Surprise, surprise, Christmas is with us again; isn't it just wonderful.

For those of you who saw my last blog, I did put fairy lights on the car, but only on the dashboard: it made Liz laugh and laugh again. For those with a health and safety bent in life, I hasten to add that they were removed before driving of. 

The above water colour of the wise men arriving at Bethlehem was produced a couple of years ago. The methodology is simple. use one principal colour, in this case cerulean blue (an easily available and good night time colour), build up the image and density of colour with several loose washes; being careful to leave the door way and lit areas paint free. Then just add a few spots of windsor yellow to give the warmth of an oil lantern. Add to finnish one or two very small dots of cadmium red, to make the colour circle (red, yellow, blue) presence complete. With the use of a hairdryer to speed up the drying. Next scan it into the computer, then into photoshop to add the writing; simple, took less than an hour. You are allowed to call me a smarty pants!

So as the Wise Men greeted the new born King; so I look forwards to welcoming Him again in a few days time; so may I say that:

I wish you all a very happy and Blessed Christmas.

 

 Well it is Advent and we are, in the majority, looking forwards to Christmas with anticipation; whether that be for the cooking, the presents and hopefully, also for the birth of Jesus.

Last night we saw this car; we decided not to count how many lights were attached and as to whether the paintwork would be damaged on their removal. Whatever, we love it and Liz wants one. I said no.

Art expresses itself into all of what we are and do. How are you expressing yourself this Christmas. A simple way it to create a Christmas card, maybe for someone you love. It doesn't have to be good, just the expression is what counts.

We all get stuck in a rut and continue in our lives the way we always did in the past. Well its good to break out occasionally and expand our thinking and working. Well over the last three and a half weeks my attention has been on a work of an old beech tree growing on the top of a small cliff; it has been challenging and I am pleased to say that the work although having been exceedingly, trying is succeeding and nearing completion. 

To relax my art a little, it has always been an enjoyable pastime of mine to play with old wire, twisting and bending it into all sorts of things, the above is an example. At the moment in my play time the use of heavier wire is with varying degrees of success. being used to attempt the creation of floral broaches. To be worn as jewellery it needs to not only look pretty, but also be strong and able to take knocks. My present attempts at making a life size daisy out of heavy wire are of varying success; but good fun, relaxing and you never know it might end up with something worthwhile.

So don't take yourself to seriously, relax, enjoy your art, it's good for you.

 

The journey throughout Wales continues, now we have reached Pembrooke or as many refer it to as Little England, whatever, it is full to overflowing with many gorgeous places which we both love. A superb farm b&b, everybody was so friendly. A must to visit was St David's, Britain's smallest city; however beyond that tiny historic city, towards the peninsular's point are superb beaches and harboured inlets, coupled with that are many very tiny narrow country lanes, which as usual Liz loved, even if some of them left my nerves a little frayed.

We relaxed at the above inlet right on the peninsular point as evening slowly drew near. No cafe, no gift shops or anything, just peaceful.

 

Just to change direction for this morning, with a reminder that my ongoing project work is progressing well, above is an example of where my work is moving at present. This work still with ink, which has moved up a size to A2, In very rough understanding that's almost a square meter; for detailed ink work it is massive and each piece of work is a major undertaking; its hard to explain just what an undertaking each work is; however it may be better understood by the fact that I emptied two and a bit pens producing it, over 3 weeks.

Why do I tell you about the above? Well the results are amazing me and it is all so exciting; a bit scary realy. Then yesterday, I was offered a five month one man exhibition of this work to be held in the first half of next year; the venue and firm dates are a little early to release, but it is so encouraging and it will be wonderful being able to share my work with those of you able to attend.

By the way positive comments by those of you who view this blog are also very encouraging and helpful. Thank you.

 

Still moving southwards and again on very narrow twisty roads; this time on a lane half way between Carmarthen and Fishguard, it was gloriously arm, the sun shone with a gentle breeze; it was perfect for water colours. I sat on a rock with another boulder two feet away serving as a table and just relaxed. A family were seated on the grass just a little to the right of the picture, simply and quietly enjoying the loveliness of the location. 

You might notice that only the centre of the image is coloured. The mind automatically colours in the outer areas of the picture and as a result the whole process of creating a watercolour sketch is speeded up considerably; which with the vagility of our weather is often a good idea.

I have often written about the lanes which Liz loves, i.e. the narrow twisting lanes and the surprises which were often found at the end of them. Above is one such lane with an ending, oft repeated, with a quiet, holy, ancient chapel, often, as in this case right on the beach. There was a small car park with a magnificent beach, a friendly local beach cafe and a few families enjoying a family beach holiday; there was space a plenty for all. The teasels (big thistles), were there thousands of them and such rich colours, they were a feast for the eyes. We found unsung places like this all over the place.

 

The trek down through Wales continues, many small hamlets were driven through. The one above was somewhere in mid Wales, a sleepy little place and also it was pouring with rain. We pulled up in the church carpark, Liz got out her book and I did this quick sketch without even removing my safety belt.. Seeing one person, a lady of mid years walking her dog, her head was deep down in her anorak hood trying to stay dry. A lovely quiet and restful halt. We then journeyed on.

 

Travel is not all about differing cultures, food and exotic venues, it is also about enjoyment and seeing the different ways of living and best of all the unusual. This is the first time that I have seen this road sign, it was in a small village in central Wales and for the cynic, no I did not see a cat with a white stick.

Back to England for a moment. On Monday having a rare free day we decided to venture to the South Bank in London, just to chill out, have a stroll, see some favourite sites and have lunch. As usual we were on the lookout for the unusual and interesting. We were not disapointed.A little ahead of us appeared a person who certainly caught your attention. It was female, tall and very slim. She had waist length pure white hair, over a knitted orange bomber jacket. Over her shoulders and flying in the breeze was  a dayglow, high viz, pink scafe. Then to complete the outfit were a pair of viridian green baggy trousers. Now what her statement was I have no idea, but boy did you see her coming.

We then returned home chuckling having had a lovely trip ou.

Today in the Wales trek we have two images, the upper one is of one of those lovely picturesque cottages which are dotted all over the place, this particular one was sketched whilst still behind the steering wheel in a quick, few moments break in the driving. 

The lower image is of a lovely remote chapel on the north coast of the Llyn Peninsular. Wales is full of many such quiet distant places, where you can just stop and think. Although the busy Blackpoolitis sort of tourism was available, that is, if required; peace was just around any corner; those were the places we were seeking. Not far away was a small car park, friendly cafe and gorgeous beach. People were around, yes,  that was fine, but not in their thousands and they were enjoying themselves. A lovely family holiday sort of spot.

We have a rule when exploring any new district, follow the smallest roads you can find, then follow them until they cease to be a road. Often this involves reversing a short distance, or a tricky three point turn might be required, this three point turn sometimes develops into a rather hairy ten point turn, but thats all the fun of exploring and finding special places.

 

The Welsh journey continues; whilst staying near Conwy we called into LLandudno briefly and had time for a coffee/sketch at a pavement cafe in George Street.  Llandudno is a lovely rather spacious seaside resort, with wide boulevard type streets and many grand buildings, nice coffee as well. the above is not a great piece of art work, however it does capture the Victorian/Edwardian atmosphere of the place. Sketching is such great fun and Liz is still happily engrossed in her book. Can you spot Edith; I will explain that in my next blog? at

Went for a walk at Polsden Lacey the other day and saw a slow worm. I'v not seen one of them for a couple of years. This one was about 15 inch's long and in the middle of a path, right out in the open, a very vulnerable place to be caught in, so it was playing dead and a first site looked a little like a wooden stick. When it realised that it had been spotted, a burst of speed took it into the undergrowth. 

Note Autumn is just around the corner; all those wonderful colours where every leaf is like a flower.

 

After Chester we meandered through North Wales, visiting Rhyl, LLandudno, Colwyn Bay Rhuddlan Castle and several other placed which were familiar with my childhood in that area; it was good fun, with sketching playing its part. Liz was constantly immersed in a super book.

A sketch is not a highly polished piece of work, although it can most certainly be of merit; rather it is about a quick memory, an impression and oft created in far from perfect conditions, the above is a good example.  It is of one of the gateways into Conwy and sketched from a very busy corner surrounded by many people pushing and squeezing past everybody else. Sitting was impossible, so leaning against a lamp post on the edge of the pavement was the only possible way of working. 

It was fun to produce and an impression which pleases me. For those of you who are familiar with my work, you might notice Edith with her shopping bags near the centre of the sketch. She gets into my works all over the place, maybe I will tell you about her next week.

Sixty six images were sketched and several hundred photos snapped during the trip, the sketches have all now been digitally scanned and my attention has turned to the photos, sorting them out in photoshop; all good fun.

Will show another image from the trip in a day or so, regards Charles.

 

 

It has been quite a while since my last blog, to be honest life has been hectic, what with routines, work, commitments and travels; my life has been full to overflowing: but enough of that, my last trek was a journey through Wales from Chester to Bristol, with seemingly every very minor road between traveled. Liz loves these very quiet, remote, single track roads, to be honest fantastic places are often found at the end of them; so that is the way by enlarge that we traveled through Wales. It must be noted that oft these quaint roads have a dead end, with a nightmare three point turn being required for the return journey. Good fun?

However the first drawing of the trip was of the clock gate in Chester. Very touristy and friendly, maybe everybody in Chester spoke to me, I don't know how any drawing was produced.

 More soon.

 

The other day I did a very silly thing. Liz and myself went to La Ronda, an amazing house on the River Ex estuary. The idea was to relax, have some lunch and for me to sketch a little.  The relaxing and lunch bits went fine, it was the sketching bit that went pear shaped. I took my paper and drawing board with me, but when I looked inside my bag, I had forgotten to include my pens, inks, paints, brushes and pencils. Silly old me. After a growl, I managed to scrounge a blunt IKEA pencil stub from the gift shop, with no means of sharpening it.. Not by any means a perfect tool, but it did the job. 

So the day wasn't wasted, we relaxed, had a nice lunch and I was flexible in my artistic endeavours; not a great piece of art, but good fun. Don't take yourself to seriously!

We have just had a few nights in Sidmouth, again; we love the place. As usual we went sketching in Beer, see above. No pencil, straight in with the pen; if you look closely you will notice the rain (drizzle) drops in a few places with very small blots in some areas. Well, maybe with the water splodges on it, it might not qualify as a masterpiece, but I think the blemishes add to the work and give it a strong reality factor. So don't be put of by the weather.

As usual when out painting I met some lovely people. Firstly. a very pleasant if rather strangely unkempt and unwashed individual with well worn clothing, a thin totally unkempt beard and a hat, which for originality would win any competition. It started as a cowboy hat before it was destroyed by the weather and many years of use. Then it was covered by badges of many music festivals; only ones where he could manage a free entry, he does not believe you should pay to listen to music at events. But the crem-de-la-creme was a small plastic model toilet glued to the top central part of his hat. I did enjoy listening to his philosophy on life for a few minuets, the details of which I will not bore you.

Then a lovely elderly lady trundeled past with her wheeler. A nice lady totally out of touch with reality. She just can't understand how the economy was tight and how ordinary people did not have enough to live on, thereby finding life hard. Sometimes there is not point in disagreeing, so she wandered on in her own little world with a smile.

This week I relaxed and could not be bothered to argue.

 Good morning everybody and it looks as if summer has arrived. A blue sky, pleasantly warm sunny morning and a good forecaster for the next week; now that cheers the heart.

 Above is a just finished piece of work which took three weeks to create. The aim is to show light moving through the woodland. I'm not sure, but it might merit another visit from my pen to increase the contrast and as a result the drama of the view. So it is possible that this picture will reappear again in a few weeks looking a little different under a fresh guise.

Not much planned for today, maybe relax a little. A quick jaunt into town, then we are free, maybe a walk in the woods with a picnic; sounds good.

Duncan

Last week we actually had a free day so we wandered along to Windsor and Epsom. The view above is of Windsor castle from the Eton side.

However last night was very illuminating and contained a large learning curve in my experience of life. We both went to the URC church, to attend the "Hustling", were all the local candidates for the general election met and spoke. J am not going to say who I will vote for, but I will give my observations about the candidates.

Green, a very nice and pleasant lady, but weak, she can't see beyond the immediate presence of her experience.

Labour, very presentable, she spoke politely and always kept to her point without being rude to anyone.

Reform. Blinkered angry opinions. Not a diplomat or understanding person.

Heritage. he came across very badly, intolerant, not a nice man at all.

Conservative. aggressive and rude to his opponents. Several times speaking rudely when others had the floor. More interested in criticising others for his own faults. He felt that it was ok to vote in parliament with regards to brexit against his constituency's wishes. Did not come over well at all.

Liberals. Calm, polite, put his opinions forwards without accusatory anger.

You need to choose, last night told me certainly who I will not vote for.

 

Over the last weekend Liz treated me to a painting/sketching couple of days around Bexhill on Sea, because in a few days it is my birthday. On the Monday we ventured into Hastings and the area around the old fishing huts, where the small sea craft are beach launched and landed. The weather was perfect for water color painting; warm in order to dry the work quickly, but not to hot to be unpleasant.

Strolling around, these two boats caught my eye, so I sat on the shingles and out came my paper, pencil and brushes. The simplicity was caught with a few very loose water-colour strokes, which were tightened up with a water soluble HB pencil; a very quick way of working. Now it is not intended as a great piece of art, it's not, it is but a sketch, or a quick impression. The whole thing took less than ten minuets to produce, it was all about spontaneity and how I felt. I was enjoying the sun, surroundings, painting and the people whom I met.

Over the morning several folks stopped as they passed by, watched me painting, then chatted with me. First it was a local fisherman, then a lecturer from some Australian university, a few tourists and finally a local character on a mobility scooter; he was brave to drive that thing over the shingles, I wonder how often he gets stuck and needs dragging of the bank. Five sketches were produced and several conversations enjoyed in about an hour and a bit; all because I paint! 

Now that is what I call a pleasant hour or so!

 I am so pleased to be able to tell you all that Liz and myself are fine following our recent covid infection. We are both amazed that we had gone so far through this pandemic and not been infected.

Above is another A2 drawing, this time of the Bocage in Normandy, France. With about forty friends we all stayed in a chateau about half a mile from this lane. In modern times it is a lovely area to walk in, with lanes, paths, all in deep woodland, interspaced by tiny fields; like I said "Lovely", but during the second World War the fighting through this area was awful. As we think of the Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, plus many more areas of conflict and tension, it is a salutary lesson and reminder for us to be appreciative of the peace we enjoy in a deeply unsettled world.

The Bocage is so beautiful; we must remember as Liz and myself often have, traveling with my paints is such a privilege and honour. Paintings are such lovely memories; so why not plan to take a sketch book with you, as our planning for holidays and trips are thought about for summer. 

 

The other day I posted an image to you all of the Coble landing at Filey and asked you all as to if it needed colour or not. Unanimously the verdict was for colour. Well the original being drawn in water soluble ink; it would not take any water colour without making an awful mess; so start again.

Re drawn, big bold and loose, water colour very freely splashed on, does it work?

As many of you will know Liz and my self have Covid so are isolating for a few days. we are well, but bored. Roll on being free again!

Today a photo because on breakfast TV this morning they were showing photos of unusual nesting sites. This is one of my favorites; I took the photo on the Stoer peninsular in the extreme north west of Scotland last year. The district was very remote and exceedingly beautiful, amazing coastal and mountain scenery abounded. 

This is obviously the village post box which for the season is out on rent to a local feathered couple. I did not see another box. but I suspect that mail can be handed into the nearby "Flossies", a famous, walkers, cyclists drop in coffee stop come sell anything and every thing place, which is situated in this small village, in middle of nowhere; beautiful.

Hope you like it, we love Stoer, its a must to return if the opportunity arrives.

 Today I am asking for your opinions! What do you think?

The drawing is of the Filey boats (Yorkshire) pulled up high and dry after the days fishing; with the usual tourists milling around and the maintenance work ongoing. When I lived in Yorkshire, Filey was about my favorite venue to visit. Just to the right of where I am standing was the working and fishermen's men's cafe, where an amazing bacon butty was always ready, with lots of chat, gossip and good hearted banter going on. Over the years I got to know several of them quite well.

But the question: This is an A2 image and I like the draughtsmanship; but does it need colour?

Opinions please

Just at the moment I can't believe just how busy I am; it is wonderful to be so appreciated and wanted. It all feels rather good to be appreciated for your art. But apart from the workshops and commissions etc, the ongoing developmental work also continues.

The large (A2+) ink images are going ahead full steam. This work is challenging in the extreme with the size of the images creating all sorts of questions and in the learning of new skills with the pen. One of the hardest skills which I am learning are the new levels of patience and steadfastness, continuing with a piece as it slowly progresses. I am learning to be able to visualise how a piece will look in the future while it is being produced and then to carry on with the work to fruition.

Good fun and I love it; but it is hard and challenging. I hope you like the above, it is of the Basingstoke Canal as it passes close by Sainsburys near Knaphill.

 

 Today being Maunday Thursday, so tomorrow the crucial elements of our faith play out their pathway.

A few years ago just as the covid drama was unfolding, Liz and myself were in Jerusalem, we visited the tomb garden. Whether or not the tomb in this garden is the correct one, is immaterial and of little importance. What matters most, is the stopping, thinking and realisation of the amazing consequences of Jesus' actions in and around this place.

The late morning was pleasantly warm, bright and sunny; too many visitors were in the garden, but that didn't matter; being there was what mattered.. Seeing and being where Jesus rose was astounding, the presence and realisation, sent a shiver of thanks down my spine.

As I said earlier too many people were present in the garden; thankfully the pen allows the omission of these masses. It was so special standing at the top of the stairs looking down towards the tomb and  sketching. Special yes, holy yes, thankfully yes; amazing certainly.

Have a lovely blessed Easter.

A slightly unusual and fun image today.

Last night I was invited to an event which amongst other things had a craft section included in the evening. Those of you who know me will remember that I love the arts and although I am not really into crafting, I respect it and see it as a creative worthwhile form of expression. I digress, then the nightmare happened.

The leader of the evening said from the rostrum, Duncan you are an artist will you judge the work for us. The situation where it is very easy to loose friends. was thrown at me, with no get out clause.. So think fast. Many of the painted Easter eggs really were rather good. So I wandered round talking to the crafters, offering appropriate encouragement and getting to understand what was happening.

As I said earlier many of them were rather good. But one stood out! A lady was having great fun decorating an awful egg and it was bad, ever so bad, but she was laughing and having a great time. I can not imagine an egg being done in any way worse.

So at the judging talk I praised the many excellent eggs, there really were several really good ones produced. Then I talked about the awful egg, everybody was laughing. I explained the intentions of the crafter, the rather rude symbolise drawn on the egg and a bit more; it was good fun and the crafter of this egg was laughing the most, with her mates joining in. With everybody's agreement she got first prise.

The point of this story-----, enjoy your art, it doesn't need to be clever.

By the way, painting eggs like this is an Orthodox Church tradition, this was fully explained during the evening. This also resulted in the end with much laughter, whist understanding the serious side of Easter.

Duncan.

 

 

Well Liz and myself have just returned from another brief stay in Sidmouth. The weather was rather mixed, as a result a lot of the time was spent reading and painting in the hotel; however we needed to relax, so that was not a bad thing. Each day we did brave the elements and go out; one of those days was to Lyme Regis. As you can see from the sky it was a lovely day, the sun shone brilliantly. the down side was the wind, it blew furiously. I tried to paint but my drawing board was like the sail on a yacht, it was impossible; the solution was to retreat to a pub, have a coffee and do my drawing over the afore mentioned coffee in about ten minuets. Not a great piece of art, but it caught the atmosphere, was good fun and the landlord loved me painting in his hostelry.

Working artists are usually treated with great respect and warmly welcomed, so have a go.

People are going round and saying something like, "Its cold and damp and miserable": well yes, some of that may be true; but this season also has its gems. At Hatchlands a few days ago we saw the above crab apples; yesterday at Trigs road roundabout, I saw a red admiral butterfly and this morning at Polseden Lacey we saw a greater spotted woodpecker, a close up of a red kite and the leaves on the brambles were at places an amazing bright red. Nature can surprise us with its beauty at any time of the year.

By the way this morning was not at all cold, damp or miserable; we walked to Play Pits and had a lovely picnic of brie cheese with cranberry sauce on bread rolls, followed by a banana and an orange, this was washed down with a good coffee. Altogether a rather lovely day out.

Well must stop writing as there is some ink work to do.

Duncan

 

Well life seems to get ever busier by the day. We have just had a marvelous weekend up in Sheffield, where we saw 5 of our God children, 1 great God son, 2 grandchildren, 2 sons and 1 daughter in law; plus many friends, adding all that up came to the total of a superbly hectic and enjoyable weekend. Returning home on the Tuesday was hindered by the M1 being closed because of an overturned lorry. So we drove down through the midlands on the compass; it was a lovely drive through small towns and countryside which neither of us have seen before. If it took a little longer to get home, it was a super enjoyable adventure.

 The above image and this new current project which i am working on.

The work on this project, continuing the tree work but in a larger format is going very well. The whole process being slower and more time consuming does produce fresh problems, such as. The composition taking much longer to appear, so staying on and working at the image is quite challenging from a fortitude point of view, as the work just does not seem to be working until many hours of hard work have been put into it. then after many hours suddenly it seems to come together. The hard bit is holding in my mind what the final outcome will be in my mind and just plodding, knowing that you are doing the right thing, until at last it works. The above image took, in am under estimation in excess of fifty hours; with the composition and work only starting to work during the last five or six hours. The end result is very satisfying and this project is certainly going ahead with full steam.

 

This morning I am sharing with you one of my favorite places on earth. It is the view of Stannage Edge, from the carpark above Ringinglow, on the Sheffield side of the Peak District. I have sat painting this view many times, in all weathers and in all of the four seasons. It is an oil pastel and hangs above my desk in my studio, I love it.

I was talking the other day about larger ink works; well the first one has been completed and it is an encouraging start to the project. Scanning to make the image digital is another problem as I have an excellent scanner, which sadly A4 sized and not A3 plus; however that is being worked on, my challenge for the week; lets see what transpires.

Another work in the ongoing tree project this morning, but this one is with a difference. My ink work is getting larger and this one is on A3 sized paper, the image being 16 inches by 9; which for a detailed ink work is massive in the amount of work involved; I did not count the hours it took to produce. For technical reasons the bigger the ink work gets, so, fresh unexpected problems keep appearing. But the process so far has worked and this piece has left a good feeling upon completion. Now this drawing was a step up towards an aim of mine which is to produce ink work twice that size!! Which I am now with trepidation undertaking. So lets see what happens. 

My art group at St Andrews restarts this Thursday at 1 pm after the Christmas break. Remember there is no charge, it is a good place to meet people, learn from one another and is a very pleasant and convivial art centered group. There are spare places in the group.

And a very happy, prosperous and peaceful New Year to you all.

The last year was a busy one; several projects, three exhibitions, as well as continuing with old themes, fresh ideas were accepted: by the years end I was tired.

So this year it starts a little slower paced with a small changing exhibition in the Ambrose Cafe, Hook Heath and a resolution, which we are all supposed to make at each years start. Mine is to continue with the tree work, although the direction could change a little and secondly to pay a little more attention to my water colour work. Personally I do not see myself as a watercolourist, but many of you like them, so I will continue in developing that side of my work alongside with the ongoing exploration of the use of pen and ink, where is where my principal thrust will continue.

Pictures usually have a story

Above is an ink which I drew over the Christmas period. The picture is situated in the fields behind Send, by a disused barn, which is skirted by a muddy path. The piece was produced from a photograph which I took a couple of years ago and as a point of interest it was very muddy indeed; we both had to  paddle and almost wade through the water to get there. It was good fun and we did laugh a lot.