This post has nothing to do with Halloween ... its just that I've been home for nearly a week so thought I ought to say Hello
After 3 weeks of shade temperature 30deg it took a few days to acclimatise when we got back to Whitstable - the weather here is very mild for the time of year and we even picked a strawberry and a couple of pounds of cherry tomatoes from the garden in the week - no frosts yet to kill the plants (and that really is tempting fate I think)!
We went to France on Thursday to stock up on essential supplies - wine and crevettes mostly. Living as we do on the North Kent coast it is a very easy journey for us and we can easily cross the Channel by Ferry, spend 5 or 6 hours in France and return the same day - very civilised :-)
I will post some artwork in a couple of days ... I've slowly been working on the 3 dog portraits I started before our holiday and it will be nice to have them finished and approved by the weekend as I need to move on to some human commissions fairly quickly now that my motivation has returned.
So that's it from me tonight ... a really boring post but at least I've made a start
Monday, 31 October 2011
Friday, 21 October 2011
21/10: CHIPMUNKS
Expecting 'iffy' weather today, David and I decided to take a bus into the Capital of Fuerteventura - Puerto del Rosario. Its basically a commercial centre and not very exciting although the Harbour area is quite attractive and today there was a visiting cruise ship, the German AIDA Sol which travels between Madeira and the Canary Islands. It has 15 decks and carries in excess of 2000 people - It was Huge!.
We had a lovely lunch at a little Spanish restaurant/bar and en route back to the bus station I was really pleased to spot a 'chipmunk' playing on a fenced off landfill site - then I realised there were lots of the little critters chasing each other around. The dumped rubble and builders' rubbish obviously resembled the sort of terrain they enjoy with lots of ready made tunnels and burrows.
Known locally as chipmunks, Barbary Ground Squirrels are cute little rodents who were introduced to Fuerteventura as pets in the 1960s from their native home in Algeria/Morocco. They loved this island (don't we all) and its now believed there are more than 300,000 of them living in burrows around the island. The other Canary Islands consider them to be pests and a potential threat to their existing wildlife and crops so stringent measures are in place to prevent migration. They look a bit like our English grey squirrels but are much smaller and have distinctive stripes on their bodies.
In some areas of Fuerteventura the 'chipmunks' have become very tame and are happy to take food from tourists' hands but these were not tame and they were very, very fast. Somebody had thrown food into the landfill site for them so I managed to get a few clear photos when they came to investigate:
This one peeped out from under a rock and had a huge stretch - then stayed like this for several minutes .... looks very strange but he was obviously comfortable
and just in case you're bored with 'chipmunks' - here's a picture of the cruise liner dwarfing all the other boats in the Harbour
We had a lovely lunch at a little Spanish restaurant/bar and en route back to the bus station I was really pleased to spot a 'chipmunk' playing on a fenced off landfill site - then I realised there were lots of the little critters chasing each other around. The dumped rubble and builders' rubbish obviously resembled the sort of terrain they enjoy with lots of ready made tunnels and burrows.
Known locally as chipmunks, Barbary Ground Squirrels are cute little rodents who were introduced to Fuerteventura as pets in the 1960s from their native home in Algeria/Morocco. They loved this island (don't we all) and its now believed there are more than 300,000 of them living in burrows around the island. The other Canary Islands consider them to be pests and a potential threat to their existing wildlife and crops so stringent measures are in place to prevent migration. They look a bit like our English grey squirrels but are much smaller and have distinctive stripes on their bodies.
In some areas of Fuerteventura the 'chipmunks' have become very tame and are happy to take food from tourists' hands but these were not tame and they were very, very fast. Somebody had thrown food into the landfill site for them so I managed to get a few clear photos when they came to investigate:
This one peeped out from under a rock and had a huge stretch - then stayed like this for several minutes .... looks very strange but he was obviously comfortable
and just in case you're bored with 'chipmunks' - here's a picture of the cruise liner dwarfing all the other boats in the Harbour
Thursday, 20 October 2011
20/10: VIEWS AROUND CORRALEJO
The sunshine has deserted us although it remains hot and sticky so yesterday we went for a long walk around Corralejo, just meandering around the old town and stopping off for a leisurely lunch, glass of wine and a spot of people watching. I took my camera with me hoping to get some photos of the 'older characters' who normally sit around playing cards or talking about the 'good old days' ... but they were too elusive.
Here are some of the pics I took along our route
Fuerteventura is known as a 'windy' island and is therefore popular with surfers and the annual Int'l surfing championships are held at the South end of the island (which is mainly frequented by Germans). We are on the North of the island (famous for its huge stretch of sand dunes-around 7kms I believe). We do have a couple of stretches of coastline where the surf is usually good enough to satisfy the 'surf bums'.
Oops
but as usual its the wildlife I'm more interested in. These little sandpipers are very well camouflaged on the rocky stretches of beach but I love hearing their distinctive call in the early evenings
and this Little Egret made me get my feet wet .... he didn't take kindly to being a photographic model
whereas, this guy had no intention of running away .... far too hot for that!!
You may notice that the cat has the top of his left (our right) ear missing. That shows he has been 'rounded up' and neutered. Our friend Lynn is dedicated to helping the stray cats in and around Corralejo .. she works tirelessly to rehome them and care for sick ones etc. At any one time she has 20+ cats at her home in various stages of recovery and she has several part time jobs to pay for their upkeep. Thanks to Lynn (Cat Woman) there isn't a real problem with feral cats here as there is on many tourist islands.
Here are some of the pics I took along our route
Fuerteventura is known as a 'windy' island and is therefore popular with surfers and the annual Int'l surfing championships are held at the South end of the island (which is mainly frequented by Germans). We are on the North of the island (famous for its huge stretch of sand dunes-around 7kms I believe). We do have a couple of stretches of coastline where the surf is usually good enough to satisfy the 'surf bums'.
Oops
but as usual its the wildlife I'm more interested in. These little sandpipers are very well camouflaged on the rocky stretches of beach but I love hearing their distinctive call in the early evenings
and this Little Egret made me get my feet wet .... he didn't take kindly to being a photographic model
whereas, this guy had no intention of running away .... far too hot for that!!
You may notice that the cat has the top of his left (our right) ear missing. That shows he has been 'rounded up' and neutered. Our friend Lynn is dedicated to helping the stray cats in and around Corralejo .. she works tirelessly to rehome them and care for sick ones etc. At any one time she has 20+ cats at her home in various stages of recovery and she has several part time jobs to pay for their upkeep. Thanks to Lynn (Cat Woman) there isn't a real problem with feral cats here as there is on many tourist islands.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
19/10: BUGS AND BANDS
Chrissy kindly identified the bug I posted last week as a Scarlet Darter. Hopefully she will also be able to identify this little chap. He also visited our pool for a drink. About an inch long and very thin I wouldn't have spotted him except for the beautiful iridescent blue band decorating his body/tail
His blue band made me think more about the coloured bands worn on the wrists of many of the tourists in Town (mostly those staying 'All Inclusive').
When did this become acceptable to holidaymakers?? Surely its just one step away from having a barcode stamped on their foreheads. From the hotels' perspective it must make life easier as they can identify which tourists 'belong' to them, but REALLY!! I think something must have been added to their Welcome Drinks to make holidaymakers believe they need to spend a fortnight sporting a lurid blue/orange/pink plastic band round their wrist (although once removed, they'll have a nice non-tanned white bit to show off)!!
Sorry, off my soapbox now - I just feel sorry for those visitors who spend all their holiday eating/drinking lukewarm buffet style food at their hotel (cos its paid for up front) and don't get out to sample the 'real' delights of the Spanish bars/restaurants who are suffering from reduced trade as a result of the All Inclusive trend.
His blue band made me think more about the coloured bands worn on the wrists of many of the tourists in Town (mostly those staying 'All Inclusive').
When did this become acceptable to holidaymakers?? Surely its just one step away from having a barcode stamped on their foreheads. From the hotels' perspective it must make life easier as they can identify which tourists 'belong' to them, but REALLY!! I think something must have been added to their Welcome Drinks to make holidaymakers believe they need to spend a fortnight sporting a lurid blue/orange/pink plastic band round their wrist (although once removed, they'll have a nice non-tanned white bit to show off)!!
Sorry, off my soapbox now - I just feel sorry for those visitors who spend all their holiday eating/drinking lukewarm buffet style food at their hotel (cos its paid for up front) and don't get out to sample the 'real' delights of the Spanish bars/restaurants who are suffering from reduced trade as a result of the All Inclusive trend.
Sunday, 16 October 2011
16/10: HOOPOE !!!
Eurasian Hoopoes are pretty common to Africa and the Canary Islands and we've seen them in large groups on wasteland here and even, briefly, had one visit our garden but I hadn't seen one close up
I was really mad at myself on Friday when we walked into town and a Hoopoe landed in a palm tree next to us and spent 15 minutes posing beautifully, fanning out his crest and doing the whole singing/dancing routine .... and I didn't have my camera with me!!!! David tried to get a couple of photos on his mobile phone but the quality wasn't good and despite their vivid black and white wing feathers the Hoopoe was really well camouflaged in the palm leaves.
We went back to the palm tree the next day at the same sort of time in the faint hope that the Hoopoe might return ..... and it did!!!! I took soooooo many photos and he/she was totally unfazed by all the attention. There was a lot of 'debris' at the point where the trunk of the palm met the base of the leaves and obviously there were some rich pickings for a hungry Hoopoe
Here's a few of the photos:
Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a photo of the Hoopoe with his 'crest' fanned out - he was being co-operative but each time he put on a show I seem to have 'missed' the action so this is probably the closest I got to photographing his 'mohican' hairstyle!!
He was really digging deep for bugs here
I was really mad at myself on Friday when we walked into town and a Hoopoe landed in a palm tree next to us and spent 15 minutes posing beautifully, fanning out his crest and doing the whole singing/dancing routine .... and I didn't have my camera with me!!!! David tried to get a couple of photos on his mobile phone but the quality wasn't good and despite their vivid black and white wing feathers the Hoopoe was really well camouflaged in the palm leaves.
We went back to the palm tree the next day at the same sort of time in the faint hope that the Hoopoe might return ..... and it did!!!! I took soooooo many photos and he/she was totally unfazed by all the attention. There was a lot of 'debris' at the point where the trunk of the palm met the base of the leaves and obviously there were some rich pickings for a hungry Hoopoe
Here's a few of the photos:
Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a photo of the Hoopoe with his 'crest' fanned out - he was being co-operative but each time he put on a show I seem to have 'missed' the action so this is probably the closest I got to photographing his 'mohican' hairstyle!!
He was really digging deep for bugs here
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
11/09: BEACH BUMS
I do so love the scenery here :-)
Temperatures are unseasonally high and averaging 32deg in the shade .... walking back from town today along the beach path which is normally very cool and breezy I enjoyed watching these 3 frolicking in the sea
The older of the two dogs went in for a 'proper' swim with her master, but the youngster couldn't be persuaded and paced worriedly up and down in the shallow water till they returned to shore ... I doubt it will be long before she joins in though :-)
and the really great news is that I won a caption contest on Tim Fisher's website - actually it was Tim's dog's Blog site. As followers of my Blog will know, I'm a huge fan of Fisher 400 sanded paper and many of my pastel commissions are completed on this paper which works equally well with coloured pencils or watercolour wash backgrounds. Tim's dog Purdey has her own Blog and keeps us up to date with what Tim and Purdey's arch enemy (Rosie the cat) are up to. Each month Purdey publishes a picture of herself in a strange situation and invites captions.
I emailed a caption just for fun and was amazed to get an email yesterday saying I'd won the October competition and could choose one of the many DVDs available on Tim's site or 5 half sheets of Fisher 400. I was sorely tempted by his video showing watercolour pencil techniques, but practicality won the day. I'm using Fisher 400 for a lot of my Xmas commissions so that will be of most use in the short term and I can add the instruction videos to my 'wish list' for the future.
Here's a link to Tim Fisher's site http://www.timfisherartist.co.uk/
Temperatures are unseasonally high and averaging 32deg in the shade .... walking back from town today along the beach path which is normally very cool and breezy I enjoyed watching these 3 frolicking in the sea
and the really great news is that I won a caption contest on Tim Fisher's website - actually it was Tim's dog's Blog site. As followers of my Blog will know, I'm a huge fan of Fisher 400 sanded paper and many of my pastel commissions are completed on this paper which works equally well with coloured pencils or watercolour wash backgrounds. Tim's dog Purdey has her own Blog and keeps us up to date with what Tim and Purdey's arch enemy (Rosie the cat) are up to. Each month Purdey publishes a picture of herself in a strange situation and invites captions.
I emailed a caption just for fun and was amazed to get an email yesterday saying I'd won the October competition and could choose one of the many DVDs available on Tim's site or 5 half sheets of Fisher 400. I was sorely tempted by his video showing watercolour pencil techniques, but practicality won the day. I'm using Fisher 400 for a lot of my Xmas commissions so that will be of most use in the short term and I can add the instruction videos to my 'wish list' for the future.
Here's a link to Tim Fisher's site http://www.timfisherartist.co.uk/
Sunday, 9 October 2011
09/10: MEET MY FRIEND
Just realised today is 09 10 11 :-)
The 'steamy' weather continues here and we have daily visits from this little chap and his friends ... they're very busy skimming across our pool picking up water 'on the wing' so I was pleased to get a couple of photos of this one when it landed for a brief rest.
I'm not an expert on 'bugs' so will just call this a red dragonfly unless somebody can tell me otherwise
Look at its little red face .. it almost has jowls like a cartoon dog :-)
The 'steamy' weather continues here and we have daily visits from this little chap and his friends ... they're very busy skimming across our pool picking up water 'on the wing' so I was pleased to get a couple of photos of this one when it landed for a brief rest.
I'm not an expert on 'bugs' so will just call this a red dragonfly unless somebody can tell me otherwise
Look at its little red face .. it almost has jowls like a cartoon dog :-)
Thursday, 6 October 2011
06/10: CZECH THIS OUT !!
I'd like to say we're chilling out nicely but we arrived Monday evening to discover it had rained here on Fuerteventura during the day and so it has been very steamy and sticky ever since - the famous Fuerte breezes seem to have deserted us and even the stalwarts have been struggling with the heat.
It is feeling a little fresher this evening so fingers crossed we'll be back to the usual hot/windy weather combination we love so much about this island.
It takes just 5 minutes to walk from our house to the beach path with views over the uninhabited island of Lobos and the more famous Lanzarote. I was amazed to see this beautiful sailboat in 'our' bay yesterday - spent the rest of the afternoon looking out for Captain Jack Sparrow (or his even cuter counterpart)
I managed to read the name of the boat and Googled it.
The boat is 'new'. Building work started in 2008 in Egypt and she was launched in December 2010. What made me smile is the statement that she was built as a replica of a sailing boat from the second half of the 18th century and the aim of the 'owners' is the revival of Czech marine history which is an interesting concept given that Czechoslovakia is a land locked country 500 miles from the sea!! She is available for hire for commercial outings or students wishing to learn more about traditional sailing skills.
According to their website 'La Grace' was a boat of the first real Czech seafarer Augustin Herman who worked for the Dutch West India Company before becoming a pirate and raiding the Spanish trade ships using La Grace as a Privateer. Later he bacame the largest exporter of tobacco in America . don't you just love these 'rags to riches' stories!!
Anyway, I'm pleased we saw her yesterday .... today she was gone
It is feeling a little fresher this evening so fingers crossed we'll be back to the usual hot/windy weather combination we love so much about this island.
It takes just 5 minutes to walk from our house to the beach path with views over the uninhabited island of Lobos and the more famous Lanzarote. I was amazed to see this beautiful sailboat in 'our' bay yesterday - spent the rest of the afternoon looking out for Captain Jack Sparrow (or his even cuter counterpart)
I managed to read the name of the boat and Googled it.
The boat is 'new'. Building work started in 2008 in Egypt and she was launched in December 2010. What made me smile is the statement that she was built as a replica of a sailing boat from the second half of the 18th century and the aim of the 'owners' is the revival of Czech marine history which is an interesting concept given that Czechoslovakia is a land locked country 500 miles from the sea!! She is available for hire for commercial outings or students wishing to learn more about traditional sailing skills.
According to their website 'La Grace' was a boat of the first real Czech seafarer Augustin Herman who worked for the Dutch West India Company before becoming a pirate and raiding the Spanish trade ships using La Grace as a Privateer. Later he bacame the largest exporter of tobacco in America . don't you just love these 'rags to riches' stories!!
Anyway, I'm pleased we saw her yesterday .... today she was gone
Sunday, 2 October 2011
02/10: THE LAST POST ............. for the moment
We are off to Fuerteventura tomorrow to recharge our batteries after a hectic few weeks and in preparation for a very busy run-up to Christmas for me with Xmas commissions. As we rely on using internet cafes or finding free wifi for our laptop out there, I won't be posting on my Blog for a while but will be picking up emails periodically.
For that reason I thought I'd call this update 'The Last Post'. Then I got worried that maybe I would sound disrespectful as 'The Last Post' is traditionally the final salute to those who have fallen in war. I did my usual check by consulting GOOGLE and stumbled across the site of Derek Miller who lost his battle with cancer this year.
Derek's Blog 'final post' was written by him and published by family at his request on his passing. It is humbling reading and has brought tears to my eyes. But it has certainly reinforced the decision that David and I made 4 years ago to leave the 'rat race' and downsize house, share one car and generally enjoy our lives together. We lost two very dear friends to the 'Big C' far too early and that really put things into perspective for us.
The Blog is beautifully written and I'm glad I found it - This is where you can find it, should you want to read his words for yourself http://www.penmachine.com/
and on a lighter note now ...
Yesterday was spent at Westminster and all went well I think. The exhibition pictures and shop items were all taken off display and packaged up, loaded into the vans of the various volunteers who will ship them back to the artists. It was a VERY long, hot and tiring day though!
I've been given permission to show the WIP pictures of this beautiful girl .. I won't mention her name, or the name of the recipient as it will be a Christmas present.
I'm using pastels on Fisher 400 sanded paper for this, and the other two dog portraits I'm currently working on. The idea is that when I get back from holiday feeling VERY laid back I can simply put the finishing touches to all 3 - much less daunting than starting a portrait from scratch when in post-holiday mood. This, and the Manchester Terrier should only take half a day each to complete, the labrador is less advanced (and larger) and will take a little longer
and a couple of WIP pics. This was the first 'blocking in' stage where I'm just establishing areas of colour - but of course, I had to put in some eye detail first
Gradually building up finer detail using lots of blues, mauves, greys in that dense fur coat!
and here are a few WIP pics of the black lab .. again I won't mention names 'just in case' .... it is also a Xmas portrait
Pastels on Fisher 400 - slightly larger than A3. Although I have put some eye detail in, I'm leaving it fairly vague this time as the poor chap has lost his eyesight and I'm not sure yet how I will be asked to portray the eyes. He is a 'senior citizen' but very handsome I think.
I've found myself using the method learned from Vic Bearcroft (after attending one of his Workshops using pastels on velour paper) inasmuch as I've found it easier to block in specific darker areas first in the knowledge they'll be lost a little when adding more colour (but can be reinforced along the way). To save my poor fingertips from being shredded further by blending pastel by hand, I've been using an old paintbrush to push the pastel into the textured surface. Unfortunately, the brush tends to remove more colour than it blends so this is pretty frustrating for me. I'm looking forward to lots more 'finger painting' when back from hols with renewed skin tissue on fingertips!!
For that reason I thought I'd call this update 'The Last Post'. Then I got worried that maybe I would sound disrespectful as 'The Last Post' is traditionally the final salute to those who have fallen in war. I did my usual check by consulting GOOGLE and stumbled across the site of Derek Miller who lost his battle with cancer this year.
Derek's Blog 'final post' was written by him and published by family at his request on his passing. It is humbling reading and has brought tears to my eyes. But it has certainly reinforced the decision that David and I made 4 years ago to leave the 'rat race' and downsize house, share one car and generally enjoy our lives together. We lost two very dear friends to the 'Big C' far too early and that really put things into perspective for us.
The Blog is beautifully written and I'm glad I found it - This is where you can find it, should you want to read his words for yourself http://www.penmachine.com/
and on a lighter note now ...
Yesterday was spent at Westminster and all went well I think. The exhibition pictures and shop items were all taken off display and packaged up, loaded into the vans of the various volunteers who will ship them back to the artists. It was a VERY long, hot and tiring day though!
I've been given permission to show the WIP pictures of this beautiful girl .. I won't mention her name, or the name of the recipient as it will be a Christmas present.
I'm using pastels on Fisher 400 sanded paper for this, and the other two dog portraits I'm currently working on. The idea is that when I get back from holiday feeling VERY laid back I can simply put the finishing touches to all 3 - much less daunting than starting a portrait from scratch when in post-holiday mood. This, and the Manchester Terrier should only take half a day each to complete, the labrador is less advanced (and larger) and will take a little longer
and a couple of WIP pics. This was the first 'blocking in' stage where I'm just establishing areas of colour - but of course, I had to put in some eye detail first
Gradually building up finer detail using lots of blues, mauves, greys in that dense fur coat!
and here are a few WIP pics of the black lab .. again I won't mention names 'just in case' .... it is also a Xmas portrait
Pastels on Fisher 400 - slightly larger than A3. Although I have put some eye detail in, I'm leaving it fairly vague this time as the poor chap has lost his eyesight and I'm not sure yet how I will be asked to portray the eyes. He is a 'senior citizen' but very handsome I think.
I've found myself using the method learned from Vic Bearcroft (after attending one of his Workshops using pastels on velour paper) inasmuch as I've found it easier to block in specific darker areas first in the knowledge they'll be lost a little when adding more colour (but can be reinforced along the way). To save my poor fingertips from being shredded further by blending pastel by hand, I've been using an old paintbrush to push the pastel into the textured surface. Unfortunately, the brush tends to remove more colour than it blends so this is pretty frustrating for me. I'm looking forward to lots more 'finger painting' when back from hols with renewed skin tissue on fingertips!!
Thursday, 29 September 2011
29/09: MANCHESTER TERRIER WIP
Still having horrific problems with BT and Talk Talk - intermittent internet and its very slow when we do get back online ... hopefully all these problems will soon be resolved as its very frustrating getting partway through writing emails/blog posts/researching etc to be thrown out every 10 minutes or so :-)
This lovely lady is Maddie and she is a Manchester Terrier (must confess I had to Google the breed when the enquiry first came through). I'm told that Maddie's ears aren't exactly 'Breed Standard' but that just makes her more unique of course!
I'm using pastels on Fisher 400 sanded paper at the client's request. I have previously drawn her two spaniels on Fisher 400 so this will match the others when they are all hung together in the 'rogues gallery'
I've stopped here to await feedback from Maddie's owner. The ears need more work and I'll add more highlights and whiskers etc in the final stage
and here are a few WIP pictures - I got carried away and forgot to photograph the very early stage. Here I have blocked in the areas of black and tan quite roughly, added some colour to the inner ears and of course drawn the eyes in (can't stand empty sockets looking at me)!
Adding highlights to the black fur using various shades of blue and grey (and mauve in places)
Same stage but I tried to get a close-up (not something my camera likes doing) showing the many tiny strokes I'm adding to get realistic highlights - ensuring I follow the hair direction/length accurately.
This lovely lady is Maddie and she is a Manchester Terrier (must confess I had to Google the breed when the enquiry first came through). I'm told that Maddie's ears aren't exactly 'Breed Standard' but that just makes her more unique of course!
I'm using pastels on Fisher 400 sanded paper at the client's request. I have previously drawn her two spaniels on Fisher 400 so this will match the others when they are all hung together in the 'rogues gallery'
I've stopped here to await feedback from Maddie's owner. The ears need more work and I'll add more highlights and whiskers etc in the final stage
and here are a few WIP pictures - I got carried away and forgot to photograph the very early stage. Here I have blocked in the areas of black and tan quite roughly, added some colour to the inner ears and of course drawn the eyes in (can't stand empty sockets looking at me)!
Same stage but I tried to get a close-up (not something my camera likes doing) showing the many tiny strokes I'm adding to get realistic highlights - ensuring I follow the hair direction/length accurately.
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
28/09: OUT OF ORDER
That just about sums up me, and life at the moment :-)
I'm still going for treatments at the spine clinic 3 times a week and having to do home treatments which include 'hanging' myself from an overdoor traction torture thingggy! But we go on hols next week so a good dose of sunshine and no sitting at computer for hours will make a big difference.
My Blog posts are also appearing out of order ... so much has been happening and I've taken lots of photos and made notes which never see the light of day ...
not helped by the fact that most of the 01227 telephone code system is 'OUT OF ORDER' thanks to ongoing problems with British Telecom. We do have working telephones and intermittent internet. Our neighbour who is in her late 80s has no telephone and therefore her Emergency call line also doesn't work. She was almost in tears of frustration on Monday evening - BT are working on the lines which causes lots of crackling noises and these are amplified by the loudspeakers installed on her Emergency systems. She has previously suffered a series of mini-strokes and was so stressed on Monday I was concerned she'd keel over. Good old BT just say they are aware she is an elderly vulnerable lady and will be treated as an Urgent case - work to be completed by 29 September (this has been going on for 6 days already)!!
Anyway rant over.
Here are some photos from 'out of order' sequence of events.
Right .... internet just crashed - yet again. Luckily Blogger had saved a Draft so not all was lost ... but I haven't time now to re-upload the missing pics. We went to EuroFair in Canterbury on Sunday which is a 3 day fair devoted to food and drink - whilst David went round dutifully testing and tasting to his heart's content I was busy stalking cute dogs to add to my ever increasing 'to do' list ..... don't know why I do this as I have more than enough work in the pipeline to keep me chained to the drawing board for months ... but who could resist!
Off to do our stint at Pilgrims eBay office now - then cracking on with one of the 3 black dog commissions when we get home this evening.
I'm still going for treatments at the spine clinic 3 times a week and having to do home treatments which include 'hanging' myself from an overdoor traction torture thingggy! But we go on hols next week so a good dose of sunshine and no sitting at computer for hours will make a big difference.
My Blog posts are also appearing out of order ... so much has been happening and I've taken lots of photos and made notes which never see the light of day ...
not helped by the fact that most of the 01227 telephone code system is 'OUT OF ORDER' thanks to ongoing problems with British Telecom. We do have working telephones and intermittent internet. Our neighbour who is in her late 80s has no telephone and therefore her Emergency call line also doesn't work. She was almost in tears of frustration on Monday evening - BT are working on the lines which causes lots of crackling noises and these are amplified by the loudspeakers installed on her Emergency systems. She has previously suffered a series of mini-strokes and was so stressed on Monday I was concerned she'd keel over. Good old BT just say they are aware she is an elderly vulnerable lady and will be treated as an Urgent case - work to be completed by 29 September (this has been going on for 6 days already)!!
Anyway rant over.
Here are some photos from 'out of order' sequence of events.
Right .... internet just crashed - yet again. Luckily Blogger had saved a Draft so not all was lost ... but I haven't time now to re-upload the missing pics. We went to EuroFair in Canterbury on Sunday which is a 3 day fair devoted to food and drink - whilst David went round dutifully testing and tasting to his heart's content I was busy stalking cute dogs to add to my ever increasing 'to do' list ..... don't know why I do this as I have more than enough work in the pipeline to keep me chained to the drawing board for months ... but who could resist!
Off to do our stint at Pilgrims eBay office now - then cracking on with one of the 3 black dog commissions when we get home this evening.
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
27/09: GOLDEN RETRIEVER FINISHED
Sorry I haven't had time to post Work in Progress pictures but this portrait of 'Daisy' has been finished, approved and will be in the post tomorrow. I have complete two portraits previously for this client and its always lovely to welcome 'returning clients'. This portrait was based on a reference photo taken looking down on Daisy so much more of her back/body was visible above her head .. but I've omitted/downplayed much of the body to focus more on her face. The ref photo was very sun bleached but I was provided with other supporting ref photos which helped with finer detail:
This was completed in pastel on Fisher 400 paper but photographed in artificial light which has 'drained' the colour a little.
I have outlined 2 dogs and will probably add a third which I'll make a start on before we go on holiday (Monday). All three are predominantly black dogs. One is a black labrador but the other two breeds I had to Google to learn more about when I was first asked to portray them. All will be revealed over the coming weeks!! I'm so looking forward to getting to grips with them.
This was completed in pastel on Fisher 400 paper but photographed in artificial light which has 'drained' the colour a little.
I have outlined 2 dogs and will probably add a third which I'll make a start on before we go on holiday (Monday). All three are predominantly black dogs. One is a black labrador but the other two breeds I had to Google to learn more about when I was first asked to portray them. All will be revealed over the coming weeks!! I'm so looking forward to getting to grips with them.
Friday, 23 September 2011
23/09: 'ANOTHER FINE MESS'
Going back to the Laurel & Hardy commission and my concerns about writing on the picture - David suggested printing off the message and displaying it inside the frame where it can be removed at leisure if required - we just didn't seal the back of the frame as usual. I haven't actually had this idea approved by the client but hope there won't be any problems. She is a relative of my stepdaughter's partner so there is a kind of 'distant' family relationship but I'm liaising via stepdaughter - not direct with client which slows up communication a bit.
Anyway, Another Fine Mess indeed! Funny how things turn out. We were unable to do our usual stint at the Pilgrims Hospice charity eBay office because the office (and surrounding area) had been left with no telephone/internet connection due to BT cabling having been stolen. Theft of cables is becoming a frequent occurrence lately ... I believe the metal content in the cables is valuable enough to override the risk of being electrocuted in some cases.
But not being 'at work' meant I was home to take the phone call from BBC Radio Kent yesterday morning asking if I'd go 'on air' for the the Pat Marsh show in the afternoon to talk briefly about Portrait drawing. I said yes then spent 3 hours panicking about what I'd be asked/what I'd say etc. I was very nervous and you can hear me panting a bit at times - I don't believe I sound as prissy as this in real life (!!??) but then, I also don't believe that 'old' face looking back at me from the mirror. Do any of us really know what we sound/look like to others I wonder?
To hear the recording CLICK HERE
My moment of fame!!
Anyway, Another Fine Mess indeed! Funny how things turn out. We were unable to do our usual stint at the Pilgrims Hospice charity eBay office because the office (and surrounding area) had been left with no telephone/internet connection due to BT cabling having been stolen. Theft of cables is becoming a frequent occurrence lately ... I believe the metal content in the cables is valuable enough to override the risk of being electrocuted in some cases.
But not being 'at work' meant I was home to take the phone call from BBC Radio Kent yesterday morning asking if I'd go 'on air' for the the Pat Marsh show in the afternoon to talk briefly about Portrait drawing. I said yes then spent 3 hours panicking about what I'd be asked/what I'd say etc. I was very nervous and you can hear me panting a bit at times - I don't believe I sound as prissy as this in real life (!!??) but then, I also don't believe that 'old' face looking back at me from the mirror. Do any of us really know what we sound/look like to others I wonder?
To hear the recording CLICK HERE
My moment of fame!!
Thursday, 22 September 2011
22/09: UKCPS EXHIBITION BITS & BOBS
To see the award winning pictures from the UKCPS exhibition follow this link where you can see the scanned artwork:
Award Winners 10th Annual Int'l Exhibition, Westminster
I have got lots of photos taken of the artwork framed and 'hung' but the Gallery is very large and there are more than 300 exhibits so too many to show here. If you want to see anything specific (maybe your own art) let me know and I'll see if I can help.
I thought I would show some photos taken during the 'set-up' on Saturday/Sunday to illustrate just how much work went into the final stages (and this is the culmination of months of behind the scenes work). Our Exhibition Director had painstakingly produced a scaled down Gallery layout on graph paper and miniaturised every picture once she knew the final sizes/colours of mounts/frames. She had plotted the hanging heights of every picture and calculated where mirror plates had to be attached. Without her forward planning I doubt we could have set up so successfully in the relatively short time available.
Saturday was spent logging in the pictures as they arrived, attaching labels to the pictures showing the 'drilling team' where to place the mirror plates and on which walls/screen in the gallery they would be hung. On Sunday pictures were hung, the shop set up with prints/cards and unframed originals for sale. The Have-a-Go and Children's area were decorated and the silent auction prints displayed. The Faber-Castell display was pretty amazing in the adjoining Gallery. Lots of tempting goodies there!
Bernard Poulin, renown artist and author travelled from Canada to judge the works and allocate awards for the various categories in both the pure coloured pencil and the mixed media sections. He was assisted in presenting the awards by actor Philip Glenister (who proved a greater attraction than the artwork for some of the ladies there I think)!!
One small wall successfully 'hung'. The attached temporary labels showed precise positioning of each picture. These were replaced with individual labels showing name of picture/artist and a brief description of the piece and materials used. Then all pictures had to be dusted/polished to remove stray pieces of packing and fingerprints etc.
One of the screens used to divide up the very large gallery space and provide more hanging space for the exhibits - the area in front is to be the 'shop' area
Lots of head scratching going on today!
Sorting out the prints and cards
Limited edition birthday box of pencils and pastels to mark Faber-Castell's 250th anniversary. Only 1761 have been produced - 1761 was the year the company was formed. This fabulous set is definitely not for purchase by 'starving artists' though! RRP £1375 - although I have found this discounted to a mere £950 on some art materials websites!
Our Birthday cake!! Hand made by a neighbour of our Exibition Director - even the pencils were made of icing and edible.
Once the speeches/awards were over the crowds thinned a little. This is just one small section of the Gallery so you can see what an amazing exhibition it is.
Bernard Poulin our Show Judge and Guest Artist from Canada.
Assisted by TV actor Philip Glenister for presentation of awards
Philip was much in demand for photo-shoots (actually I'm embarrassed to say I don't know who the lady is here. If anybody knows her, perhaps you could give me her contact details as she might like to have a copy of this )
and Philip again with Barbara - Chairman of the UKCPS
Right, that's quite enough for now. Need to crack on with some proper work!
I'm going back to help at the exhibition on Saturday. Might see you there?
Award Winners 10th Annual Int'l Exhibition, Westminster
I have got lots of photos taken of the artwork framed and 'hung' but the Gallery is very large and there are more than 300 exhibits so too many to show here. If you want to see anything specific (maybe your own art) let me know and I'll see if I can help.
I thought I would show some photos taken during the 'set-up' on Saturday/Sunday to illustrate just how much work went into the final stages (and this is the culmination of months of behind the scenes work). Our Exhibition Director had painstakingly produced a scaled down Gallery layout on graph paper and miniaturised every picture once she knew the final sizes/colours of mounts/frames. She had plotted the hanging heights of every picture and calculated where mirror plates had to be attached. Without her forward planning I doubt we could have set up so successfully in the relatively short time available.
Saturday was spent logging in the pictures as they arrived, attaching labels to the pictures showing the 'drilling team' where to place the mirror plates and on which walls/screen in the gallery they would be hung. On Sunday pictures were hung, the shop set up with prints/cards and unframed originals for sale. The Have-a-Go and Children's area were decorated and the silent auction prints displayed. The Faber-Castell display was pretty amazing in the adjoining Gallery. Lots of tempting goodies there!
Bernard Poulin, renown artist and author travelled from Canada to judge the works and allocate awards for the various categories in both the pure coloured pencil and the mixed media sections. He was assisted in presenting the awards by actor Philip Glenister (who proved a greater attraction than the artwork for some of the ladies there I think)!!
One small wall successfully 'hung'. The attached temporary labels showed precise positioning of each picture. These were replaced with individual labels showing name of picture/artist and a brief description of the piece and materials used. Then all pictures had to be dusted/polished to remove stray pieces of packing and fingerprints etc.
One of the screens used to divide up the very large gallery space and provide more hanging space for the exhibits - the area in front is to be the 'shop' area
Lots of head scratching going on today!
Sorting out the prints and cards
Limited edition birthday box of pencils and pastels to mark Faber-Castell's 250th anniversary. Only 1761 have been produced - 1761 was the year the company was formed. This fabulous set is definitely not for purchase by 'starving artists' though! RRP £1375 - although I have found this discounted to a mere £950 on some art materials websites!
Our Birthday cake!! Hand made by a neighbour of our Exibition Director - even the pencils were made of icing and edible.
Once the speeches/awards were over the crowds thinned a little. This is just one small section of the Gallery so you can see what an amazing exhibition it is.
Bernard Poulin our Show Judge and Guest Artist from Canada.
Assisted by TV actor Philip Glenister for presentation of awards
Philip was much in demand for photo-shoots (actually I'm embarrassed to say I don't know who the lady is here. If anybody knows her, perhaps you could give me her contact details as she might like to have a copy of this )
and Philip again with Barbara - Chairman of the UKCPS
Right, that's quite enough for now. Need to crack on with some proper work!
I'm going back to help at the exhibition on Saturday. Might see you there?
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