‘Fish Tank’ girl 090923b

On my return train journey last night, on an empty I found myself without a decent ‘model’. Just to reassure you fellow-sketchers that we don’t alwalys have to wait for a real, live person, I drew this girl from a film poster advertising the British film ‘Fish Tank’ in my newspaper. In the original poster, she has no additional imagery surrounding her. Considering her pensive countenance, I invented the bustling city background as a narrative element to enhance the rather sombre and isolated mood. Don’t know if this theme ties in at all with the film having not seen it, but that’s my unbiased interpretation! Black Biro and white Conté pencil.

Train sleeper, aka ‘baboon face’ 090923a

Sketched this fellow on yesterday’s morning train. The light from the east was producing a nice side highlight. I must have elongated his head, but he definitley resembles a baboon with his tight mouth too adding to the effect, so I have rather unkindly since changed him from 'Train sleeper' to baboon face. Black Biro and white Conté pencil.

090629 Roman on horseback, British Museum

Very hot today and The British Museum was probably the worst place to go under that huge (but impressive) glass roof! Still, once you start you can't stop, so I sweated it out. A passer-by sketcher asked me if I had special permission to use wet media in the museum (apparently it's dry only), but I admitted I wasn't aware of any sketchy rules so was probably just getting away with it until I was caught. The fun police in the UK get everywhere. But I finished without any scene. Blue Quink ink on yellow Canson card, about half hour duration.

090624 Dutch bicycle, Stephens Street, W1

Saw this lovely green Dutch bicycle in a local street near work. So much more style than the usual generic bicycle. Charcoal pencil on brown paper sketchpad.

090623 Girl reading in Bedford Square, W1

Hot day today and I wasted half an hour wandering around looking for inspiration. Perspiration more like. Eventually I sat in the shade of some Bedford Square park trees and sketched this girl engrossed in her book. She disappeared towards the end, but I managed to make up the missing bits. As much as I love drawing, no pencil was used at all in this one, just painted directly in Quink ink with a brush. The grand Georgian houses recede nicely in the background thanks to a light hand. On manilla envelope paper, took about half an hour.

Blue bin bags outside The Palace Theatre, W1

Not the prettiest of sights, perhaps, but I found the slumped shapes of the blue bin bags on collection day outside The Palace Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue quite interesting. Quink ink and pencil.

Royal College of Surgeons, Holborn

A painting for a work friend’s ‘Save the date’ wedding card. Watercolour on Langton 300gsm Grain Fin paper.