Noah

I was looking through some of my old cartoons from 2003 and I actually laughed at a few. I suppose that's a bit like laughing at your own jokes, but I had forgotten most of them so it was like looking at them for the first time. This is one I remembered and always liked as it comes straight from Genesis chapter 8, verse 6, so its not really my joke, its God's!

After 40 days Noah opened the window...

This Too Shall Pass

My boy was inspired by the OK Go video "This Too Shall Pass" and this is the result! Spot the cheat at the end.

Panda

I'm not going to pretend there's a panda living in the trees down the road or munching bamboo at the bottom of the garden. I won't even suggest that I've seen pandas while I was walking the dog. Of course there are no pandas where I live and we don't keep them in the house. But I did meet one on his own in the local pub. He hadn't drunk as much as I had and refused the offer of a lift back home which, in hindsight, was a wise choice, as they are an endangered species even without my help!

I do remember seeing pandas in a zoo in Chengdu and I remember how sad they looked in their concrete compounds, but not as sad as the skins in the gift shop!



Ewhurst Gatehouse

A departure from the usual, nevertheless a style that appeals to me. I had planned to create a series of local landmarks - time is my enemy. Oh, and the weather. Then there's materials, they can be a bother, you know, pencils that are broken all the way through so every time you sharpen them they just fall apart. Oh yes, then there's not being able to get the best view because there's a tree in the way, or a wall, or the best view is right in the middle of a road. But most of all it's time that's the enemy; although laziness comes a close second.

Cartoon

I have been known to earn a penny or two from cartoons. This one was from a while back. It points out conflict between the experience of the average person and the presentation of life according to advertising. The lie of advertising has caused great dissatisfaction around the world, far from inspiring people to make progress and enhance their economic state, it only serves to highlight the lack and the need.

And it breaks up the TV program.

I hate advertising.

Ice and Fire

Our lad has a project at school entitled Ice and Fire. By way of explanation we have here a brazier brim full of flame and smoke and sharing the space is an igloo patrolled by a fierce polar bear (which I foolishly suggested bore a resemblance to a rabbit, then found myself put in my place; apparently I should have been able to guess better than that as to what manner of creature it was! I can only put my failure down to having a bit of a cold that my son has so lovingly shared with me.)



Coyotes

We're having this awful problem with these feral coyotes in our garden, here in Sussex. You know what they're like; howling at night waking the babies, messing on the croquet lawn, digging up the gladioli, bullying the dog (you know, taking her dinner money and calling her names). If anyone has any idea what to do about them, feel free to make suggestions.

Dragons & Damsels

For a number of years I struggled with producing a logo for my letterheads, but I never quite settled on any, none were just right. There were various versions of this one, of which this was the prettiest. The shield was taken from an earlier painting and the armour from another and is representative of my early painting subjects. The stylised dragon-like shape on the shield I drew as a teenager (although I can't remember being one of those!) and has turned up in a number of paintings - there's something about it I like.



Light of day

I've entitled this 'Light of Day', simply because this drawing has not, and will never again, see the light of day. I admit it is another very old drawing, not having time to create something new as I've been out all day. This is the closest this piece will ever get to being published, so this is its big chance...



Harpist motif

I find simple line motifs, such as this, fun to do. I like it when drawings like this are sneaked into text. An old fashioned thing to do, but always pleasing to me. Reminds me of illustrated versions of Alice in Wonderland or the like.

Some young actress

Many years ago, in my idle hours as a teenager, I would tear pictures out of magazines and copy them as faithfully as I could. This was on advice from my old art teacher. My teacher was a realist. He knew that at least two thirds of his class were there because they didn't want to work. Right at the start he asked those who were interested in art to sit on the right of the class and everyone else on the left. This left him with a class four and a creche of about twenty. It was here that I learnt what I wanted to do, I'm just not sure what I want to do with it!

Concerning this drawing; I remember it came from an old TV annual, but I can't recall the actress or TV programme.



Bossy

This is my wife's elderly friend, of whom she is very fond. A noble creature who is three quarters thoroughbred and a quarter Cleveland Bay. An eventer in her youth, she now agrees only to an occasional competition. Bossy is aware of the quality of her breeding and her manners are impeccable. She may appear to be grumpy at times, but it just wouldn't do to show too much affection because she is, above all, a lady. 

Sketch in blue

A face in a magazine some twenty odd years ago took my eye and so this sketch in blue. I think there's something about it that's inspiring, not sure what. Any ideas?



Other Sussex sightings...

There are plenty of forgotten corners, fenced woodland with no access and the landowner strangely absent, walled gardens encased in ivy and bramble defended gullies for such creatures to hide. St Leonard was alleged to have slain a dragon, but others have seen it since. Some nights, in the depths of winter, where there are no lights to give shadows a shape, we hear noises that silence the howls of the fox....

A Stray?

Its amazing what can be found in a muddy puddle in a Sussex field whilst walking the dog.

Arwen

Inspired, some years ago, by an interest in Tolkien's work.



The day our girl ran away

Its OK, this story does have a happy ending.
This morning I took her out for her usual constitutional and let her off in the field. She ran off ahead and ducked out of sight a couple of hundred yards from me, nothing unusual about that, she normally reappears in a moment or two or else I whistle and she comes running. However, not this time. There I was in the rain, wind howling, calling and whistling, whistling and calling and still alone.
I prayed, but no dog appeared.
I imagined her in a ditch, unconscious, or impaled on a spike and torn by barbed wire (I bet you're glad I've already told you this story has a happy ending now!) Was she dog-napped and taken miles away to be sold or used for breeding? I stopped short of alien abduction. Will I ever see her again? After forty minutes, half drowned and frantic, my wife calls me and tells me our little girl is at the local vet! It turns out a kind lady found her on the road (how she got there I still don't know and our girl is not telling) opened her car door and in she jumped. Our girl loves the vet, a trip in a car means only one thing to her - a visit to the vet - she didn't have to be asked to get in a car and she wasn't disappointed, she had a lovely time at the vets.
Turns out my prayer was answered.

Bird sighting!

You'll never believe what I saw in the garden this morning!

In flight

I thought best to make the effort and stop posting old work up here.

We enjoy seeing our feathered friends in the garden: the Robin that turns up when we've been planting; the Wren that pecks out the ladybirds from the corners of our window frames; the cheeky crow that pinches our grapes; Sparrows that nest in the eaves and pile into each other in the hedge and various Finches that visit in the cold weather when we fill the feeder; not to mention the Sparrowhawk that took out a Blue Tit right in front of us while we sat in the garden.

Fairytale

Since I was little I've had an interest in the romantic Camelot/knights in shiny armour/fire breathing dragons/damsels in distress stories. I blame my teacher in primary school for introducing me to The Hobbit and later The Lord of the Rings. Even now I pour though books with illustrations by Arthur Rackham or John Howe. Some years ago I fancied I'd write and illustrate my own fairytale, but it was never written...



Dino

I wasn't going to but the boy made me.

Sometimes the boy and I draw together, not often enough; darn school and work get in the way. He does his pictures and I try to think of something to draw - that reminds me of when I was a lad and would ask my mum, 'what can I draw?' Anyway, the lad insists that I post some of these doodles, so here they are...



Magpies

These are the magpies that evaded me before. With a little training I feel sure that I can coax them to form an arrangement on the page that will please. When I came home today I caught a glimpse of one pied fowl making an exit from our garden. So why is it that they don't fear automobiles yet one sight of me and they're off?



Magpie

Sometimes I put pencil to paper and what comes out is not what is in my head.
I like the bird silhouettes on the background of this blog, but they're not mine, so I was trying to decide what birds I would choose to draw. I've always liked magpies and the way they sit in the road next to their roadkill refusing to move until the truck is almost upon them, then they slowly just hop a yard to the left, wait, then go back like they have no idea (or don't care) they might end up in the same condition as their potential meal.
My pencil refused to draw a good magpie and then at the last minute it hoped out the way, so I gave up.

This is an old drawing that does have a small magpie in it.
I might choose rooks. They might behave better.

Hands

This is part of a sketch (probably the best part) I did for a competition some fifteen years ago. Can't remember now what it was all about or if I actually entered it, but it gave me the chance/excuse to express my love of hands - amazing structures they are, flexible, practical yet strange and beautiful at the same time, with as much detail as a face. My wife has lovely hands, but mine are small and boney; I'd never be a pianist.

Working drawing

I also paint, sometimes. I usually pencil out the composition and trace that down onto the surface to be painted. Occasionally, perhaps due to the beauty of simple line and what it leaves to the imagination, I find the working sketch gives me more pleasure than the final painting. Sad really!

My love

Let me introduce my wife...

The first picture I wanted to post on this blog was of my love, but I hesitated as she, like most women, says she doesn't like pictures of herself. So, alas, now I am undone, the picture posted and I will accept the consequences because, as much as I don't like to share her (...I'm just a jealous guy...[cue Bryan Ferry whistling]) I can't help but be proud of her, all she does, all she puts up with (from me mainly, sorry love) and all she is. I loved her from the first; she stopped me in my tracks and I've not been the same since. So, while I may be severely chastised, I'll bear it as it makes me happy to let you all know how wonderful she is and how richly God has blessed me by bringing her into my life.

Nemo

Nemo! Found him.

A knight

So, tonight a knight. Our boy does like a bit of dressing up and he needed no encouragement to don this battle gear on a visit to Bodium Castle. Have you ever seen such a cute knight?

Robot

What can I say? The boy is creative!

Good friends.

A long time ago there were two good friends that lived with us: Ella, a Dalmatian and Beanie, a cat. Ella lived to the ripe age of fifteen; a lively girl who never acted her age. She made herself my friend very quickly when I first met her, by climbing up on my lap and curling up like a cat. An odd experience for me as I had never had a dog or shown much interest in them, that coupled with the fact she was a fully grown three and a half stone. Odd, but endearing. I cried on her last day when I carried her, wrapped in a blanket, from the vet. Beanie missed her too. As you can see from the sketch, they were bed fellows. Beanie's character seemed to change slightly after Ella's passing and a few short years later he died of a broken heart. It was no less emotional with his passing, but at least they are reunited and once more the good friends sleep beside each other.

Yes, deer...

We have a lot of Roe deer about these parts. They are all wild (that's an important point to remember, keep reading). We often see them from our house and out and about when walking the monster. The said monster was accused of poaching the other day, she chased a deer for a couple of hundred yards. I know it was she that was accused and not I as I can't even poach an egg. In fact I had a master class from my wife, recently, on how to make an omelette. Apparently you have to break eggs and stuff! Bryher wasn't too bothered about the accusation as she doesn't understand English, hence her utter disobedience. No, indeed, it was I who was livid on her behalf. She's only sixteen months old, still a baby, and only wants to play - with everything, whether it breathes or not. I felt comforted by another local who pointed out to me that land owners are strange people who think they own more than their land (this is where the 'deer being wild' point comes in!)

I told Bryher she had better stick to chasing leaves, her tail or her dreams. She said what tail, oh, that tail, where's it gone, oh, there it is, come back here...