Sunday 27 February 2011

Swarm


Illustration Friday  - Swarm

I used some birds from my sketchbook and put them on a telephone wire instead of a tree.  I actually often do see them sitting like this but not quite so many and  I keep meaning to draw them.    I can just imagine them chattering and squabbling together!

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Raw Onion

Something raw for EDM.  I always enjoy drawing red onions, all my favourite colours are there.
These are actually better raw than cooked and delicious in salads, fortunately these onions don't smell as strong as white onions otherwise I would have been crying!
Coloured pencil over watercolour.

Sunday 20 February 2011

Layer Upon Layer


Illustration Friday - Layer

Lots of lovely layers of lasagne between  ragù and béchamel sauces, and yes  my mouth was watering as I painted this. 
There has been rather a lot of food on this blog lately, it's not an obsession really!

Watercolour, coloured pencil and pen.

Thursday 17 February 2011

Green Fields and Canals


Coloured pencil over a watercolour base.   This is a small drawing that I have been working on from a photograph I took in the UK ....we don't have  green like that or canal boats in Sicily!
I like how the background turned out, but I really don't like the front of the narrow boat at all.  The problem is the watercolour paper I used started to disintegrate when I tried to erase, so it will have to stay like that now.

Sunday 13 February 2011

The Man in Black


Watercolour and coloured pencil using Google Sreet View for this month's 'Virtual Paintout'.
The location this month is Romania.  I didn't have any real idea what I was looking for, so I was pleased to spot this smartly dressed man walking in an area that I think is called Gaiesti.  I just loved his shadow!

Learn more about the Virtual Paintout here

Thursday 10 February 2011

Fig and Chocolate Cake



Everyday matters  - Something you snack on
This is Buccellato, a sicilian cake made from pastry filled with dried figs, almonds, walnuts and dark chocolate. It's eaten mainly in the Christmas period, but I love it anytime.  I love to bite into it and find whole  pieces of nut and chocolate amongst the jammy figs.  I expect you can appreciate how difficult it was not to eat it! 
We are lucky to have some really nice local bakeries where everything is freshly made every day.  I will have a go at sketching some of the traditional cakes and biscuits we have for the coming Carnival time...at great personal sacrifice of course!

Sunday 6 February 2011

Reverse


Illustration Friday - Reverse
When you look in your car's rear view mirror you get a reversed image of the road behind you,
sometimes a better view than what's before you.
This is a reversed view of the road 'cross country' to Mount Etna, we only got slightly lost!

Thursday 3 February 2011

Smallest size




Some more tiny pieces of work.  I like to try out new ideas and experiment on these smaller sizes.
This is strange tree in the botanical gardens, it actually has far more branches than I put in, but I liked the pattern they made.


This other one is a red dragonfly, a 'Kirby's Dropwing' is the name I found on internet.  Normally found in Africa but also in the South of Europe.  We're not that far from Africa, so that makes sense.
Both are watercolour and coloured pencil