27/05: CANTERBURY SOCIETY OF ART - SUMMER EXHIBITION

We're back from a lovely 4 day visit to Lyon, France.   Lyon is France's 2nd most important City and a World Heritage Site with lovely architecture, cobbled streets with fab restaurants/bars and was a large silk production region.   

The weather was a bit 'iffy' and we got a little wet at times but we packed a lot into our 4 days and travelled by bus, trolley-bus, tram, 'wally-trolley' (the new tourist tram that is being trialled so we got a free ride), a riverboat cruise and the funicular railway.    We visited the Basilica, a park with free zoo and a brilliant exhibition at the newly built Musée des Confluences - lots of separate exhibitions devoted to the evolution of the World and mankind.   I'm not usually a fan of museums but was really blown away by this exhibition.

I took hundreds of photos which need working through but I've got a few more ref. photos to add to my ever increasing folders of  'to draw' subjects.     3 are 'street people' to whom we gave donations in exchange for their permission to photograph them and the others are birds/animals encountered on our travels.      

Today I've been catching up on emails etc., and sorting out entries for the Canterbury Society of Art's Summer show which will be held at the Whitstable Horsebridge Centre from 22 June to 5 July.     I will be away for handing-in day but one of the Exec has very kindly offered to store my entries and take them to the Gallery for me.    One of the Society's criteria is that work must not have been shown in the Gallery for the previous 5 years.   As I have already allocated 5 drawings to the UKCPS Regional Exhibition in Romsey, Hampshire from 6 to 31 July, I've been scratching around to find pictures to enter ... 

I've cut a mount for 'Sax on the Beach' and framed him so might as well enter him.  I'm liking him a little more now he's been 'cut down to size' and put behind glass so I can't fret about him any more!  He's completed in pure coloured pencil on Derwent Watercolour Paper

 

I'm also giving Senor Molina another airing ... you all know what he looks like by now but here he is again in his frame .. apologies for the glare off the glass.    The frame is a simple black wooden one and the mount is a very dark grey

and I'm going to put a couple of 'oldies' in ... both pastel pictures which have been hanging around for too long .. time to see if I can find them new homes and make space for newer works.    

This is a snow leopard I photographed at a small private Zoo in Sandwich, Kent and the portrait was done about 5 years ago.     Pastel on Pastelmat

 

and finally a lovely 'Russian Blue' cat which is also Pastel on Pastelmat

Just got to print the labels for them and I can forget about them for a few weeks.

19/05: SAX ON THE BEACH

Today I worked more on the drawing of the Saxophonist and did a lot of erasing, trying to brighten up some of the buttons and knobs on the saxophone but I'm still not sure about it.   I'm much happier doing 'head and shoulder' portraits and concentrating on facial features - the musical instrument has got me beat I think!

David looked at the drawing this evening and was a bit 'ho hum' - which ordinarily I wouldn't worry about as traditionally any picture he doesn't like does well in exhibitions/competitions.   But I agree with him on this one ... so I'm going to stop working on it now.    I will put 'Sax on the Beach' into the (long thin) frame which was the main reason for drawing this image .... but may well find another subject to replace the saxophonist/fit the frame at a later stage.

Its possible I'll have a change of heart at some stage if I leave the drawing alone for a few weeks/months so .... watch this space.

Now I just have to work out what I'm going to work on next.    I have so many reference photos from our recent trip to India, and of course the fabulous Andalusian horses/riders photographed last month on Fuerteventura.   Whatever I work on, I think it will have to be in coloured pencil as I've been lucky enough to win hundreds of pencils over the last few months so I really need to use them - the pastels will have to wait their turn!

We're out and about tomorrow .... when the UKCPS exhibition finished I collected some pictures belonging to an artist who lives in a neighbouring seaside resort and will deliver them to him tomorrow.   Its many years since I visited Broadstairs so I'm looking forward to spending some time there and just hope the weather will be kind to us.  I remember 'skiving' off school and catching the train to Broadstairs and/or Margate as a teenager - hoping the place won't have changed too much in the decades since my misspent youth!

18/05: CATCH UP

Its been a busy few days - we were in London last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, then on Sunday we were out all day selling raffle tickets for the Air Ambulance Charity - win a Mini Cooper convertible!

Monday we were busy with Air Ambulance in the morning and then enjoyed a lovely lunch with David's cousin and her husband and just chilled out for the afternoon.

Whilst demonstrating/stewarding at the UK Coloured Pencil Society Exhibition I took along a picture to work on which I started about a year ago and got disillusioned with and abandoned ... you know how it is.     I needed something I could pick up and put down between chatting with visitors so this fitted the bill - in fact I did very little work on it as was chatting most of the time.

Anyway .... first off, just a little bit more fab news:

Senor Molina (as well as being awarded Best Portrait at the exhibition) was voted joint first in the People's Choice vote - based on voting slips completed by visitors to the Gallery during the two week exhibition.   I was really amazed as the Portrait display was on the lower level of the Gallery and it was noticeable that many visitors didn't want to go downstairs - either because they were in a hurry or because they had mobility problems so a lot of the People's Choice votes were being based solely on the pictures in the Ground floor gallery.

Anyway, this is a drawing I started in April last year.   The subject is a saxophonist who is part of a group called 'La Familia Flotante' (Spanish for 'floating family')   They are excellent musicians and regularly play near the Town Beach in Corralejo (where we have a holiday home - in the Canaries).  I specifically chose him as the model because if have a tall, narrow picture frame and wanted a subject who would fit the bill ... and the frame.

I gave up on the drawing halfway through as just wasn't enjoying it - normally I do head & shoulder type portraits which allows me to concentrate on facial features/detail and I'm out of my comfort zone with the saxophone and all its buttons etc.,

This is the last progress photo I showed ... in April 2015

and this is where I got to after the exhibition where I added more detail/colour, and a couple of hours at home today:

The photo is a bit dark as I've lost the light now but I plan to take a close look at the saxophone tomorrow and and try to work out all the twiddly bits ... If I succeed I'll carry on and finish the drawing so I can move onto something new without feeling guilty!

08/05: UKCPS 15TH OPEN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, LONDON

Well we're back in the UK (briefly) having had a brilliant time in Corralejo, Canaries.   

We had a horrible trip home with a delayed flight as the airline had to switch planes due to ours having been damaged by luggage handlers who made a large hole in the bodywork somehow, then a passenger was taken ill on board, the 'alternative' plane had no sandwiches or food on board - just crisps and chocolate and NO white or rose wine!    When we finally landed we had to wait 15 mins for steps to arrive so we could disembark .... not impressed Easyjet!

So we finally got home at 4.30am this morning and apart from a bit of food shopping and an hour pulling the most obvious weeds from the garden, we've just chilled and enjoyed the lovely sunshine here in Kent.

The UK Coloured Pencil Society 15th Annual Exhibition opened with its Private View at Menier Gallery, London, last Tuesday and I was thrilled to learn on Wednesday that 2 of my 3 pictures had won awards.      Senor Molina won the Derwent Award for Best Portrait

So I'm very pleased about that ... sadly Alexander (the subject of my portrait) passed away in January but that twinkle in his eye will carry on.    This has proved to be a popular portrait and won a few awards so I hope he's watching and raising a glass 

and The Big Issue Seller got a Highly Commended Award which is quite topical as I photographed him near the Gallery when I was demonstrating at last year's exhibition.     He was sitting on the pavement at his 'pitch' near Guy's Hospital, wrapped up against the chill and I loved the colourful layers of jumpers and gilet.

 I will be demonstrating at the Gallery on Thursday and stewarding on Friday, so am looking forward to seeing all the pictures 'in the flesh' as they always look so much better than online I think.  

The exhibition runs till next Saturday 14th so if you're in the area, do pop in and say hello.    If not, here's a link to the UKCPS website page showing all the entries

2016 UKCPS Open Int'l Exhibition entries

If you click on the 'i' symbol top right of each picture it gives details of the artist and the work.

Andalusian Fair

This is a short post as the keyboard on our computer has gone wrong and we're having to 'import' a screen keyboard which is painful to use ... so slow

Here's a few picture from the Andalusian Fair which took place in Corralejo last weekend - these are taken in pretty harsh sunlight so they'll need a bit of tweaking when I get back to my 'home' computer and can access the photo-editing programmes

11/04: Niña - Grounded!

Have had another busy couple of days but at last I found time to 'ground' this young lady - I opted for a very simple dark floor with a bit of shadow to the left of her feet as the light was coming from the right side

Yet again its raining and gloomy so the photos look a bit patchy but this is the final version now (you'll be pleased to hear)

I'm going to stick with the ivory mount and 'rustic' grey wood frame I think.    This is the mount just laid loosely on top.  I have got larger mounts/frames but I think the pictures will end up too large - this is 20" x 16" frame which is a reasonable size for hanging I think.

09/04: Niña - just about finished ... I think!

We had a busy day 'running around' yesterday - we had to go to the Air Ambulance HQ to collect some bits and bobs (for our charity work) and then made some family visits so I didn't do any drawing.

I'm now bored with this one ... its a horrible feeling that I get frequently when on the last stages of a picture and I have to be careful not to ruin it by doing something silly.      I found a mount/frame at home that I think will work with the drawing and these are just laid loosely over the picture to show the effect.

Now I realise I really ought to add a little more detail to 'ground' her ... maybe just a suggestion of shadow or a few floor tiles but I've decided not to attempt a full background at this stage.

So there'll be a final progress picture soon ....

07/04: Day 3 WIP 'Niña - Spanish Girl in Coloured Pencil

I got sidetracked this morning ... so many distractions ...  I didn't make as much progress as I'd have liked on this today.

Anyway, I managed another couple of hours work this afternoon and here are the progress pics ... again the colours vary as taken in different light conditions ... I think the last one is probably most true to life

I've darkened the hair slightly.   I'm working on drafting film over a black backing sheet which makes the background look grey but in 'real life' it doesn't look as dark as this

This background colour is probably more true here although the red dress is now too orange ... oh the joys of technology.   I've added more colour to the ruffles/frills in the dress

and this is where I ground to a halt - I've started adding some shadow to the ruffles to add more realism.

I will need to work more on her skin tones, in particular her arms and hands, but as usual I'm doing lots of 'flitting' and not concentrating on any one area for long.   I still have her feet to add but hope that won't be too problematic as she's wearing simple canvas slippers.

06/04: WIP Spanish Girl (Niña) in Coloured Pencil on Drafting Film

I made a little more progress on the coloured pencil drawing today.   I really do like the way Polychromos pencils work on the drafting film.     For the moment I'm calling this Niña ... which means Girl (young girl) in Spanish

Unfortunately I'm coming to the end of my giant roll of drafting film and the piece I've cut to work on will insist on springing free of the masking tape and curling up.   In trying to straighten it I've put a few dents in the surface which show in some lights ...

I've cut the film to approx 20" x 16" but I think I'll end up cropping the work to 16" x 12" and using a mount/mat to take it to frame size 20" x 16" that way I'll probably get away without adding any sort of background .... fingers crossed.

The light has been horrible today as we've had high winds and squally showers - not good for photographing work.

This was the first WIP.    The patchy effect is because the film is curling and creating shadows .. shame really as I quite like it!   I wonder how hard it would be to produce a background like that in coloured pencil?

and here I worked on her hair and started on those skirt ruffles ... I had to stop as was getting spots before my eyes

The variance in colours is due to the poor light .... I'll worry about getting a truer likeness once she's a bit more advanced.

05/04: New CP drawing - at last!

Well, I've no excuses for the long absence.    We were on holiday for a couple of weeks but even so, I've found it difficult to get motivated and couldn't decide on a subject (despite having taken so many photos in India etc)

I have a cat to do but as there is no urgency I thought I'd start with something for myself till I'm back in the swing of things.

This young lady's parents sell traditional flamenco outfits at a Sunday market in Corralejo (Fuerteventura) and I thought she looked so pretty dressed in one of the childrens' outfits.   She was happy to pose (and I had her parents permission).

I'm working on drafting film for this one, using Polychromos pencils and a black backing sheet.    I wasn't sure whether to use a black or a white backing sheet (important to decide at the outset as pencils colours appear quite different on each).  I think the black works best, as the film is slightly opaque the black shows as grey and I might just leave it like that without adding a background.   For the moment this is just a spare sheet of black Canford paper slipped behind the film so I can see how the colours are working.

Drafting film will only allow a few layers of pencil so a slightly different technique is called for to get skin tones right - I'd normally use many more layers and do a lot of blending but here I'm using very sharp pencils and gently crosshatching to mix the colours.

I stupidly managed to drip water on the film when photographing it earlier - my hair was wet after my shower .. just hoping that won't mark the film or I might be forced to add a background anyway!

09/03: HOME FROM OUR INDIAN ADVENTURE

We've had a superb time in India, touring the South and staying at some amazing places.  We then took an internal flight to Mumbai in the North where we spent four hectic days doing walking tours of the city.     I kept a travel Blog which I managed to update most days (rather hurriedly as internet was sporadic/non-existent in some locations) and if you're interested you can find details at:

http://clinxxii.blogspot.co.uk/

But now back to reality.     I've been ploughing through the thousands of photos I took and have shortlisted a few 'characters' which I hope will make it to my drawing board over the next few months.

I received an email at the weekend telling me that 3 of my drawings have been juried into the UK Coloured Pencil Society's 15th Annual Int'l Exhibition which is being staged at Meniers Gallery, Southwark Street in London so I'm thrilled about that.    I've been a member of the UKCPS for 10 years now and have had pictures juried into the Annual Exhibition 9 times now ... one more year and I'll have earned my Gold Signature status so need to start thinking about a drawing pretty soon as time just flies by it seems.

These are the successful pictures.

Sadly, I received an email today saying that Alexander - my model for 'Senor Molina' passed away recently.    He was a real 'character' and well known in Corralejo (Fuerteventura) where he lived rough on the streets near a windmill in the centre of Town.   Rumour had it that he was either Russian or Latvian and a Doctor in a previous life but had taken to street life and many people looked out for him.. RIP Alexander/Senor Molina (the title means Mr Windmill)

Senor Molina

This next character sells the 'Big Issue' magazine from his pitch near Guys Hospital, St Thomas Street, Southwark.    I photographed him last May when I took a break from demonstrating at the UKCPS exhibition (Meniers Gallery) to walk to nearby Borough Market.     Spookily, I just looked at the area on Google (Streetview) and there he is sitting on the pavement wearing exactly the same clothes I photographed him in ... his face has been 'smudged out' but there's no mistaking him ...

Big Issue Seller

and the third one to get in (which surprised me as it was never a favourite of mine) is this one which I called 'red hat' .... she's a member of the 'hair braiders' family that we see constantly in the town and around the beaches of Corralejo in the Canaries where we have a holiday home.    Last year her big sister was the model for my exhibition entry so I guess its fitting that little sister has her 5 minutes of fame also.    She was playing 'dress up' in the street with friends when I took this photo

16/02: LAST MINUTE PANICS

We're flying to India on Thursday and David (bless) started complaining of an eye problem on Friday - seeing floaters.   I got him an opticians appointment on Saturday and he had a check up but was told to return this morning for more tests.  Today the tests were inconclusive so the optician tried to telephone the emergency eye clinic at William Harvey Hospital (Ashford) but they didn't answer their phone.   So ... he wrote a referral letter and told us to drive to the hospital for their 'walk in' clinic.   Its a 40 mile round trip through busy towns so I wasn't best pleased at having to drive (as he'd had drops in his eyes and driving is banned for 6 hours).

To cut a long story short, the 'walk in' clinic is not a 'walk in' clinic - appointments required, in addition to referral letters.    They took pity on us though and agreed to fit him in this afternoon.   Thankfully it was confirmed that he has PVD (posterior vitreous detachment) which is common as you get older ... there is no retinal damage so he has the all clear to fly.

Anyway, I hope to write a few blogposts and post some photos along the way when we have decent wifi coverage.    If you'd like to check in occasionally the link is:   http://clinxxii.blogspot.co.uk/

Between getting ready for India, sorting out my Mum's flood damage claim (still ongoing) and David's eye problems I've had no time for art.

However, I delivered the graphite drawing on Sunday and the client was very happy which was a relief.   Since he doesn't use a computer I wasn't able to send him work in progress pictures for approval or critique prior to finishing it.  

This was the final version alongside the original dark/faded photo.   Apparently my client's grandfather was about 17 or 18 when the photo was taken:

The picture was supplied with a double mount but I forgot to photograph it before packaging it - this is just a single mount laid loosely over the picture so I could work out where to add my signature.

05/02: 'GO DARKER' .....

I was fortunate enough to attend a 3 day workshop run by a wonderful Graphite Artist, Mike Sibley, a few years ago.   What really sticks in my mind from that course is Mike's constant refrain of 'go darker, go darker' every time I thought I'd almost finished an exercise.

and ... he's right of course, lots of light layers with sharp pencil points, whether using graphite pencils or coloured pencils, to build up the contrasts, is the way to go ...

I had intended to finish this today, but got sidetracked dealing with the aftermath of my Mother's insurance claim for water damage at her flat .. so I didn't get much achieved before losing the light (and having to go grocery shopping)

Latest update:

This photo was taken in poor light and the 'grubby' mount is one I keep to hand to ensure I'm working within the boundaries of the mount/frame that will eventually be used with this drawing.   Of course I could simply tape off the drawing area but I'm always worried about the tape 'lifting' the surface of the support when removed (even though I use low-tack tape) ... I'd hate for that to happen just as I finish a drawing.

But ... it helps me to view the drawing like this and work out which areas need tweaking,  In this photo you can't see all the 'twiddly' bits of harness on the cart that I've tried to incorporate.   Trouble is the photo ref is so poor, and my knowledge of working harness isn't great, so am hoping I haven't made any major errors.

one more session will see this finished (pending client's approval of course)

and I'm very pleased to say that I received a lovely email today from the lady who received the portrait of Fudge as her 40th birthday present yesterday.     Fudge passed away recently at the grand old age of 18 years and the ref. photos weren't wonderful, so I was very pleased and relieved to hear that I managed to 'capture her perfectly' in the words of her Mum.

03/02: FIFTY SHADES OF GREY ...

I'm enjoying getting back to basics with Graphite Pencils ... not having to worry about colours for this one.    I'm not sure how old the postcard is but the young man in the photo is my client's Grandfather and I'd guess my client is mid/late 50s so its probably 80+ years old.

But I have got my work cut out trying to see detail in this postcard - the photo is 3" x 4½" and quite faded.  I've scanned the card and brightened the scan which has helped a little.  Anyway, I'm having fun and this is where I've got to after a couple of sessions.  I've left out the contents of the cart as I felt that 'unbalanced' the drawing a little

Size is approx 12" x 8" and still lots of detail to be added 

31/01: Time Wasting!

Well, I feel as though I've had a pretty unproductive weekend ... we are both a bit 'low' since we got back from sunny Fuerteventura last Sunday evening but I really am struggling with motivation today.

I had to have some nasty dental surgery on Monday with extractions and jawbone augmentation so am 'stitched up' and a little achey but the worst is over and the stitches come out in another week then I have to wait for 7 months for the bone graft to settle

We're going back to India soon so had to have our Hepatitis booster jabs on Wednesday and in between the medical appointments we've been getting things ready for that trip ... sorting out clothes/shoes/hand-gels etc.

I did daily Blog Posts during our last Indian visit and although it was sometimes frustrating dealing with slow/non-existent internet connections, the Blog was invaluable as a means of remembering where we'd been, what we'd done and matching up the photos - that trip was via an organised coach group with 1 week+ in the North and 1 week+ in the South of the country and it was very hectic - we didn't stay more than 1 night in any hotel so were forever packing/unpacking.   Friends could follow our progress and comment using:   Sue and David in India

However, Blogger in their wisdom have decreed that only people with Google+ accounts can follow Google Blogs now which is a bit naughty as not everybody wants to joing Google+.   I've tried using Bloglovin but am having difficulty finding any of my Blogs apart from Pencilpix on that site - does anyone else use this site?    Anyway I've wasted several hours and have given up on it.    I have set up a new Blog for the forthcoming trip and will just email the URL link to friends and they'll have to find posts that way!

I have got an interesting graphite commission to start tomorrow.    Its from a small, poor quality, photo/postcard but the subject matter is interesting to me ... so watch this space.   I've agreed to have a go although normally I'd reject something with this little detail to work from - hope I don't live to regret it

Over the last couple of days I experimented with my new Polychromos pencils - drawing a small dog I photographed a while ago in Corralejo/Fuerteventura.   I've been working on brown Pastelmat paper and really dislike the combination ... The pencil colours just seem to bleed into the soft surface so despite interim sprays of fixative the work has ended up looking clumsy and not at all what I wanted.   I love the pencils though but next time will stick to Fabriano or Derwent WC paper

I've given up with this now hence the half finished curly coat ...

this looks a bit 'washed out' so tried bringing up the contrast a little - still not accurate but I really need to do something useful now .... like open a bottle of vino!

07/01: STONE PAINTING .. PRACTICE PIECES

Well, its 10 years since I last painted stones - mainly because local Councils in Kent now ban removal of stones/pebbles from beaches (for very good reasons) so my source materials dried up.   I have just around a dozen old stones that have been waiting for attention.   The Kentish stones were quite smooth and easy to work on.

Here on Fuerteventura, the volcanic rocks/stones are much more pitted and porous, even those close to the shore where they get constantly moved around by the waves.    But I brought a few to our house to 'have a go'.

I bought cheap (poor quality) brushes and tubes of acrylic from one of the local 'Euro' stores and its very true that you get what you pay for!   The paints are thin and the brushes pretty awful but I persevered using far more layers than usual to try to get reasonable results.    

I'd forgotten how I worked previous stones so these are pretty much made up out of my head and although they're not the best quality I've had fun ..... They still need tails (the mice characters) and I started changing the cat from cream colour to ginger/tabby so he needs more colours.   All will need varnishing to withstand sun/rain as they'll be outdoor ornaments.       I probably won't do any more yet until I can find a proper art shop and buy better quality materials

It whiled away time on a showery day!

05/01: BELATED HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hope the New Year is starting well for everybody.    We've been enjoying a few days in the Sunshine at our home on Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands.   My mum is house-sitting in England which has worked out quite nicely as her own flat was flooded just before Christmas so insurers have removed all the carpets and her bed and she's waiting for replacements.

Today the weather turned wet (but its still warm) so I've been catching up on some chores, practising making crispy parmesan baskets as we'll be having friends round for a cheese & wine afternoon soon and I wanted to ensure I could make these small enough.    I would have shown you some photos but 'somebody' ate them all (not naming him but bet you can all guess who it was)!

I've also painted a few stones/rocks with a base coat of black acrylic.     We are banned from collecting beach stones at my local beaches in Kent but here on Fuerteventura (being a volcanic island) stones are plentiful so there isn't a problem.    Mostly the rocks are too rough and pitted to use but we had a hire car for a few days and found a couple of beaches where the stones were smoother so I collected about 10.     It'll give me something to do on days where the weather isn't so good ... yes it rains even here in Paradise ...

This was the final picture of Fudge - she has been approved and I'll be posting her to my client when I get back to England