19/08: WHAT THE DICKENS?

I've almost finished the current graphite portrait - needs another couple of hours and then I'll email it to my client for approval and find out whether I can post a picture here.   Then its on to a black cat portrait which will be in pastel. 

We're off to a Garden Party now.   David and I are part-time volunteers for Pilgrims Hospice charity.  We help to sell donated items on eBay - photographing, describing, weighing the items etc.   Its fun to do and helps to raise £100,000+ per year towards the £9million it takes to run the 3 East Kent hospices.  This Garden Party is a get-together and thank you for the volunteers so I'm looking forward to meeting some of the other 'behind the scene' peeps.   Fingers crossed for good weather.

As well as having the beach/sea within walking distance we are lucky to live within half-hour's drive to some fantastic historical sites of interest (comes in handy when entertaining guests).   Here are a couple of pictures I took in Rochester earlier in the week.

Rochester Cathedral is the 2nd oldest cathedral in England - it started out as a Saxon place of worship on land donated by Kind Ethelbert in 604AD (but obviously didn't look much like this when built).   The oldest cathedral is Canterbury - 20 minutes drive from our home.

I wasn't drunk when taking these photographs ... it is built on a slope honest! 

and the remains of Rochester Castle - I believe this is the Keep built of Kentish Ragstone in 1127.  I think its amazing that so much remains intact

But for me the most interesting places are those made famous by Charles Dickens who lived/worked nearby.

This is Eastgate House which is an Elizabethan Town House built in the 1590s and featured as the Westgate Seminary for Young Ladies in Pickwick Papers and Miss Twinkerton's School for Young Ladies in the mystery of Edwin Drood (which I haven't read ... must find a copy).   I just love the building.

This building in Rochester High Street was home to Dicken's character  Mr Pumblechook from Great Expectations and Pip (the hero) had a room in the attic.

don't want to overdose on Dickens ... but I found this sign fascinating

so when I got home I 'Googled' the story and its true ... downside is I came across a photo of a letter opener owned by Charles Dickens - it was capped with the preserved paw from his favourite cat, Bob!    Yuk!   I'm not one for saving bits of my pets ... although I appreciate that many people find it comforting to do so

17/08: VISITORS

Just a quickie to say I'm still here ... Mum has been visiting for a few days so we have been taking her out and about so no time for blogging (or drawing). We took her home yesterday and went on to see David's Mum who was celebrating her 93rd birthday.

Today we are doing our usual 'stint' as volunteers at the Pilgrims Hospice eBay shop. Sales of donated items are doing very well and I look forward to seeing what they've found for me to photograph, weigh and list today. Never a dull moment!

The sun is out in Tankerton and for a few days we've experienced that rare sight of a truly blue sea here (its usually porridge coloured) here's the proof:

 

It takes us just 10-15 minutes to walk to the sea for this view - I never tire of it though to be honest I love it best in the Autumn/Winter months when there are fewer visitors :o)

I'll post more later but have lots of catching up to do. 

11/08: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (NEWS)

The GOOD news
 is that one wild cat and two domestic cat pictures were accepted into the SOFA (Society of Feline Artists) exhibition which runs from 26 August to 16 September at Waterloo (Opposite the Old Vic Theatre).

These are pictures all framed and ready to go ... unfortunately I'm hopeless at taking photos of glazed pictures - I either catch my own reflection or have so much light bouncing off the glass that the pictures look 'faded' but these will give an idea of what the framed pieces look like

My snow leopard

Peeping Tom

Page (Based on a photo of fellow artist Daisyree's Norwegian Forest Cat).   I did submit this picture to the Gallery last year but they were not happy with the mount/frame I used so I've changed to a simpler style this time.

 
Pictures of all the cat paintings/drawings are shown on Llewellyn Alexander's website in descending order of price.   Mine are on pages 2 and 3.  There are some fabulous pictures on display and I'm very flattered to have had mine included.

check out the pictures here SOFA Exhibition Pictures 

Stupidly, I misread the date by which pictures had to be physically taken to the Gallery and I missed the deadline ... but the Gallery Director has very kindly allowed me to hand deliver them tomorrow and I got let off with a very light slap on the wrist :o)



The BAD news
is that this morning David spotted what he thought was a baby hedgehog on our neighbour's lawn.     I went to check it out and was horrified to find it was in fact just part of a full-grown hedgehog.      For the first time since moving to this house we saw a fox in our garden on Monday evening - it was trying to get to the dish of food left out for the hedgehogs but couldn't negotiate the small 'door' into the clear plastic box we use to protect the dish from cats (and foxes).    I suspect this was a fox kill.  The decline in hedgehog numbers has been partly attributed to increasing numbers of urban foxes who have developed a sneaky way of attacking hedgehogs without getting a muzzle full of sharp spines. 

My neighbour was also upset - she's a lovely old lady in her 80s and was delighted when she saw her first hedgehog in her garden a few weeks ago.   I really hope this is an isolated instance as I've got very attached to our nocturnal visitors and love watching them in the garden every evening.   RIP Spike :o(



and the UGLY news
as the whole world must be aware is the disgusting behaviour of the feral yobs who've brought such shame on themselves and our country.  In their designer 'gang' outfits and using their expensive Blackberry/mobile phones to orchestrate the senseless looting and destruction they can hardly convince the World they're doing it because they are poverty-stricken and disadvantaged!

The riots didn't come close to my home, but we visited relatives in Bexleyheath on Tuesday.  I needed to buy a picture frame from Hobbycraft en route so we detoured via Crayford in Kent.  A large group of youths was gathering outside the railway station having disembarked from a London train.  They were all hooded or wearing scarves to hide their faces and most of them were smoking (how can they afford that)??   Hobbycraft, along with most of the neighbouring stores had been advised by the police to close early but they allowed me in for 5 minutes to grab a frame and glass, pay and get out.    We didn't hang around - the youths were very intimidating because of the numbers but they were being met by our lovely policemen who I guess managed to disperse them/send them back where they came from.  

08/08: SIGNS OF THE TIMES

I'm working on a graphite portrait at the moment - its from a very small thumbnail size ref. photo and I wouldn't normally accept the commission - but there are no other photos available and under the special circumstances I've agreed to do what I can on a 'no obligation' basis.   My client is working overseas but visiting the UK briefly in a about 2 weeks time when he will drive to Kent to collect the portrait - assuming I can come up with the goods!

So ..... to fill a gap I thought I'd share a few little gems courtesy of my local authority 'Canterbury Council'.

Here's a sign they've very helpfully installed on the seafront at Tankerton - in case of emergency you'll now know exactly where you are and where to go for help ... or will you?

What's missing??    (How about the red arrow pointing to your location)????

and what about this helpful sign.    To ease congestion, Canterbury Council operates a park & ride system where visitors can leave their cars at designated parks and take buses into the city centre.    One such park is adjacent to a supermarket we often use ... and it annoys me every time I see this sign.

Whatever next, another huge (expensive) sign stating that car park may be empty during quiet times???

But 'fair do's' ...... When the council announced a year or so ago that they would cut back on grass cutting in municipal areas to save paying huge fees to contractors I hated the appearance of our untidy roadside verges etc ..... but this year some bright spark has planted wildflower seeds and the roadsides/roundabouts are transformed .... here's one area I photographed en-route to Dover last Thursday (another Booze Cruise to Dunkirk)!!  If you look carefully you can see a discarded Fast Food wrapper but generally the verges are an absolute picture just now .... so KUDOS to Canterbury Council!!

07/08: DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE !

Yesterday was Carnival Day here in Tankerton/Whitstable.

The big parade of floats gathered at 4pm to start their slow journey through town at 5pm.   The weather had been beautiful all day until 3.30pm when the wind picked up and it started to RAIN!   Typical British Summer weather!

We picked a viewing point midway on the planned route where there weren't many spectators .... there were several floats carrying Beauty Queens and their attendants from various neighbouring towns and they weren't really geared for bad weather.       At the point the floats passed us most of the participants had given up putting on brave faces so David took it upon himself to encourage them to smile and wave .... some you win, some you lose:

Not very happy ....

She was the fore-runner and she almost did ... run, that is!!   Not a happy Bunny is she?

The faces say it all ...

They tried manfully but flags don't operate very well in wind and rain ....

But we Brits usually manage to cope with our unpredictable weather ... 

This fundraiser (for Sea Cadets) wasn't at all bothered by the rain

This little lady was well prepared .... and quite enjoying herself I think

Making the most of things .....

 

Who cares about the pretty dress - blankets and umbrellas are the order of the day I think!

05/08: WAY TO GO

 Apologies if you tried to follow the link earlier via your Dashboard .... I've had computer problems with Firefox crashing on me throughout the day.   This is third time lucky (I think its the 'Christine' curse if you saw my Blog post dated 27 July)!


I've always said that I want my final journey to made in style like this - but I really want a practice run first so I can wave to people en route :o)


WAY TO GO

Aren't they magnificent?

and talking of black horses .... I've added more fine detail to  Bertie and 'lost' the rein which was bothering me a little.  Thanks for your input here - I think we all agreed it should go :o)  

I've emailed this photo to Bertie's mum for her comments.  If she's happy, I'll add the final whiskers around his muzzle and call him finished.  No more horses in the pipeline unfortunately ...

03/08: BERTIE - BLACK HORSE IN PASTELS

For several months emails have been flying backwards and forwards between me and Bertie's Mum.   I believe she has four horses which keep her very busy so it isn't easy taking photos.  However the first couple of ref pictures she provided were full body and so small that when I tried to enlarge them to see detail they pixelated horribly.   I received more photos but they were all of a similar size - not sure if they were taken by mobile phone?   Anyway, I decided that I'd just have to do my best with the ones I had as time is marching on.

This is the pose that Bertie's Mum liked best - he does have a lovely alert, cheeky expression here but from an artist's perspective it probably isn't the easiest pose as its easy to foreshorten the face because of the camera angle.   I've been working on this on and off for a couple of days but today I'm off to do my weekly voluntary stint at the Pilgrims Hospice eBay office so will have a break and get back to the portrait with fresh eyes on Thursday. 

This is the cropped ref photo I'm working from - as you can see it looks quite clear until you try to enlarge it.  I'm sure I read about a method of enlarging photos without them pixelating too much via PhotoShop but I can't remember where - any ideas?

apologies for the variance in colours - I'm using light grey Clairefontaine Pastelmat paper which is almost white and my camera doesn't like the black/grey/white/blue combination.    Its trying to turn everything too blue.

The initial outline - with a lot of 'guesstimating' with the bridle etc.  I've starting trying to build up facial contours using blues, browns and grey pastels

Getting there .... a bit more tidying up needed then I'll email Bertie's Mum to get her thoughts - looking at it on screen now I'm wondering whether to 'lose' the rein (on our left)  as it doesn't really add anything to the composition?

02/08: BROOM BROOM ...... (sorry)!

Couldn't think of a better title.

One of our poor old apple trees is so heavy with fruit that the lower branches were dragging the ground.   My 'instant' fix has taken some of the weight off its shoulders :o)

01/08: FUNDRAISING FOR (ANOTHER) RICHARD

As you may recall, my stepson Richard had a terrible motorcycle accident in April last year.  Thanks to the London Air Ambulance and specialist London hospital treatment he pulled through.  He spent 7 weeks in coma and 6 months in hospital and was finally allowed home at the end of September to complete the healing process.  He suffered permanent damage to his vision due to brain trauma so will never regain his driving licence but has otherwise made a brilliant recovery.  We will always be so grateful to the Air Ambulance and the dedicated hospital staff for their skills and dedication.

So it struck a chord with us when we heard on the BBC Kent news that another Richard has been in a coma since 1 July following a motorcycle incident.  Richard Plummer was working/living in Bali at the time and I understand he was found unconscious and his credit cards and money had been stolen so he may have been ambushed.  Tragically his travel insurance had expired so he has no medical insurance.  His elderly parents have so far used their life savings to help with medical expenses but the cost of flying him back to the UK by air ambulance will be in the region of £80,000.

A local benefactor has pledged the cash as a 3 month loan.  The loan has to be repaid with interest within 3 months.  Richard's parents are pensioners and will have to sell their house to repay the debt if they cannot raise the money by other means.   I watched the TV interview with his parents and it brought a huge lump to my throat - I know how stressful it was coping with our Richard's situation - we didn't have the additional worry of repatriating him or losing our home in the process.

Whatever the rights or wrongs about why he'd allowed his insurance to lapse I feel dreadfully sorry for his parents.  We've made a small donation via the Appeal Website - every little helps of course!

http://richardsrecovery.webs.com/information.htm



Today I started to follow the Blog of Daimon Walker (a kind of relative by marriage of Richard Plummer)  This weekend Daimon  has started on a journey to walk from Lands End to John O'Groats in the UK to help raise awareness and funds for Richard's appeal.   Its a new Blog and I'm follower No. 2.   Perhaps some of my Blogger friends would like to add themselves as followers so Daimon doesn't feel 'so alone' on this epic journey .... 1000 miles (phew) rather him than me   :o)

http://1000milewalkies.blogspot.com/

Richards' flight home started yesterday - the journey has to be made in stages with 5 stops I believe.    He was expected to land in the UK at 0200 hours this morning.   It appears he became unwell part way through the journey though so keeping everything crossed his family will be posting some better news on the site shortly.

31/07: BESSIE'S BIG SISTER!

I haven't done any drawing for a couple of days as I had a dental problem on Friday.   An old root canal treatment flares up every now and then and it chose last week to rear its ugly head.  I thought it would just 'go away' but by Friday I was in severe pain but my usual dentist (who is still in London as I never got round to switching when we moved to the Kent coast)  was away till Tuesday.

We found a local NHS dentist who takes emergency cases so I saw him on Friday and have started a course of antibiotics to clear the infection.     I feel much better already and David tells me I'm once again bearable to live with!!  I plan to get on with the next commission (horse) tomorrow so will post WIP  pics then.

Yesterday I got it into my head that I'd like to take some photos of my elderly horse, Roxy, and her equine friends at the stables.   I planned to do a sort of 'May to September' theme comparing photos of her from 20 years ago and current ones - how unkind is that??   I don't think I'd be too happy about having 'then and now' photos of me shown like that.      Anyway I probably took 50+ photos of Roxy and it reminded me just how difficult it is to get 'good' reference photos of animals sometimes.  I know what I was 'looking for' but she frustrated me time after time - ears flicked back, nose thrust into camera, eyes shut at the critical moment ....

Fortunately I found an easier subject to photograph in the car park of the supermarket we shopped at when we left the stables:

I just thought it was a 'cute' car ... but the proud owner was very chatty and told me that this is one of a limited edition (29 cars).     It is the 'big sister' of Bessie, the canary yellow roadster registration WHO 1 which belonged to the third Doctor Who (Jon Pertwee) and appeared in episodes with the fourth Doctor  (Tom Baker).     Must confess I don't remember Bessie - but I used to hide behind the settee whenever I heard the theme music for Doctor Who on the TV - I was petrified of the Daleks ... well I was only 5 years old.

 Isn't she a beauty?

I am trying to get into the habit of taking my camera with me when I/we go out and about as you never know what you might stumble across.

29/07: SPOT FINISHED

'Spot' is no longer a surprise.   He was  intended as a surprise birthday gift but when I emailed this picture to my client for approval she didn't feel able to make the final decision herself as she doesn't see Spot very often so she decided to let Spot's mum into the secret, forwarded the email and asked her opinion.

This is (part of) the message I received back:

'C' says it is quite amazing and she wouldn't change a thing. Apparently Spot looks at her in a very special way and she said she never thought anyone would be able to capture that expression in his eyes and as soon as she saw it she cried because it was so perfect.

So ... another tearful client (I must be a very wicked person I think) :o)

Spot is Appaloosa but luckily for me doesn't have too many spots on his face/neck - mainly just the eye and muzzle area.  He certainly does have a cheeky glint in his eye doesn't he?

 I'm probably going to start on the black horse next, but regrettably the photos aren't terribly clear so I'm still hoping his owner will be able to supply more detailed refs for me.

28/07: WET, WET, WET!

Today has been very disjointed - spine clinic this morning, visitors at lunchtime, hairdresser at 2pm and tonight I'm meeting with the Made in Whitstable Art Group on the beach (weather permitting) for a fish & chip supper to discuss tactics for the next year.

As the name suggests, Made in Whitstable was formed to bring creative Whitstable people together with a central website and access to Gallery space and various events throughout the year.   The Group has around 200 member now - photographers, artists, musicians, writers etc.   I've met many of the members when we shared the cost of exhibiting at the Horsebridge Gallery last year but I think more people have joined since then and we'll be discussing plans for next year.   

I've not made much progress with the horse picture today so instead thought I'd share some of the photos I took in Fuerteventura (was it only last week)??  of some of the residents having fun in the water - I don't think we'll be seeing many swimmers in the sea at Whitstable tonight!   These pictures are the reason for the Wet Wet Wet header - it isn't actually raining here, and in fact the sun has struggled through this afternoon so hopefully we won't be 'freezing our wotsits' off on the beach this evening :o)

I took far too many pictures of this lovely dog having fun on a hot afternoon.   She waited obediently (but impatiently) for permission from her master to jump into the sea and came out instantly when called.   She was so intent on watching her master all the time, anxious not to miss any command

This wall by the small town beach is popular with anglers and with local children who love to show off their prowess in the water - they all swim like fishes and don't seem at all fazed by the fishing lines/hooks all round them :o)

 

It looks as though this lad has been caught on the hook here, don't you think?

Bless!!!   but at least they aren't sitting on their backsides glued to the TV or a computer screen - they have a much healthier lifestyle than most British kids 

27/07: CHRISTINE REINCARNATED?

On holiday I read Stephen King's novel about a haunted car called 'Christine' - a bright red 1958 Plymouth Fury whose new teenaged owner (Arnie) is totally obsessed with it/her and spends more time restoring and generally 'loving' it/her than he does with friends or family.   'Christine' is evil and kills people that threaten her - her odometer (milometer)? runs backwards as Christine repairs and rejuvenates herself until she is in pristine condition.    With me so far??

if you haven't read the book or seen the film look away now :o)    at the end of the story Christine is overpowered and crushed into a little metal cube ......  that is supposed to be the end of her - but I know better!


David (hubby) insists on taking his netbook computer on holiday  despite the fact we have almost no signal at our holiday home. To collect or send emails we have to take the netbook into town where our friend runs the local tourist information office and lets us use his wifi facility.     I don't get much sense out of David most of the time as he hunches over the computer for hours on end moaning about lack of signal and inability to get online (but grumbling keeps him happy).  

The netbook is bright red and, having read Stephen King's book, I noted the parallels between Arnie/Christine and David/computer, so I named his netbook Christine and made David read the book to appreciate why!  He made the connection ....

We were about to walk into Town one evening when 'Christine' threw herself off the chair where she'd been placed and landed on the floor.  I was walking past the chair at the time but swear I didn't push her (!!) She was in a padded bag so we didn't think any more of it till we tried to go online.   She was broken!!!   All we got on screen was a lot of zigzagging lines and dots.    Our friend offered to put us in touch with a computer repair man to see if he could retrieve any of the data (including the 100+ photos I'd uploaded on holiday) but we felt time was too short as we were due to fly home 2 days later.    David was devastated ... the end of the world etc etc .....   RIP Christine !!!

Next morning he was up early - ostensibly to put the coffee machine on but really to have a final chat with Christine ....   He came racing back to the bedroom to show me Christine ... she'd repaired herself overnight and was working better than ever ..... SPOOKY!   I make sure I'm not alone in the room with her now :o)


Anyway,

Here are the pictures that have been selected for hanging at the UKCPS exhibition at Westminster in September.  I'm still in shock to be honest as I wasn't sure any of them would be good enough to pass muster with the judges as they are practice pieces done pretty quickly (but I'm not going to argue).  I have to sort out frames now ..

I photographed this giraffe at the Zoo on Fuerteventura earlier this year.  He was very friendly and fascinated by his human visitors.  This is drawn on drafting film using a white backing sheet.   Originally I planned to draw in the background of palm trees as per the ref photo, but time was short and David thought it was more striking as a 'stand-alone' head study.  This was finished in a couple of afternoons as working on drafting film means fewer layers can be laid down so the process is much faster.    Suits me, less work involved !    He gave it the title 'disdain'.  

This cheetah was drawn as practice on drafting film a few months ago - using a black backing sheet.    David doesn't like this picture - always a good sign I've learned in the past :o)   Titled:  The Watcher

 

This is coloured pencil on Fabriano 5 watercolour paper and I've called it 'Please'

26/07: INDECISION!

Yesterday I was 'faffing' about how to crop the cat picture ... Jan's advice (Pets to Posies)  was to crop it square and I tend to agree.   Today I darkened the background and did more work on the cat's fur and added whiskers.    I also sprinkled the background with 'gold dust'

When moving house a few years ago I came across a rusty gloss paint tin in the garage which was full of bright gold dust.     I recently got around to having it evaluated ...  I took it to a local jeweller to find out whether it was really gold (and therefore worth a fortune).    Unfortunately, after testing, it turned out to be a brass based dust which is apparently used by artists???   How??    I decided to spray the cat picture with pastel fixative and then sprinkle the picture with gold dust in the hope it would stick ... some did, most didn't.     Does anyone have any idea how to use this dust.   It looks so pretty in the tin :o)

Anyway, here's the cat again .....  you can see the gold dust but the true effect is only visible when the picture is seen in the light when it sparkles

Here's the same picture shown with an 'off the shelf' square mount and frame laid on top.   The mount is still in cellophane wrapping so has subdued the colours a bit.    I think the mount is slightly too overpowering and I need to show more of the cat's whiskers etc., so I'll need to ask my local framer to cut a narrower mount  with a larger aperture.

Which do you prefer - first or second crop?


I shall be out all day tomorrow working at the Hospice shop eBay office so no art updates.    However, I received confirmation today that I have had 3 pictures accepted by the jury for the 10th International UKCPS exhibition in London (September).    I hadn't expected to enter due to health issues which prevented me doing much drawing earlier in the year but the deadline for entries was extended and I entered 2 existing 'practice pieces' and a new drawing  which only took a couple of days as it was very simple and completed on drafting film which speeds up the process.  Needless to say ... I'm extremely chuffed!   I'll post the pictures later this week.