From Previous Sketchbooks (1)

I've  been looking through some old sketchbooks. Its really surprising the little gems that turn up in them. At some of them I catch myself saying "I can't remember being that good back then." But there you go, even surprised myself. Sketchbooks are by their very nature, a collection of the the good, the bad, and the ugly. Memories are evoked here; times in glorious sunshine or pouring rain. Lovely warm days and others where my hands are frozen into unfeeling claws. The next few blog entries will show some of them.

Let's start back in 1999....

 Plover Scar Lighthouse on the Lune Estuary.

 The Lune Estuary looking across towards Black Combe Fell across Morecambe Bay.

 Northumberland Forest Park.

 Staffa and Mull in the Western Isles.

A wet day on Mull but working in the comfort of a holiday cottage.

Sibelius' Fifth Symphony (2)

The completed work after so many preliminary sketches and the final layout drawing . I'll let the piece speak for itself. See previous entries for commentary.

Detail of the right hand side of the main work. You may need to zoom in to see the finer lines.

From the New Sketchbook

The start of a new sketchbook. Actually it was started back in January this year exploring ideas for "Not all who wander...".  But after the first few pages it has settled down into being a series of studies worked from photograph taken over the last few months. Often in our great British climate it is too cold to stand around too long doing detailed drawings on site so I tend to make rapid sketches then back them up with a photograph. These sketchbook drawings have been made in the comfort of home where its warm and gallons of tea are available. Sketches are on A5 paper.

The process of drawing like this has me reliving the time I was there and perhaps this particular sketchbook will evolve into a journal of my travels both near and far.

 A doorway in a ruined building in a mixed forest near Gatehouse-of-Fleet on the Scots side of the Solway Firth. The greystone walls form a natural frame to the greenery beyond. A picture within a picture I might say.

 A study  of some weathered stonework at Jedburgh Abbey about midway along the A68 between Newcastle and Edinburgh, About ten or so miles into Scotland.

Near Bargoed in the Valleys of South Wales there's a stretch of mainly broadleaf forest which has been left to grow wild though its close proximity to the town means wildlife is relatively scarce. Many of the locals walk their dogs here. However there are a few paths though this which are relatively unfrequented, like the one shown here. I like this area because it has something of a "Middle-Earth" flavour to it. Autumn leaves strewn along the path like golden paving. I mainly draw with graphite pencils of varying grades and use inks or watercolour to highlight features that stand out when seen with my own eyes but may become obscured when in a photograph.

More Satellite Pieces

Four postcard-sized studies looking at how the particular music passages fit in, or should I say hopw my drawings/paintings interpret the music.The music itself can be heard here.