Pieces of broken ceramics found along the Thames

Above is the completed painting of a selection of pieces of broken ceramics I found while walking along the banks of the Thames. I have recently discovered that they have a name for it called Mud larking, there is a pub named after it at Borough market and a club of people who spend most of there time at low tide with a shovel and a metal detector searching for old lost treasures in the city center. I enjoyed doing this painting because of all the little details on some pieces of ceramics contrasted with ruff messy painting for others. I recommend you click on the image to see those little details I am talking about.

Sketching in Museums

The first four sketches where done over two periods in the British Museum. There is a seemingly endless source of things to draw which is great because sketching outside in London at this time of year is quiet cold. The pictures from top to bottom are: Cyprus pottery, Greek pottery, Chinese ceramics, the Sutton Hoo viking helmet and the last is of my favorite painting in the National gallery Monet's waterlily pond at sunset.

View from London bridge

I sketched this last Saturday while waiting for a friend and just finished painting it today. I like how the buildings are simplified by being darkened and how the grey sky behind them accentuates there shapes.

Along the Thames

This journal entry is of an old wooden boat frame sunk into a bank along the Thames. It marks the spot where I find many interesting little treasures like antique pipes, mother of pearl, old keys, antique bottles, interesting stones, coloured glass and lots of pieces of broken decorated ceramics that I am going to use to create my second painting for my discarded, lost and found project.

Sketching in the Lake District

These are three pictures of Grasmere in the Lake District England. I started sketching the view from up high on a hill/mountain between Eldermere and Grasmere. I had to draw as quickly as possible while a strong icy wind was hitting me. The second drawing is from a view while walking down into town with the large lake that had frozen over. And the last is of there little cemetery covered in snow (all where completed with paint in the comfort of my warm studio). There is something I find charming about grave stones covered in snow that I think I will have to do a series of paintings about it ...

Portraits of lost winter gloves

This is the first painting in a series called The discarded, the lost and the found... I got the idea from finding a glove at my doorstep and since then I started seeing lost gloves everywhere!. After coming up with the idea to paint them, I was able to find around twenty in a month (and actually lost my own gloves somewhere in Ireland during this time). So above is a selection of the best gloves I came across.

Charlton cemetery

This is one of my favorite sketches done in my art and travel journal #5. I have been fascinated for a while with cemeteries. I find them quiet peaceful and beautiful with there little churches, gardens and grave stone decorations. I am planning to do a series of paintings of them sometime soon...

Two ripe and one rotten apple.

Above is the documented process of the painting called "Two ripe and one rotten apple". I was inspired by the old fruit on the kitchen table that someone has bought but never actually got around to eating. The rotten apple on the right is I believe 4 or 5 months old and has been in the kitchen since I have moved in. I like expressing the process of life and death through the simple genre of still life paintings.

Artists rehabilitation kit, project #1

The perfect cure for artist's block and to get you travelling merrily down the path of creativity once again.

The graffiti man

I found this character painted on a wall today when I was walking along the Thames. I think it really works in it's naive scrawled way. The hooded graffiti villain spray painting everything while your back is turned!

Blast from the past

I found this old photo of me chalk drawing in Melbourne 2008 doing a copy of Picasso's women reclining. Thanks to whoever took the photo and edited it, I like the Idea of bringing colour to a grey city.