TV Sketch

 

This is sketched from this years Portrait Artist of the Year programme.

I simply paused the TV and grabbed a quick sketch of this wonderful woman painting!

Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge UK

 

The Fitzwilliam in Cambridge is one of my favourite places to be, so much so that this was the second time I'd spent my birthday here!

It has such a wide selection of art and gems and it's completely FREE!

I especially wanted to see the 1816 Prints by Turner, Goya and Cornelius exhibit

(9 Feb-31 July)

 

Kinx and Easter

 

He's adorable but THE worst model because the only way he will sit still is if he's covered completely with a blanket!

 

A little pencil Alan Rickman sketch in the corner there using my FREE mechanical pencil I was sent with a recent materials order.

 

 

A quick sketch of the beautiful butterfly egg my eldest Son gifted me for easter.

 

 

 

Emily O'Marra for JKPP

HB pencil

I think I'm going to ink this to simplify it even more but wanted to scan the lead sketch first as I quite like the softness.

You can view the reference I used HERE

Steve Huison for the JKPP

Steve Huison - HB pencil

It's been a while since I used a pencil to sketch with but I created the quick portrait above with a HB while curled up on the sofa waiting for the rice to cook for dinner....hence the lack of tone, more of a two-tone sketch really.
I don't like using lead in my journals because it tends to smudge with the daily trauma of being slung into various handbags, pages flipped and handled etc... but I'm not planning on using this A4 sketchbook for anything but the Julia Kay Portraits so I didn't have to worry about it this time.
Steve has a fantastic face to sketch, I hope to return to it again with a different media.
Here is the ref I used
You may recognise Steve from films such as 'The Full Monty' and the classic soap 'Coronation Street'...I hope he sketches me!

Wednesday Journal Page

Subject Search

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Went in search for inspiration the other night, first in a boxing book then ended up on Posemaniacs website with some 60 second figure studies It's been a while since I visited there, it never fails to get my pen moving.

Me Again

Self Portrait - 15-20 mins - HB pencil

Another unflattering self portrait but I don't mind, I enjoy that I can experiment and not upset anyone! I think a self portrait should reveal more than just a photographic reflection.

Sketched from life using a HB pencil. I then sealed it with acrylic varnish because I hate that graphite smudges (which is why I sketch with ink in my journals) It worked! It is sealed and by using a large brush I didn't move the graphite around when I coated it. The background is a mix of watercolour and acrylic varnish.

This counts as my 'Thing-A-Day' entry for day 3.

Sloppy Self Portrait

SP - 10 mins - Lead - Lge Canson sketchbook

I made this self portrait sketch from life in 10 mins, then left it to go about my day. When I opened it later that evening I decided to have some fun with my watercolours and a large brush, working wet into wet, I allocated myself another 10 mins and spent a further 5 minutes 'enhancing' it with a pigment liner once it was dry.


SP - Watercolour & Ink - 15 mins - Size 12 brush - Lge Canson sketchbook

All In A Days Journaling

These two spreads were created on the same day. A quick Bond portrait in lead started my morning off before dropping Harry at school and paying a visit to the local cafe for a wake-up cappuccino.
The rest of the day was spent self-publishing...No time to sketch!

Day 30 - The Voice Of Michelangelo

'I am still learning.'

Michelangelo

Celebration Hunt

Managed a couple of pages for the 79th Scavenger Hunt over at Wet Canvas over the weekend.
I decided to stick the list into my journal before drawing the items over it on the first page because I always tend to loose it and have to print several throughout each hunt. So far, it's working a treat, even though my sketching has made it a little difficult to read in places.


Monday was my Son's 10th Birthday. We had a great day and the champers and the toys Harry purchased allowed me to tick another couple of items of the scavenger hunt list!

A Trip Into Cambridge

Last Friday I drove my eldest and his friend into Cambridge so they could go of and do a little shopping while I relaxed with a latte and my sketchbook.
I strolled through the Grafton centre and onto Lion's Yard before I took my first latte break and sketched 'Lush', one of my favourite shops, opposite.



After my nice sweet latte I went on to browse the market square and soon realised that Cambridge centre is VERY short on benches. I took position on the cold stone fountain to sketch the top of the Marks 'n' Spencer building, chill running through my spine reminding me it was still a bit early for plein air works.
I then met the boys back at the Grafton for some lunch.



All re-charged, we browsed through the Grafton together a while. When they mentioned popping outside to get a mobile top up, I took my chance to stay put and grab another latte, sketching a fashion shop 'Oasis' opposite. No ink on this sketch, just the pencil from my coat pocket, and only time for a quick flick with the Inktense pencils before we headed towards the 'park 'n' ride' bus stop for Cowley road where my comfy truck was waiting patiently for our return.

Tricolour Portrait Demo

This is the 2nd of my portrait sketches for Ellie's Life Journal. This one is based on a recent photograph taken of Ellie just last week, aged 7.5 months.

Because I love a challenge and I'm having problems getting motivated since the weekend, I've decided to paint this portrait as a work in progress (WIP), in 3 stages using just 3 colours from my watercolour palette.

I hope to explain my process as I go. I paint largely from the heart so, dependant on subject, my methods alter slightly. However, when it comes to portraits I have noticed a pattern (of sorts) to my 'technique' that I hope to share with you as I go along. The tricolour challenge is something new to me that I have added as an extra, personal challenge. I challenge myself like this often, I believe it pushes my skills, allowing me to try something new. I never make notes or keep records of mixes, I mix as I go rather than large quantities, this means I probably never get the exact same mix twice but I see this as a positive rather than a negative...No two parts of anything are identical in shade or colour. If I had to be that technical about my art I don't believe it would offer me the same freedom and enjoyment it gives me now.

I'm posting as I paint, so this could go well and prove to be an enjoyable and perhaps even helpful reference. It could also go exceptionally badly but hey, I'm ok with that if you are...We learn the most from our mistakes.

STAGE ONE - The Sketch
Above is my preliminary sketch, created using an HB pencil and drawing very lightly until satisfied, then just a little harder on the lead to pull out my main guidelines so I can see where to apply my paint.
I am working on Bockingford watercolour paper...Yes, it is white but I have darkened the scan to allow the pencil marks to be more visible on screen.

Please, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask them by commenting on this post and I'll try to answer them in my next post.

Placemats

Inspired by the pretty placemat that featured in yesterday's post, I decided to draw around one in my journal to mark out spaces which I then filled with self portraits throughout my day.

Something rather exciting is happening today and it's possible I will be back later to reveal all.
Ooooh, the suspense!

Friendly Friday

Sketched in my Canson journal with HB pencil while talking to my dear friend Joan Sandford-Cook on the telephone, arranging to drive up to her in Coltishall,

I am now with her in her studio drinking a cool glass of Rose wine...Wine with a dear artist friend...It doesn't get much better than that!

Smile

Self Portrait - HB pencil - approx 30 mins

I do believe there is a smile going on in this one folks!

The sketch below was created by first using watercolour, then outlining in pigment liner...A first for me, as I usually sketch in ink first then add the watercolour.


Journal page - Pigment liner & watercolour

Additional Colour

Today's journal entries consist of another self portrait in HB pencil, with a hint of Derwent drawing pencil #6470 added for colour, and a few additions to my new Schmincke palette.
I've added some empty pans into the centre slot that held a travel paintbrush and filled a few of them with some W&N colours. I am looking forward to trying the new selection out.


Staying with the theme of additional colour, please take a moment to check the textured acrylic works of my dear friend Joan Sandford-Cook, who has just entered into the wonderful world of blogging.

Me and HB

Two more self portraits fill my journal pages today, both in HB pencil. I took a little artistic licence with the second, working on small pieces of me throughout the day to build a piece rather like a design board used in interior design. I like it and think it would prove interesting as a larger piece of work.

HB On The Side

Today's journal entry is another self portrait, this time in HB pencil.
Sketched while curled up on the sofa watching a horror movie that distracted my attention more than once during the 40 minutes I managed before placing the mirror on the floor and deciding to call it a day.

No measuring, sketching purely from instinct, feeling my way around the face now is the first time I am viewing it as a whole and I see the right eye is a little large, other than that, I think my instinct did ok this evening.

I have no idea what the film was called but it wasn't right until the end that I realised I had already seen it....Don't you just hate that?