Pen and Ink drawings.

I am always fascinated by the different personalities of these horses.Sometimes their expressions are so comical.
These are quite small, quick sketches using pen and washes of drawing ink on watercolour paper. I make quick pencil sketches of the horses at the fence then work them up into pen sketches at home.

Portrait of a child, acrylics

I wanted to portray this little girl in a pose that was typical of her thoughtful personality. I took loads of photos but this is the one that struck me as being the best to illustrate her nature.

I wanted to focus on her face and expression so I painted it on a very small canvas in acrylics. I used semi transparent washes of paint to build up the painting.

Life Drawing, pastels

 A lovely model, she was wearing a purple robe that looked so fantastic, the colour inspired the drawings. I spent about half an hour on each drawing, probably a bit less on the portrait as I didn't want to overwork it.

Ink Drawings at Barter Books

I like to keep a small sketchbook in my pocket wherever I go. At Barter Books in Alnwick there are always plenty of interesting characters to draw. I have worked some of them up into pen and ink. They have Lloyd Loom chairs by the fire and it is easy to catch people as they sit with a cup of coffee warming up. Most people are distracted by the books and don't notice me drawing them.

Homing pigeon, cherry wood.

This is still a work in progress as I have been carving this cherry for too long now. The cherry tree was being felled in the school where I work to make way for a new building. It was just about to go in the skip when I rescued it and took it home. The trunk split into three parts, so I used the largest part for the background and body, and the two smaller pieces became the wings.

Here I have started to position the wings. I want the faults and splits in the wood to remain in the piece to add texture.