All these sketches were done yesterday on my journeying on the train and tube. The weather was so hot yesterday that one couldn't survive the tube without water.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sketches on the train and tube in June VII
All these sketches were done yesterday on my journeying on the train and tube. The weather was so hot yesterday that one couldn't survive the tube without water.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Potrait Sketches at St Mary's Cray Fun Day, Oil Base Pencil, A4 sketchbook, 2009
Adebanji sketching Hira(10 min sketch)
Hira, great model
These are some of the portraits I sketched at St Marys Cray Fun day. Again too busy to snap the other 4 portraits I did.
Adil, my best model for the day, he was confined to a wheel chair, maybe that made him have the "still qualities" for a good model.
The youngest ever model on a funday, he was 3 months old, it wasn't easy he moved all over the place, but his parents were still happy with the results.
Sketches at St Marys Cray Funday, Oil Base Pencil , A4 Sketchbook, 2009
These are some sketches I did at St Marys Cray fun day when I wasn't sketching peoples portraits last Saturday. They served as good warm ups for the main sketches of people later on.
Sketches of horses at the Barge Pole, Oil Base pencil, A4 sketchbook, 2009
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Got to sketch some horses at the around Barge Pole Pub at Abbey Wood last Friday evening. I had a tough time pulling accurate lines as they kept moving.
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But they are always a joy to sketch!
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Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Kezia in Sleep Mode III, 8" x 10", Sanguine, 2009
Another Quick shot of Kezia in sleep mode before she changed gears!
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This was done with Sanguine coloured pencil on museum mount board.
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This was done with Sanguine coloured pencil on museum mount board.
Monday, June 22, 2009
My 500th Post! Quick Sketches of people at St Mary's Fun Day, Welling, 2009
Hurray! My 500th post in Blogsphere!
We had a nice community fun day locally around Welling on Saturday and I had a little stall where I offered to do quick 10 minute sketches of people willing to sit for £10. It was quite an experience as I was almost busy all day, talking to children/parents, explaining what I do, entertaining customers who wanted to commission me to do their portraits, the process and also why I enjoy what I do to. I managed to get 11 sketches done and some didn't even have the chance to sit as they waited and waited till time ran out. It was a good feeling and also a way of getting contacts locally, especially for commissions or future school visits. I really enjoyed it! My greatest regret was not remembering to snap the 4 missing portraits from the 11, I can only live with the experience now.
The people who had stalls around were very very helpful too as I didn't even know to set up a gazebo but when they saw my confused state they all quickly came to my rescue and my gazebo was up in 15 mins!
All the sketches were done with an oil base pencil(very soft) on a A4 sketchbook sheet that could easily be detached. They were also placed in a "please do not bend" stiff sided envelope, before given to the clients.
I'll explain a bit about each model as I felt while sketching.
-a sweet (Blondie) little girl, maybe 3 years or so, she did very well to sit still for 10-15 minutes.
-my second model for the day, very composed and had the most subtle smile! Her dad an artist too, was happy to see how I could capture that subtle smile.
-my first model for the day. I'm really thankful to her for setting the ball rolling! I don't know how she had the confidence that I could do it, because she was already waiting while I was setting up, I had to tell her to come back in 5 minutes! I thought I'll loose her, but she was back!
- Just as her name implies she was graceful and I wonder how she kept a smile for 10-15 mins! Although when the cheek muscles wore out she still did her best to sit still!
_ A very composed little chap. A dream model for me, as he was still and had a twinkle in his eyes that kept me alert!
- He was sketched as he was in his buggy. I told his mum not to take him out. He may have been just 1 years old! Good model for that age and hardly knew what was going on as I had to distract him a bit to keep his face positioned throughout the sketch.
-Best model all day! He seemed to understand what it took to do the sketch and was rock solid throughout, never moved an inch. I almost freaked out as he was too serious!
Here are some pictures side shots
We had a nice community fun day locally around Welling on Saturday and I had a little stall where I offered to do quick 10 minute sketches of people willing to sit for £10. It was quite an experience as I was almost busy all day, talking to children/parents, explaining what I do, entertaining customers who wanted to commission me to do their portraits, the process and also why I enjoy what I do to. I managed to get 11 sketches done and some didn't even have the chance to sit as they waited and waited till time ran out. It was a good feeling and also a way of getting contacts locally, especially for commissions or future school visits. I really enjoyed it! My greatest regret was not remembering to snap the 4 missing portraits from the 11, I can only live with the experience now.
The people who had stalls around were very very helpful too as I didn't even know to set up a gazebo but when they saw my confused state they all quickly came to my rescue and my gazebo was up in 15 mins!
All the sketches were done with an oil base pencil(very soft) on a A4 sketchbook sheet that could easily be detached. They were also placed in a "please do not bend" stiff sided envelope, before given to the clients.
I'll explain a bit about each model as I felt while sketching.
-a sweet (Blondie) little girl, maybe 3 years or so, she did very well to sit still for 10-15 minutes.
-my second model for the day, very composed and had the most subtle smile! Her dad an artist too, was happy to see how I could capture that subtle smile.
-my first model for the day. I'm really thankful to her for setting the ball rolling! I don't know how she had the confidence that I could do it, because she was already waiting while I was setting up, I had to tell her to come back in 5 minutes! I thought I'll loose her, but she was back!
- Just as her name implies she was graceful and I wonder how she kept a smile for 10-15 mins! Although when the cheek muscles wore out she still did her best to sit still!
_ A very composed little chap. A dream model for me, as he was still and had a twinkle in his eyes that kept me alert!
- He was sketched as he was in his buggy. I told his mum not to take him out. He may have been just 1 years old! Good model for that age and hardly knew what was going on as I had to distract him a bit to keep his face positioned throughout the sketch.
-Best model all day! He seemed to understand what it took to do the sketch and was rock solid throughout, never moved an inch. I almost freaked out as he was too serious!
Here are some pictures side shots
Friday, June 19, 2009
Sketches at Earls Court Festival 2009 (Live Music at Earls Court Station)
On the way to my studio, I arrive at Earls Court Station and there's live music being played by young talented musicians. I stop not only to listen but to sketch.
Here are the sketches and links to the musicians I sketched. They are all amazing and I really wish the the best in the music scene!
for Jnay click here
for Angus click here
for Angelina click here
Here are the sketches and links to the musicians I sketched. They are all amazing and I really wish the the best in the music scene!
for Jnay click here
for Angus click here
for Angelina click here
Sketches on the train, tube and bus in June V
These were all done today! Look out for me in one of the sketches!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Spirit of Merchandise, 12" x 12", acrylic on canvas board, 2009
This my entry in Karin Juricks DSFDF, the reference was a tray of vegetables, something to depict harvest. But when I saw those crops the first thing that came to my mind was Africa and its market places. African Markets are the most colourful places to behold. There is life, energy, colour and vitality. The noise of the hawkers ans sellers will wake anyone from the dead!
I know in this part of the world it is seen as child abuse when children sell in market places but in Africa it is a matter of survival, not that I support it, but I remember having to sell some soft drinks and ice fruit drinks for my mum. I had to carry it around on my head and sound the call for customers to buy them!
So, in a bid to reconstruct something I recall from Africa, I have used this challenge to depict the spirit of merchandise. This piece is titled thus, because sometimes the markets run till late and everyone seems to never give up or go home until their goods are sold. Traders would even reduce the prices of the goods by half at those late moments just to have something to show for a hard days work.
I have used my son Josh as the model here and I have painted this with acrylics with a slow dry medium to help me work and blend while the work was in progress. His contemplative face could be all that captures one of the passers by or people willing to buy and they might just purchase his goods out of pity! The style used here is more of expressionism, not paying attention to details but just using my brushstrokes as calligraphic marks to depict my feelings for the scene. I wanted to capture that buzz of feeling in such places while using Josh as the focal point to tie the whole piece together.
I know in this part of the world it is seen as child abuse when children sell in market places but in Africa it is a matter of survival, not that I support it, but I remember having to sell some soft drinks and ice fruit drinks for my mum. I had to carry it around on my head and sound the call for customers to buy them!
So, in a bid to reconstruct something I recall from Africa, I have used this challenge to depict the spirit of merchandise. This piece is titled thus, because sometimes the markets run till late and everyone seems to never give up or go home until their goods are sold. Traders would even reduce the prices of the goods by half at those late moments just to have something to show for a hard days work.
I have used my son Josh as the model here and I have painted this with acrylics with a slow dry medium to help me work and blend while the work was in progress. His contemplative face could be all that captures one of the passers by or people willing to buy and they might just purchase his goods out of pity! The style used here is more of expressionism, not paying attention to details but just using my brushstrokes as calligraphic marks to depict my feelings for the scene. I wanted to capture that buzz of feeling in such places while using Josh as the focal point to tie the whole piece together.
Kezia in Sleep Mode II, A3 Sketch Pad, Graphite, 2009
Number 2 in the current series of life sketches of a sleeping baby.
The model is Kezia, she is only 8 days old today.
This piece was done in Graphite in my A3 sketchbook.
The model is Kezia, she is only 8 days old today.
This piece was done in Graphite in my A3 sketchbook.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Sketches on the train and bus in June IV
More people. Almost having a headache today and I thought I won't be able to sketch then I saw the old man with the beard! I was instantly healed!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Kezia in Sleep Mode I, A3 sketch pad, Oil Base pencil 2009
This is my first for a series of life sketches I'll be doing of Kezia. You can see all the sleep mode series I've done but most will be of Josh. It is an interesting thing to study children while they sleep and for Kezia , I had to quickly sketch her while holding her head in my hand (you'll see part of my thumb showing). I had to stop when I heard a big rushing flush......you know what that was.....pooooh! Back to the nappies.....
This was done in an oil base pencil in my A3 sketchpad. it was almost life size.
This was done in an oil base pencil in my A3 sketchpad. it was almost life size.