Update - summer 2023
Since arriving in Spain in the spring, my sketchbook work has changed dramatically. As apposed to to staying indoors, sketching from my imagination, I have started to go out with my sketchbook a lot more. I have realised that I love to sketch outside, and now that the weather permits, I am doing so at every opportunity. It is great for the development of my observational drawing skills, and good for my health to get out of the house/studio and enjoy the fresh air!
I feel quite liberated by the move, and look forward to seeing if it will have the same effect on my painting.
Therapy
Drawing is essential for my peace of mind and well being. I try to find a moment to sit down and draw everyday. I find it is the best way for me to release and sometimes also to understand any latent or subconscious anxieties. In these moments it is not necessary to have an idea, or to be inspired before I start to draw, I just put pen to paper and see what happens, and am usually left bewildered. There are times when I can make connections between the images and current events in my life, and there are times when I have no idea at the moment of creation, but look back at a later date and can relate the image to how I was feeling during that period.
Bar life sketches
I never used to sketch in bars in the UK, we went there for one purpose only! We’d sit in a darkened corner of a traditional English pub, speaking only with those whom we knew, drinking as much as we could before last orders (usually having skipped dinner). These days I find myself in a much healthier and more social environment. Beautiful courtyards engulfed in glorious sunshine, light and colour, with wonderful tapas and the blissful absence of a bell ringing at 11pm. Drawing these scenes is one of my favourite ways to enjoy the experience all the more.
Llamas in pyjamas by the seaside 2020. Memories of a holiday in Cornwall.
Left handed
Through necessity I have had to develop my drawing skills with my left hand, as I am slightly prone to doing myself serious damage!
Bottom left; a football incident that left me with a metal plate on my collarbone. Bottom right, an accident at work which stabbed a hole right through my hand!
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Bar life continued
Inspired by music
A major influence in my work, my inspiration, and my joy, which I try to give back in the only way I know how. I love to lose myself in sound and feel a need to translate the experience into a visual format. I try to capture the atmosphere of live events, and the places I go to in my mind when listening elsewhere. I try to give form to the emotions aroused in me and let the energy of the music direct a sense of movement through use of colour and composition.
Often the text in my drawings and paintings are song lyrics or titles of the tunes, which set the mood of the piece, though usually they are written in code as the text primarily serves a decorative purpose.
It is a great sensation and honour when a piece sells to the musical artist who inspired the work.
Update - summer 2023
Since arriving in Spain in the spring, my sketchbook work has changed dramatically. As apposed to to staying indoors, sketching from my imagination, I have started to go out with my sketchbook a lot more. I have realised that I love to sketch outside, and now that the weather permits, I am doing so at every opportunity. It is great for the development of my observational drawing skills, and good for my health to get out of the house/studio and enjoy the fresh air!
I feel quite liberated by the move, and look forward to seeing if it will have the same effect on my painting.
Bar life sketches
I never used to sketch in bars in the UK, we went there for one purpose only! We’d sit in a darkened corner of a traditional English pub, speaking only with those whom we knew, drinking as much as we could before last orders (usually having skipped dinner). These days I find myself in a much healthier and more social environment. Beautiful courtyards engulfed in glorious sunshine, light and colour, with wonderful tapas and the blissful absence of a bell ringing at 11pm. Drawing these scenes is one of my favourite ways to enjoy the experience all the more.
Llamas in pyjamas by the seaside 2020. Memories of a holiday in Cornwall.
Probably the first, and one of the only times my daughter sat still enough for me to draw her, and I still had to be quick! It’s slightly easier now that she’s getting older.
This was my first, and one of my only sketches using procreate on the iPad. It was a joy to use, but still isn’t the same as a real sketchbook.
Therapy
Drawing is essential for my peace of mind and well being. I try to find a moment to sit down and draw everyday. I find it is the best way for me to release and sometimes also to understand any latent or subconscious anxieties. In these moments it is not necessary to have an idea, or to be inspired before I start to draw, I just put pen to paper and see what happens, and am usually left bewildered. There are times when I can make connections between the images and current events in my life, and there are times when I have no idea at the moment of creation, but look back at a later date and can relate the image to how I was feeling during that period.
Left handed
Through necessity I have had to develop my drawing skills with my left hand, as I am slightly prone to doing myself serious damage!
Inspired by music
A major influence in my work, my inspiration, and my joy, which I try to give back in the only way I know how. I love to lose myself in sound and feel a need to translate the experience into a visual format. I try to capture the atmosphere of live events, and the places I go to in my mind when listening elsewhere. I try to give form to the emotions aroused in me and let the energy of the music direct a sense of movement through use of colour and composition.
Often the text in my drawings and paintings are song lyrics or titles of the tunes, which set the mood of the piece, though usually they are written in code as the text primarily serves a decorative purpose.
It is a great sensation and honour when a piece sells to the musical artist who inspired the work.