to look in the sketch book, to see if it had a date in it anywhere, but can't even find the book. So this one only exists here at the moment. It will turn up one day.

Have posted this one before, ages ago, my space I think. A few people saw it and commented on it. But didn't follow up then. Let's see if I can get people interested this time. Will start trying to move this out this year. Now I am assured that I am going to stick with this.

A favorite of mine, like the squareness of the head, and the cartoonish quality it ended up having. Quite crude really, in the shading. I think I was only just starting to try and add shape to the lines at this point. It feels different from most of my drawing, and was one of those sketches that points a way forward, that you do and then look at and see that you have progressed from how you used to work.

And the hand to face detail that is always guaranteed to get me sketching.