Thursday 27 August 2015

WINTER IN THE PARK - work from earlier in 2015

These are part of a series of semi abstract works, still in progress, coming directly from my times drawing in Parc Parmentier, Brussels..  I am pleased so far.
Thoughts anyone?  
There are bigger ones on the way. All for sale eventually, prices yet to fixed.

 Ice , frost, fallen leaves etc, being very cold, sitting on a bench, drawing


detail of a bigger, A3, drawing. Charcoal on textured gesso on paper






no 1.  20 x 20 cm   watercolour on gesso on canvas board





no 2    20 x 20 cm   watercolour on gesso on canvas board




no 3  20 x 20 cm   watercolour on gesso on canvas board



Wednesday 26 August 2015

A THING ABOUT PEPPERS

 I have been having a bit of a thing with two sweet red peppers today.  Not an intimate thing nor am I  going to cook them ,  well not yet!  I just love their shiny firm shape and their glowing colour




one page of an A6 sketch book. Noodler's Ahab pen and Noodler's ink


this time a double page spread in the same book , 
does the one on the right look a little like a naked woman sculpture?



same size book, double page spread. watercolour,a bit of gouache and a Pentel ink brush pen..  I think there might be the genesis of a painting or two here?

Tuesday 25 August 2015

GIN AND T(omato?)

We have been very busy the last few days. Either hiding from the heat or gardening but I have found time for a few little pictures.



These very quick mini portraits of a lime, bound for my G & T are in very small pocket sketch books. One drawn with a Noodler's fountain  pen and ink the others in watercolour with a Pentel water brush, , the last with a few marks with a Pentel black brush pen.







First there were five (vine ripened!) tomatoes on my white plastic studio table top, Then we ate two and the remaining three took refuge in a terracotta plate on the same table.
A5 cartridge paper with a red acrylic ground, left over from some work i was doing last summer.  Gouache and watercolour




Friday 21 August 2015

MORE CHANGES IN THE STREET, AS SEEN FROM THE BEDROOM

Last summer I wrote on renovations to the house opposite. It was eventually let, for a short while, to a young family, who were waiting for their own new house to be ready. In July they flew to pastures new and two huge pantechnicons arrived to take away their belongings.  I did this drawing to show what is a feature of removals here in Brussels and quite new to me - but then I am a provincial country boy! They have a sort of cross between a fireman's ladder and a lift which hoists boxes and furniture, some of it huge, up the outside of the building.



Shortly after we went back to England for a week to celebrate a big birthday for my inamorata and on returning we found the new occupants had moved in..  There are, as yet, no blinds or curtains so the whole edifice is visible. It is like a huge fishtank. So we have Christened the new resident Mr. Finn. We watch him making coffee, eating his breakfast, watching TV ( but not dressing or bathing) and, most often, sitting at the table. (are there any armchairs in the house?) all the while gazing it seems at a laptop. He is either Skyping his wife and children in Finland or, like me, is struggling to install his Windows 10 upgrade!  Mine works a treat now!

A few evenings ago the very hot weather brought on thunder storms and, for several hours, the sky darkened and, over the city, you could see the lightning flashing. Mr F leapt up, fearing rain and gusty winds and tore around the house closing all the windows but leaving all the lights on.  Here he is, a few minutes later, with the whole house lit up like a stage set, whilst he got back to calling Helsinki or where ever.
Some times he goes outside to listen to music in his white BMW