Two old men...with thanks to anon

I owe thanks to this to someone on EDM but unfortunately I can't remember on whose blog I saw this exercise of tearing a picture in half and finishing it off...I loved what you did and it inspired me to have a go so thank you! I really enjoyed doing this and it was much harder than I thought. I'd like to try it again with another picture in pencil perhaps or even in colour... PS also apologies to Dan White for bastardizing his wonderful image (check out his fantastic photographs on www.danwhite.com).
PPS see Jan Harris' blog http://purplebirdart.blogspot.com/ as her post inspired this one! Thanks again

Hand with Keys

I was totally wrapped up in drawing the keys and shapes around the fingers but then there was a sudden noise and it was like an off switch - totally lost it and became disconnected.. Then just felt really impatient so just scrambled the shading on the palm of the hand...

Fresh Flowers...

I just had to try this in colour - it was all rich in pink - unfortunately the photo has bleached it a bit. This was my first watercolour for years and I really loved doing it but of course it's not how I saw it... I wanted to get the clean crisp colours and keep the details of the flowers instead it all ended up blurring and mixing into each other and while I like the effect I wish I could get the technique of the other way too! I think I go for the darks too soon and should be more patient at layering and building up the colour gradually - I got lazy with the tile too (present from Islamabad from a recent trip by my parents).. it's much more densely flowered but I didn't feel there was enough room to do it. I'd like to try it on it's own. So a lot a feel could be better but it was fun to do and I just loved using the colour - got to do more of it...

Charing Cross to Headcorn... latte in hand

This was a bit of a bumpy train ride but still managed to get some drawing time in...

Canary Wharf at lunchtime...

This week has been so hot it's unbearable in the office (no air con) but the little park is an oasis and there was a cool breeze yesterday. I still felt self conscious about looking people as I draw but less so each time I do it.

and Feet...

Feet are always good too when when I get stuck for what to draw... I concentrated on the negative space for these ones and tried not to get too bogged down in details but instead get a broad sense of light and shade. I find the pen gets a bit heavy at times with the ink and I lose any subtlety...

Drawing every day...

This has always been my stumbling block. I've dipped my toe in the water in terms of sketching but always jumped out pretty quick... I always felt it was such the opposite of what I wanted to do but at the same time finding the time is always a challenge. Creative License by Danny Gregory just inspired me to do it - to let go of whether it had to be good / bad or indifferent.. I suppressed the desire to go and buy lots of new materials (the bank balance wouldn't like it either) and instead just worked with what I had. I stuck to pen because I knew I would find it a challenge. These were 10-15 minutes found while waiting for trains. I felt less self-conscious if I wasn't trying to capture a likeness (and didn't have the time) so instead I concentated on trying to capture 'weight' - some work better than others...

HANDS

When I get stuck for what to draw I can always resort to my hands... I have a little library of hands but I don't get bored with them. I wanted to get the texture of the feather but it didn't quite work. It's a really clean/sharp feather and I just couldn't get that feeling across - perhaps a harder pencil??

Drawings...

I love sitting down for an hour or more and just getting immersed in a drawing. The trouble is finding several hours is always a challenge. Still, I have managed it the last couple of weekends so here's the first one - the gate. I got tired by the time I did the ground so the perspective is a bit out... I did this sitting in the communal gardens - I felt very conspicuous but after a bit of nosing out the windows everyone left me alone.