THE HANGOVER, 10" x 8", Mixed Media on canvas board, 2008

One of my best stories in the Bible is the story about the Prodigal Son. He stormed out of his dads house to have a life of enjoyment and even though it did go well for him for a while........ then came the hangover. He had a let down after a period of enjoyment. The beautiful part of the story is that, in his hangover state he realized he could still have had a better life with his dad and then he made up his mind and took a good decision to go back home, on his way home his dad was running to meet him and gave him the warmest hug and welcome ever!




This is the inspiration behind Karin Juricks different strokes from different folks. The reference this week was a pair of boots and I hardly knew what to do with them until this week when my little boy plunged his feet into my Timberland boots, when I came back home from work. I thought that would make a good painting for this weeks challenge. So I got him to take different poses with them and then he went into this great pose and that was it!

I have used acrylic, coloured pencil and black/brown Biros for this piece on Winsor and Newton canvas board.

We all find ourselves up and then sometimes down in life, but the beauty of it is- there's always light at the end of the tunnel!

Josh in Sleeping mode VI, Carbon Pencil, A3 sketch pad, 2008

I caught Josh again in sleep mode this afternoon, we both played football after which he ran out of gas......

Sketches at the Bus Stop and in the Bus in December V

One page spread yesterday. Very brief. Both sketches must have lasted for nothing less than 3 minutes.

AFRO XIX, 13.5" x 9.5", Graphite/Charcoal, 2008 SOLD

This is number 19 in my current Afro series. My passion for graphite and charcoal some how takes over here, as I really try to express myself, and because it is not a commission, I feel a little bit on the free side. The emphasis of this series is the beauty of black natural hair and the model is a lovely little girl in my Sunday school class, she came just like this last Sunday.

LOOK ALIKES ON THE TRAIN I

When you start sketching on public transport after a while you can look back at some sketches and see the similarities between some people you have sketched.

This one happened to be almost a year apart and I am sure they aren't the same person.......but they do look a like a bit.







This still remains the unresolved mystery about human beings. No two human beings look the same, even twins!

Sketches on the bus, tube platform and train in December IV

More people........ more interesting experiences! One guy saw me sketching a guy in a hat/glasses and he said I should sketch him. I did! He simply said, "Not many people people can put a smile on my face, but you have put a smile on my face"

He gave me his e-mail address and I'll be sending it the copy to him!

Sketches on the train tube and bus in December III

I have switched to Biro and tombow markers now and I can now avoid a bit of the messy side of the graphite page rubbing and smearing, the only downside is that the Biro also makes marks on the reverse page, So I have decided to sketch lightly with the Biro and not go too heavily with the markers.

MY GRAPHITE SKETCHING KIT

I am posting this to help some who may want to know the exact materials I use for my graphite sketches on the tube, train and bus.

1.Daler-Rowney Sketchbook A6 EBONY (62)- 150 g/m acid free cartridge paper

2.Pitt Graphit (129902) 2B FABER CASTELL

3.Rotring visupencil 0.5 0r any clutch pencil

4. A Graphite stick holder- not sure of the supplier but most art shops have them.

National Gallery(Charing Cross side), 11" x 9, mixed media, 2008

I was just coming out of Charring Cross Station yesterday afternoon and I saw the National Portrait Gallery just peeping out in blazing sunlight from this dark shadowed road way, with so many people out and about as usual in the London west end. I instantly fell in love! Now I am happy I've caught with watercolour, carbon pencil, coloured pencil and gouache on Winsor and Newton Cotman paper 300grams.

Sketches on the train and tube in December II

More people! There is a guy in one of these sketches that I must have sketched a while back before, if I can find the old one I'll do a post of both of them together to see the difference.






Anyway I have come to the end of this sketchbook, I have disciplined myself to use graphite as promised even though it developed all sorts of difficulties along the way and as you can see the third sketch has a blank page.





I am moving back to my ever beloved black Biro and tombow markers, happy viewing.

Sketches at the hospital

The hospital is a place you can really get sketching away when you are stuck waiting to be attended to as many people would also be waiting there who have very interesting looks.




I went to the hospital with Ruth today as Josh will be getting a younger brother or sister soon, its very early days but also a joy to see how small we all start off in our mums wombs with modern technology.

A CRACKING FINISH! 16" x 10", Mixed Media, 2008

This was the moment before Robin Van Persie smacked in a cracker against Chelsea last weekend! I love a bit of football(soccer) and to get this image I had to pause the video.




My goal here was to capture that feel just before the ball was shot and the motions that go along with such highly competitive sports!

He actually hit that ball in the top corner!

Sketches on the train and tube in December I

Lots of people and lots of great experiences!

If you happen to see someone you want to know something about in these sketches, please feel free to ask.

Faces, Statues and Pots, 7" x 11", Graphite, 2008

This is my entry into Karin Jurick's different strokes from different folks.




I used to use this opportunity to experiment and explore my love for graphite and just the simple possibilities of seeing shapes and faces where they don't really exist. Sometimes this happens when we look at cracks in walls and shapes in clouds. Then because the scene had a pot, I decided to see more pots in spaces.
I substituted the flowers in the scenery for faces that had an oriental feel to it. Then I added a hand to one of the pots showing that as human beings, we are all a work in progress.

There are so many different versions of the set up. It would be great to have a look!

Sketches on the train/tube in November XIII

More people...................Sketching with pencil is rather messy, the pages all rub against each other and can produce some very untidy work. I can't wait to finish this sketchbook (I decided to discipline myself to finish my current sketchbook with Graphite) and get back to my usual Biro and tom bow markers!

The lady below on the left was one sketch that I gave a new approach because of a seat blocking my view, I had to sketch one half looking with only my left eye and then sketch the other half looking with my right eye. In the end the basic alignment and symmetry went a bit wrong.....oh well.