Paul

Paul is one of the life models for our Thursday night sketch group. During this drawing session I focused on drawing his portrait because I am not really into drawing the figure at the moment. The background collage of this picture is old torn up tea coasters and I think the stains make a nice pattern. I was happy with how this picture came out in the end and I am thinking about asking Paul if he would like to be involved in the portrait project.

Framing

I am starting to make frames to stretch a select few of my canvases for Greenwich market. I have chosen 13 paintings to start of with. Pictures I believe have good chance of sales, a commercial element to them and a wider range of appeal. I am planning to start the markets the 6th of March and also begin a market stall at Camden Lock selling prints. So there is lots of shopping to do for stock and all other materials required. During this time hopefully I will get a few paintings done...

Flowers

The above painting of a bunch of flowers was an attempt for a set of two pictures. One called life (above) and the other to be called death. The second picture to be painted when the flowers have dried, wilted and look quiet dead. I like the idea of expressing the cycle of life and death through the simple genre of still life painting. But this attempt failed to please my vision of the vibrancy of the flowers and I had considerable difficulty painting them especially the white ones. Then there was the problem of defining the white flowers from the intended white background. So I will probably not keep this picture, or put it face to the wall and move onto something else, forget about it and maybe come back to it and make another attempt at realising this idea in the future.

The Tube

Taking the London Tube is an experience in it's self, and usually a good one if you don't take it during rush hour. It doesn't take long while down there to realise why they call it the Tube... Because it really is like going through a long tube with it's many curved cylindrical tunnels.

Big Ben

I have just finished painting the world famous London icon Big Ben a clock tower next to the houses of Parliament in Westminster. The clock tower is called Big Ben because of the large 16 ton bell inside. After a few attempts at painting it, I decided on a closer up cropped perspective with a semi realistic finish. I have formated this picture into a A4 print to sell in the markets and streets.

Typically London

Telephone boxes and Double decker buses are some of the signature features of London city. I am painting these pictures for some commercial images to format into A4 prints to sell in the markets and streets of London. Other typical things I plan to paint are Big Ben and the Tube... it can be a challenge or a double edged sword to paint such commercial things. But I am going for slightly different perspectives, slight distortions and a little atmosphere to try to make these usual things seem a little unusual.

The Amsterdam tryptich

The above is a series of three drawings I did while in Amsterdam around the end of last year. Each expressing an element that to me is the signature traits of this city. Endless bikes, drizzle, strangely angled buildings which have leaned and sunk from being built on a swamp foundation, bridges and canals lined with boats. These drawings where exhibited in New York at the Climate gallery in a large international drawing exhibition called The zeit of drawing (The time of drawing). After receiving these picture back from the show I was finally able to scan them and put them online.

A portrait of a clown I met in Cordoba

The above portrait of a clown is the first of a potential 50 paintings for my "Portrait project".
I met the clown man in a hostel I was staying at during my time in Cordoba Spain January of 2008. When I first met him I was wondering to myself why does he have a residue of white powder all over his face? But at the time I didn't enquire about it. A few days later I was walking across an old Roman bridge when I saw this clown and after a few moments I realised it was the same guy. He would stand there like a human statue and when someone dropped a coin in his hat his hand would quickly shoot out presenting you with a lolly! I took a photo of him while he was having a cigarette break and found out he was from the Netherlands and had been traveling around Spain for quiet a long time living from being a clown. For the life of me I cannot remember his name? or do I have his contact details to let him know at long last I have done the portrait of him that has been on long list of things to paint for over a year now!

Click on the above image for a better view...

Thursday night sketch group

This weekly drawing night was put together by Alex through a couch surfing art group. Usually they have life drawing with people volunteering to pose. The model receives a cup of tea a few biscuits and they get to look at drawings done of themselves. After coming to one of these nights I realised I wasn't into drawing the figure at the moment. So Alex suggested we have a still life drawing night and that everybody bring an object that symbolises them. It was interesting to end up drawing along with many different things... octopuses, subwoofers that look like something from star wars and an old banana.

Bridge and willows

This nice little park is near my house and I pass through while walking towards the Thames. I really like that little red bridge and the willows that have dropped there leaves to reveal young ochre branches. This bridge reminds me of Monet's over his Lilly pond.

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