Sun Reader

I'm back and I'm blogging from Woodstock at the moment, I'll be drawing something today but what we have here is a remnant from England. This "chap" was reading the sun on the train on my way up to London one morning, why the very nerve of him ogling page three whilst in the presence of minors (You might have to be English for that one). All being well you should get a Woodstock drawing tomorrow but then the "vibe" up here is so mellow I might just fall asleep.

Heathrow

This was a crime of opportunity, they call you urgently to the gate and then make you wait for half an hour, I started to draw and kept on until I was the last one to board the plane. "Are you Mr Gardner? we're waiting for you" Now there's a switch.

South Bank

This is the end of my South Bank Show, I sat outside the Tate Modern and drew this view of St Paul's Cathedral, the odd bit on the right hand side is the Millenium foot bridge. After this sketch I walked back to Charing Cross station grabbed another quick pint and went home. It was a fine day along the Thames, if ever you get to London I recommend that walk.

South Bank

My third drawing and whilst sketching I felt that I should have had a pint before taking this one on. I got carried away and in hind sight might have chosen a view that didn't include the dock in the foreground, it all got a bit confusing. I hit my first tavern right after this to collect my thoughts.

South Bank

This is a replica of the Golden Hind that sits outside a pub called the Anchor. This was a specific target of mine on the day because I had happened upon it by accident with Angie some years ago and was determined to draw it on this trip. This is the best angle I could get on it in terms of finding a spot to park myself. The drawing itself doesn't tell you a whole lot about the ship but I was really happy with it.

South Bank

I walked and sketched the South Bank of the Thames on Saturday and this was my first drawing. It's Tower Bridge for those of you unfamiliar with London's landmarks. I had a brilliant afternoon which is all it amounted to getting the train up and back, in short 4drawings, 3hours 2pints and a bag of Walkers Cheese and Onion crisps and when I got home, my sister had made a sausage casserole. This is England. The other 3 drawings to follow.

This Is England

This is the Cricketers in Canterbury. Cricket is a game I've never taken to although I think it stands alone as the only sporting event to have a tea break.

This Is England

I've just got back from London where I had a great day drawing, this is from yesterday's haul. Dinners on the table, gotta go.

This Is England

I had this drawing in mind, the typical English village green and the red telephone box. The Tudor building in the background was built in 1452 according to my dad and I quote "That was built in 1452...or maybe 1542...no,no 1452 coz I was talking to this bloke, although he seemed a bit mental, it's certainly old though".
That's good enough for me.

This Is England

My Mum, 70 yesterday (ahhhhh.....) gave me the title for this one. I was finished with it but hadn't put the sky in, Mum said "where are the gray skies, I mean this IS England".

Hans

here is a portrait of my mate Hans from last night, I will come back and add a link to his site but right now on and a PC and I'm scared. In the mean time you can find him on my links Hans Jenssen.

Big Ben

Hey guys, I had a crazy day yesterday and managed to do this on way way back to the station, I'm planning another day uptown that I will devote to drawing alone. Having a great time. Larry, here are your Houses of Parliament.

I Missed My Train

I expected to get to London a little earlier but them's the brakes. I did this sketch whilst waiting on the next train and I'm blogging from my sister's office in London having had lunch and just about to go out and get drawing again. It's all go. Missing you already.

Dude On The Underground

I missed yesterday for reasons beyond my control, that's not true of course, the truth is I down the pub with some of my old art school friends and drawing was not on the agenda. I'm off to London on Monday for what I hope will be a good drawing session. We will see. Anyway, here is a sketch of a guy on the underground as a variation from a guy on the subway. It rained today so not ideal for drawing although I scouted some great locations in Canterbury. I will post again tomorrow (Monday) but I'm not sure when.

The London Eye.

Here I am in London. I don't know what I was thinking when I attempted to draw this thing on no sleep and two pints of London Pride, sometimes that's what it is with drawing, not so much the end result as the memory you give yourself because of making the attempt. This is my first overseas posting and I'll be able to keep it up because my sister Karen has WiFi. I'll have another crack at the London Eye at some point but most of the drawing is probably going to be done in Canterbury which is a really beautiful city. Stay tuned good people of the World.

Spot The Difference

Here is the Book cover again with the alterations that the Art Director asked for. The horses are rather obvious but he also wanted more shadows on the main characters face.
I'm off to England today armed with laptop and scanner to expect to see drawings from my trip from here on in. I don't know if I'll be able to post tomorrow because I'll be in transit but, hey you never know.

The Two Pair Of Glasses Look

It's not for everybody but when it works it works.

Franklin Park

I'm not so sure about this drawing but then as much as I enjoy Franklin Park as my local bar it doesn't have the ambiance of McSorley's and the like. Many of my more successful drawings (according to me anyway) of late have come from dramatic lighting. Gotta draw em all anyway.

I Have A Problem

Another till already! I found myself in the city yesterday waiting for Angie who had to work on Sunday so what was I supposed to do added to the fact that my drawing instructor Melanie had suggested I do a graphite till as a challenge. Hey Melanie, this one's for you.

Flat Out

When I'm drawing my subway sleepers some look like they are merely resting there eyes whilst others are out for the count. This lady falls into the latter category, she was dead to the world, the type of sleeper who will inevitably miss her stop.

Hat

This seem to be the most popular style of hat at the moment. I see both men a women wearing them. I even bought one for Angie for Christmas but I don't think she really likes it, maybe because they are so ubiquitous . I should do a drawing of Angie in her hat assuming she ever wears it again.

Danny Gregory

This was a golden opportunity. Danny Gregory was giving a talk at FIT last night so what else was I going to do but sit a draw the guru of drawing. I know that if you're reading this blog you will most likely know all about Danny and if you don't, hey that's why I invented Google for you.

On The 5

I drew this on the way to the city yesterday, I do love it when I encounter a gentleman knows how to keep still.

First Till of 2009

This drawing was abandoned when the person I was meeting showed up. I don't worry about such things because of my tendency to overwork everything. I thought about working back into it a bit but there will be other till drawings to come and no doubt I'll be overworking a great many of them.

Snowing Again

I get to stay home and work, you know I love that.

Finished

The important thing as I mentioned yesterday was that the lightest light and the darkest dark are around the head which make the head the focal point of the illustration. The fencing now leads you into the figure. I'm really happy with the way this turned out and I have to give a lot of credit to my wife Angie who convinced me to rethink the sky. I knew it wasn't working but it took some prodding to get me to take off all the paint and start again. I love to do these covers but they don't come along very often anymore.

Update

Here we are again. I've resolved some of the issues with the figure and brought some richer color into the background but I'm already rethinking the design of the sky. The lightest light and the darkest dark should be around the head which it isn't also I don't like the fencing being flat in the background despite having drawn it that way in the sketch. Tomorrow I should have sorted this out. Stay Tuned.