Saturday 27 November 2010

Very fashionable (Arthouse Sketchbook Project)

Thank you to everyone who came up with some great ideas for my sketchbook, it gave me that extra little push to complete it.  Martine sent me some ideas for shop window dummies, something I had been pondering for a while.  So these are the first ones I did in slightly muted tones (the sort of colours I often end up buying).  But what is really needed is a bit of full on colour...sooooo




I thought these wigs would be just the thing and less than 30 euros!

Monday 22 November 2010

Lots of Faces


More sketchbook project pages and I'm running as fast as I can towards the end.  There are still at least 8 - 10 double page spreads left to do, although I do know what the last page will be.
After the faces made of stone here is one made of metal.  (I know... I'm getting desperate here!)

This gorilla is my monkey face, although the green scanned a bit bright, it should be more of an olive colour.


These people are queuing up to be included in my sketchbook ;-)

The sketchbooks have to returned by January, but I'd like to get mine done before Christmas, so I will concentrating on this  as much as possible, any ideas on 'a face in the crowd' theme welcome!

Saturday 20 November 2010

Mints





I did this mint and wrapper for Katherine Thomas's new blog.
'The Little Art Club,  a place for those who love to draw and paint'.

Katherine started up this blog after enjoying working to a theme for the Arthouse Sketchbook Project  and finding different way to interpret themes.  On The Little Art Club blog there will be a different theme every two months or so and people are invited to show their ideas and work.  The current theme is Candy and Sweets. 
Working to a theme seems to push you to find new ideas and to perhaps try subjects you wouldn't have thought about doing before.  I wouldn't have drawn the mints or even thought about sweets, but now I have a few more ideas  taking shape for future drawings!
Have a look at The Little Art Club site and maybe have a go yourself?

 The Little Art Club

Have a look at Katherine's own blog too.

Thursday 18 November 2010

Hidden in the Corner



Here's a corner of my garden/terrace.  This is where I grow my herbs, as well as basil, chives, thyme and there is a chilli pepper plant at the back.   I also grow mint, oregano, sage and rosemary, it's nice to have something fresh from the garden to add flavour to your cooking? 
Especially useful to throw on some pasta if you're in a hurry...all you need  to add is some olive oil, a spot of garlic and a good sprinkle of parmesan cheese!

Monday 15 November 2010

Stony Face

My latest pages for the Arthouse Sketchbook Project..... faces made of stone.


Don't ask me why this fella is here amongst these stones because I don't know either!

Friday 12 November 2010

A wall with a View


The Virtual Paintout is in Rio de Janeiro for the month of November.
I had a good look round and ended up finally with the view I first saw right at the beginning.   But never mind I had a  virtual tour of Rio de Janeiro!  I noticed there was quite a lot of graffiti, but you have to be careful with this as it could say something rude or have a hidden meaning that isn't obvious at first.

For those not familiar the Virtual Paintout is a monthly get together for sketchers and painters  somewhere in the world via Google Street view.  Work is submitted to the site run by Bill Guffey and can be seen here

Wednesday 10 November 2010

Very strange Indeed!


Everyday Matters - draw something strange.
I saw this large seed pod on a tree at the Botanical gardens, I don't remember what it was called but it's leaves were large and shiny.  It has been re-named the 'smartie tree' for now, but I wouldn't recommend eating any of it!  I did sneakily pocket a few of these seeds and have planted them in pots.  I don't know if they will grow or not.... maybe they will grow into large man- eating flowers!

Sunday 7 November 2010

Famous Faces



I wanted to sketch some famous faces for my Sketchbook Project, then I thought whose face could be more famous than the Mona lisa?

Then of course  the most famous of self-portraits had to be included!



Sketching these two famous paintings was really enjoyable and interesting.  Instead of just 'looking', you notice different details and colours and you really see how the artists used their paintbrushes and created their strokes.   They look quite good in my sketchbook too!

Both of these sketches are for the Arthouse Sketchbook Project 2011, my book along with thousands of others will be going on tour in the USA and then finally to the Brooklyn Art Library, New York.  Not a bad  journey for a little sketchbook?

Find out more about the Arthouse Sketch Project  here

Friday 5 November 2010

Bottle of Water


Everyday Matters 297 - Draw a bottle of water
This is a  watercolour, coloured pencil and pen sketch.  I tried to get a bit of colour in the transparent plastic, there were plenty of reflections to use, but the bottle looks slightly squashed to me.  Lets just say someone sat on the bottle!

Tuesday 2 November 2010

More Faces, More Pages (Arthouse sketchbook project)



I'm having a lot of fun with my theme 'a face in the crowd' for the Arthouse sketchbook project, exploring different ways to depict faces and looking for them in the crowd.  I thought about someone looking at their reflection in a mirror and wondering if they were the face.



What about a face you can take apart and put back together?  Why not make it into a jigsaw puzzle?
My little sketchbook is a useful  thing for putting down all the random thoughts that come into my head, I shall be sorry when it's finished I'm sure!