Andromeda - one of the mythical series from Cyprus. As mentioned in the previous posting I spoke of super-imposing contour made with tracing paper. This is the original water colour sketch idea. This is a contour drawing of the model's head. She is not bald or shaven headed by the way. The outline of the cranium needed to be gauged. I did the contour drawing on cartridge in the normal way then later traced the image.
And here, we have the final result with the traced drawing over the painting.
I did this the old fashioned way with papers and inks etc. I am experimenting with Corel Draw and Corel OCR Trace with this idea. Some of the results are proving interesting as some of the program functions can be a bit unpredictable. Besides, drawing with a mouse is a bit like trying to draw with a brick with a pencil pushed through the middle.

One of a number of figure studies in my current sketchbook. This drawing has been tidyed up on Corel Photopaint. The grey rectangle behind the figure is in gauache but the brushwork is visible. I have used the software to eliminate this. The rest of it is "as drawn".
There is an idea germinating in my mind to make an artist's book of figure images. The ideas are manifold if not a little nebulous. For example, a series of maiden/nurse-like images as above, (this imagery has occupied me off-and-on for the last ten years or so), or perhaps ballet dancers, - derived from a series of paintings I did some four years back in which there are a number of undeveloped sketches, or again, more recently, grecian figures developed from my trips to Cyprus.
What I have in mind is a painterly image covered by a removable piece of tracing paper with a line drawing of the figure.
I will post an image of this idea at a later date.

My seven year old Grandson in Wales showed me some of his work. He has put together a portfolio for me to look at. I must admit to being quite impressed. This first image is of his home and the back garden. The garden is an elongated affair and at the time of drawing had a pile of large logs at its far end.
This next one shows a flower of some sort. He told me it is a venus Flytrap. It does resemble one. He drew it from memory after visiting and exotic park. I think he has a good eye for form for his age range.
Most striking, is this drawing of a dinosaur. (He has done lots of drawings of various dinosaurs. He is rather "in" to them just now.) This drawing is remarkably accurate when compared with the original illustration he worked from and featured below.
This illustration is from the "Collins Book of Dinosaurs" published by Harper Collins.

Like my grand-daughter featured on Jan 28, he too has artistic ambitions. I find that most encouraging. Perhaps its a sign of the times. If there is an active artist in the family, the younger element seem more encouraged. I can remeber my childhood when drawing was actively discouraged as time wasting, both at school and at home. All I wanted to do was draw, - anything.

Cornish Engine House. Done in 2003 and as the note says, it is a composite. As I recall, I was on a bus along by Zennor and Pendeen way and we passed several of these ruined buildings. It was a good excercise in speed drawing but I didn't have to try too hard to remember what I'd seen as successive engine houses hove into view. They are dotted all over western Cornwall.
In a way I suppose you could say, "When you've seen one, you've seen 'em all." But you can say that about a lot of things. Whatever, this image is somewhat evocative I think. A sort of snapshot.

Rooftop study done along with the previous Slaidburn drawing shown earlier. This one turned up in an old sketchbook from 2003. I was having a bit of a "ratch" (Cumbrian word) through some old stuff when this one turned up. That period in Slaidburn Youth Hostel was a one of long hot lazy summer days with good light that clearly picked out every detail. Again, the tinting was done in cold tea. You can just about visualise it, sitting there in the sun with a cup of tea, drawing this and geting absorbed in the activity of drawing. My teas goes cold. Can't waste good tea... use it as a drawing medium.

This little drawing was done some three years or so ago while I was wardening a youth hostel in Slaidburn, near Clitheroe in Lancashire. "Slaiburn" which is the title of this piece is a real olde worlde type of village. The view from the back window which is only about a foot of so square, if that, is of old roofs and chimneys. It was asking to be drawn. I did this in watersoluble pencil and afterwards applied a wash of cold tea. No wash was applied to the window frame so as to preserve the original whiteness of the paintwork. The use of unconventional materials, like cold tea, wine dregs and whatever else is to hand at the time can create interesting effects. It probably doesn't show up too well here but cold tea is rather like water colour raw umber. Is there a tannin pigment I wonder?