Different treatment

I held my pencil right at the end of the shaft. I kept my arm totally straight while my sketch pad was down on the floor while I sat. Interesting results I think, quite lively.
Basis, Stockholm 20150919

Two minute pose

Two minute pose

Two minute pose

After the summer break

I started life drawing again after the summer break.
Konstnärshuset, Stockholm, 20150915

Five minute nude

Ten minute nude

Two minute nude

Two minute nude

Five minute nude.

Learning to draw better

If you are looking for tips on how to draw better there are lots of videos on the internet. Proko is one of the better educational channels to be found on YouTube. Stan Prokopenko also uses humour to teach which is never wrong. Visit www.proko.com

Two quickies

Here are two quick watercolours I did during the last month.

Seascape 20150813, 11,5 x 7,8 cm, Fabriano fne grain 300g

Trawler 20150912 11,5 x 7,8 cm, Fabriano fne grain 300g

Week visiting Northern Ireland

I spent the week with my mother who lives in Northern Ireland. We spent two nights at the Killyhevlin hotel in Enniskillen. The watercolour sketch is an attempt to capture the view from where we stayed. It was such a beautiful view we had of the Benbulben mountain in the rain swept distance.

Lunchtime watercolour

This was lunchtime watercolour was initially a failure. I made a mistake and I thought the painting was ruined. So I relaxed and played around with it, did things that I wouldn't normally do like scratch the surface. In the end I was quite happy wit the result. "One should never give up on a painting!", is the the moral of the story I guess.

Arches rough, 300g, 31 x 23 cm

Sketch from Ploumanach, Brittany, France

Ploumanach, Arches Rough watercolour paper

Holiday in Paimpol, France.

I've just spent a lovely week in Brittany, France. This watercolour sketch was painted along the shoreline between Ploubazlanec and Paimpol,  Brittany,  France.

Holiday in Ploumanach

Another watercolour sketch of Ploumanach,  painted from the harbour in Paimpol,  Brittany,  France.

Musée d'Orsay

I visited the Musée d'Orsay in Paris yesterday. They say they have the best collection of impressionist work in the world and I can't disagree. All the big names are there. My favourite was Claude Monet, his sense of light and composition was just outstanding.

I lost my rubber

Yes, terrible stuff. I lost my favour kneadable-eraser today. Must have fallen off my knee while sketching at the train station. I like the Koh I Noor rubber so much I just ordered six on the internet. Funny how one gets attached to certain products.

Old Swedish Steamer

A watercolour of the Stockholm ferry called Västan, an old steamer from 1900 and still going strong.This was the first time I painted in this large a format of 70 x 50cm. It's kinda scary, because so much can go wrong. Thankfully I didn't make too many mistakes and I'm happy with the end result.

Västan 75 x 50 cm, Arches rough 300g.

Grid drawing

This is a portrait of Swedish trotting catch driver called Björn Goop. I used a grid to help me get the proportions correct. It was really easy to draw his likeness in this manner, it almost felt like cheating! ;)

Björn Goop grid

Björn Goop

Impressions from the Stockholm archipelago

I just spent two weeks sailing here in Stockholm. The weather was not the best, I had to use mittens at one point while painting. There was a storm, lots of wind and rain but I still enjoyed myself anyway. It's hard to beat the beauty of the archipelago. I plan to spend more time painting there next year, I am looking forward to it already.

The outer archipelago 39 x 29 cm Arches Rough

The Stockholm Archipelago 39 x 29 cm Arches Rough

The Stockholm Archipelago 39 x 29 cm Arches Rough

My outdoor kit for 2015

Assorted brushes and W&N watercolour paint