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La Dolce Vita

Some random sketches

My first works on canvas

Something a bit more involved than my usual sketches. Each of these took a full day to complete. Gouache on canvas. 12.5cm x 12.5cm

The first is a view of a client's conservatory (she has a wonderful eye for design and I fell in love with that set of shelves), and the second is a display I snapped a quick photo of at the Chelsea Flower show 2009.

SketchCrawl #26

Well, had to go to work this morning but made the most of it. A little sketch at work, then headed to the canal on the way home, but was driven back into the van by more bloody rain after only ten minutes. Gave up and went home!

Leaving on a jet plane...

Matt left for his sponsored cycle ride (Vietnam to Cambodia) on Thursday, so I took the opportunity to fill up the last two pages of my book with sketches done at the airport and on the tube.

Faces on the Underground

I haven't done many sketches of people this past year, so I thought I would try some more quick sketches on my way to and from the football today. My favourite is the lady on the bottom left.

The end and the beginning

I'm nearly at the end of my sketchbook - so it seemed like a good time to do a little housekeeping. I removed the block of pages from the old book and put those to the side while I worked out how best to repair the vintage cover; as you can see, it had become even more worn and tatty over the course of the past year. In the end I decided upon a simple strip of leather to reinforce the spine. This should make it more durable and give it a new lease of life for the coming year. A block of new pages was bound in, and it's now ready to go!

The old block of pages presented me with a puzzle: how best to bind them? I opted for a very simple look, with tan leather covers. I thought that the sketches should speak for themselves and not be overshadowed by a flamboyant cover.

People and lunch

My local garden centre sent me a voucher which entitled me to a free meal (buy one lunch, get the second free) - so it would have been foolish not to use it! Matt and I went and had a pleasant time (the food was delicious), and I got the chance to do a couple of very quick sketches before we ate.

My desk...

I fancied a break on Friday, so I decided to draw my desk at the studio. As you can see, I was midway through binding a book, and if you note the pile of books to the left you can also see that I'd done quite a number of other ones already!

I bloody hate Stoke

FA Cup Fourth Round. Stoke-v-Arsenal. My first away game in this country. Not a great day, the highlight was the Bovril.

It comes but once a year...

... and thank goodness for that. MOT time is stressful, especially when you drive a beaten up old van, the parts for which are astronomical in price. Thankfully little Vik (the van, in case you were wondering) passed this time. The garage I use is a colourful building, so I thought I'd capture it on paper while I was waiting.

T'was the night before Christmas...

...when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The house hippo was on the prowl though, and it looks like he fancied a bath in the dog's water bowl this time.

Coffee and a mince pie

A little bit of me-time. My local garden centre sent me a voucher for a cup of coffee and a mince pie. So I popped in and enjoyed my free snack while sketching.

Sadly I was having a ditzy morning, as I'd remembered to pack my sketchbook and watercolours... but sadly not my pencil case (which has my pen, waterpen and good pencils in). All I had in my handbag were a couple of biros and a very blunt HB pencil. I like this sketch, but really wish I'd had a proper pen with me! I'd have loved to add some colour to it too, as the restaurant in the garden centre was quite colourful. Never mind, there's always next time!

Please mind the gap

Some very quick sketches done on the way to the football this evening. You might be pleased to know that the legs with the heels don't belong to the guy with the beanie hat - it was just unfortunate placement on the page!

Biscotti

Today hell froze over. It must have done, because in a rare act of domestic goddessery I was in the kitchen baking. Scared yet?

Sketchcrawl #25

Well, today was more exciting than expected! I had to work this morning, and thus didn't sort out to go and join in the London sketchcrawl group. I was a bit grumpy about this as I've NEVER managed to make it to a crawl. So, finished work early and thought I'd drive down to Portobello instead and do a bit of sketching on my own, and then call into the supermarket for groceries on the way home.

Sketched a little, then started sketching the paella stall (which has always fascinated me, even though I've never tried paella - it always smells so good!). The men running the stall smiled and winked, then one of them asked if I was writing a book (my sketchbook is a revamped vintage book - looks like a proper book from the outside). Nope, I'm sketching. He then asked if I would scan it and e-mail it to him when I was done, and then offered me lunch!

I was polite and said no to the food at first, but by the time I had finished the smell had made me ravenous so I shyly accepted some chicken paella. It was DELICIOUS.

Clearly I didn't get anything else drawn after that, but what an exciting day!

The lovely paella stall is run by www.jamonjamon.co.uk

An afternoon in London

The Wellcome Collection

A day out in East London