Notes from the Sketchbook

 I always enjoy heading off in whatever direction my feet happen to carry me with a sketchbook and selection of drawing equipment. Normally fairly basic, quick and easy to use items like watercolour pencils, a few soft pastels and plenty of soft pencils. This year has taken me to Shetland, Sutherland, Galway, Skye, the Lake District and the Perthshire hills so far with some great wildlife spotting including huge bird colonies, dolphins, orca and a sparrowhawk which made itself at home on my parents lawn on Skye one morning.

Here is a small selection from the current sketchbooks....

Faces and Places

 

 I've been thinking about all the various faces encountered on various drawing trips and how each starts to take on its own character once its down on paper...suggesting a narrative or emotive element. In the studio I've been doing a couple of slightly more finished works (above) thanks to the lovely model Wendy and her willingness to get dressed up in various weird and wonderful costumes.

Below are a few more pages from the Cuba sketchbooks which I'm intending to work with over the next few weeks and try out a bit of mono-printing to bring some colour into them. The top set were made on a very bumpy camion (army style truck) ride in the pouring rain from Santa Clara to the small village of Remedios. The lower one was made in Havana, initially I had been drawing some domino players when this character took a break from welding work across the street and sat down to watch me, I couldn't resist drawing him as well and he very obligingly sat like a statue until I was done!