Sketches on the train and tube in December V

More people. These would be the last from London this year. If I'm going to sneak and sketch anyone else it would be at the airport or in Tokyo. I say sneak because this is supposed to be a break from Art but can we really have a break as artists......I doubt? I'll be off this evening for a Christmas break with my family to be back early January.




Wishing you all a great Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

Sketches on the train and tube in December IV

Just for the love of sketching, it was a wonderful day just sketching, some people love observing, some offer compliments, some even asked me to sketch them! Now, it can't get better than that!

Sketches on the train, tube and bus in December III

More people, most sketched yesterday. Most are very brief with minimal use of line. While some involve a network of lines to build up form and tone.

Sketches on the train and tube in December II

The people I see and sketch from day to day continue to amaze me, the human face has endless phases- What you see is what you get. Someone used to say, "the more you look, the less you see"

Bath Experience VIII (shots on the site) Dec 1-3, 2009

These are 5 shots of the 5 different paintings I attempted in the cold at Bath from the 1st of December to the 3rd of December, last week. Hope to elaborate more on each, if time allows as I'm also preparing for a Christmas break with my family to Japan.


@photo by Femi Jaiyeola

..getting a clearer view around the Weir



@photo by Megan Kelland

Too cold for comfort at Queens Square




...frozen strokes at Kingsmead Square in the morning





..in the middle of the High Street




Right in the morning Rush Hour around the Station

Sketches on the bus and train in December I

Catching up...........I have been to Bath again, I was able to get five paintings done on location! The weather was not friendly(biting cold) but it was fun! One morning it was so cold my wrist went numb. Stay tuned with these sketches and I'll soon be posting my experiences at Bath.

Sketches on the train and tube in November IX

Eleven pages of sketches. I had to use these as I couldn't find my main sketchbook yesterday.

War Memorial, All Saints Church Belvedere, 8" x 12", Acrylic on Canvas board, 2009

Everyone wants to paint autumn scenes and I wasn't going to be left out. I have always noticed this lovely war memorial at All Saints Church, Belvedere, Kent and I always wanted to paint around this area. I like the old twisty trees and the faded rustic beauty of the church. So I decided to take this on this morning from around 9.30am to 12.30 in the afternoon. One of the ladies that works in the church even made me a warm cup of coffee after a few hours of standing in the cold!



I painted this scene with the new Winsor & Newton acrylics, they are of superb quality and they felt just like using oils. the colours are always vibrant and there aren't any colour shifts. I learnt a few lessons today- not to forget a palette knife; not to forget hand gloves in this weather; the cold doesn't kill; the more you stand working the better its gets but not without a cup of coffee; passers by offer great comments...






Below are some shots I took of the scene and set-up and some handy a passer-by took of me.

Sketches on the train and tube in November VIII

More sketches on public transport and watch out for the man in glasses(above), he was reading the papers all the way from London Bridge to Honor Oak Park on the Southern Trains.

Kezia in sleepmode IX, 9" x 8", Oil Base Pencil on Paper, 2009

This is another sketch of Kezia sleeping. She kept moving, so I gave up. Sometimes they enjoy changing gears in sleep too often!

Sketches on the train and bus in November VII

These were done yesterday and this morning. These images are a bit better. Scanner seems to be co-operating!