Cream Jug, Mushroom and Pasta

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7 x 10 in  -  18 x 25 cm.     It's not bad, but I think I have become stuck between two stools with some of my recent sketches.

On one hand the work (like this one) is turning into a painting. Whereas I think I should making them more sketch like. This took an hour which is fine for a painting but I feel these would teach me more if they were more sketchy and took less time.

This was something like my view.

Ronald

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13 x 10 in  -  33 x 25 cm.    

This was from a portrait challenge that I chose to attempt in the style of Alex Powers. He has such grace in this work in this style whereas, I do not.

Many thanks to photographer Li Newton for letting me show you the reference photo and to Ronald for being such a great model. Ronald - I really did not intend to make you appear so piratical. It shows the lack of control I have over this style.

Cuban Boy

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14 x 10 in  -  36 x 25 cm.    

I painted this last year it was my first and only other attempt at the Alex Powers style. I really do need to be more subtle.

The boy was caught in the corner of a photo I took in Havana in 2005.

Kitchen Corner

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7 x 11 in  -  18 x 28 cm.     As the title of this sketch says this is clearly the corner of our kitchen. As a piece of art work its nothing special. Best not to work tired is the lesson of the day. :)

What I was trying to depict.

UK Power Socket

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4 x 4 in  -  10 x 10 cm.     Who says you can't have everyday subjects for sketching. The lower edge of the socket is a bit off but otherwise this is OK.

This very yellow photo is something like my view

Headphones and Ant Trap

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7 x 10 in  -  18 x 25 cm.     This one was done using black watercolour paint. If you look back a just couple of days to the 'Knife and Sharpener' you can see that it uses a mixture of Ultramarine Blue and Brunt Sienna (a strong reddy brown) to make the black.

Black paint, as a watercolour, is frowned upon by some 'purist'. To them back paint, as used here, is "bad", where as mixing your own black as in 'Knife and Sharpener' is "good".

What those 'purists', they aren't purists but that's another story, have done is to turn the very sound advice to beginners of - "Don't use back to darken other watercolours" into the nonsense of - "no watercolourist should ever use black".

What the painter saw.

Banana skin and half an Apple

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5 x 7 in  -  13 x 18 cm.     This one has not quite come off. The banana peel just does not have the correct feel to its shape, too many important subtle tones are missing. But you can't win them all.

My usual after paiting attempt to photograph what I was seeing.

Brush and old Pen

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4 x 8 in  -  10 x 20 cm.     Another quick line drawing. It always surprises me how effective the result can be for such a comparatively small effort when working in this line and wash style (and this is not a good example).

I used an old 'Rotring' pen for this one it, was harder than expected to control the direction. I will have to stick to fibre tips in future.

This is roughly what I was seeing.

Knife and Sharpener

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6 x 10 in  -  15 x 27 cm.     This looked way off while it was being pained. I went for a dark wash for the paper so I could make a feature of the reflection of the light down from the knife, but when it was being placed it looked way too dark. Well, it still is too dark.

I lost it a bit on the shape of the sharpener but over all the shapes work and it does read as a knife with reflections. But I also made the blade a bit over dark. It looks as if it was in shadow, which it can't be if it is also reflecting the light on to the paper.

Here is what I was seeing.

Food Blender

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7 x 10 in  -  18 x 25 cm.     A quick sketch, if you count half an hour as quick. I need to be more thoughtful as to what is going on when I draw. The pen I used is a bit dry 1 mm marker and you have to press hard. I wonder if a wetter pen would produce smoother results or is having to press hard making a more definite statement?

This is roughly what I was seeing while I painted.

Folded Towels

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6 x 7 in  -  15 x 18 cm.     This was the first sketck of the day before I did the food blender above. I must confess to getting lucky, all of the speckled texture in the mauve towel is from the watercolour paper. I knew I would get come texture but this was way better than expected.

Here is my photo of what I was seeing.

Malamute Hoonah

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14 x 10 in  -  36 x 25 cm.    


Painted in just over 2 hours, the challenge was to do it in no more than 2 hours. I am pleased with how it looks but I should have been braver and gone in with stronger dark colours from the start. It's just hard to go in hard with what appears at the time to be something that is way too dark.

Mirror Self and Phonebooks

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10 x 7 in  -  25 x 18 cm.    

Another attempt at a quick small painting or sketch. Drawn and painted from life it took me 1 hour 15, pencil up to brush down.

Below is my attempt to photograph what I was seeing.

Wasabi Tin and Spoon

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6 x 10 in  -  15 x 25 cm.     I think this one goes in the "it works" column but a few things could have been better thought out. What do you think?

Here is a photo of 'something like' the view I had while painting.

Transparent Pencil Case

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6 x 8 in  -  15 x 20 cm.     A quick sketch to start off the new month. Painted rapidly with only a rough pencil outline first. I can see from looking at the, after sketch, photo of the scene that I forgot the blob of blue tack which I use as an eraser. That will teach me to try to be too quick.