Browsing the archives

With my current obsession with monochrome (graphite & scratchboards) I thought I would add a splash of colour to the blog by plundering my archives.....So here is a small collection of past pastel work from the last 20 years and the odd watercolour.

A walk in the Vandee

Autumn days.

Bluebell wood.

Church gate. (appeared in Artist & Illustrator)

Days remembered.

Forest fire.

Herding turkeys. (raised £900 at a charity auction at the London museum)

Old red.

Retired 1.

Retired 2.

Riverside walk.

Suffolk view

Churchyard, watercolour

Church tower, watercolour

Arum lily, coloured pencil.

Killdeer

A relatively quick drawing (1 day) of a Killdeer with chick. sized at 32x16cm it makes a change from the week long slog my projects normally take.

Polly

Measuring 30x40 cm the latest graphite rendering features 'Polly'. I wonder how many parrots are actually called polly?
Not sure it is finished yet as I may fiddle with the background by introducing a distant tropical landscape.

Spruce grouse

My latest graphite effort is of a Spruce grouse. This is a game bird with a mastery of camouflage, ie very complex patterns which presents a challenge so I thought it fitting to complement this finery by setting the bird in a fairly busy backdrop.
It was a bit tricky to get a balance as I didn't want to 'loose' the bird but at the same time I wanted to demonstrate the marriage between the plumage and the environment.
 Size 38x31cm on Fabriano hot press watercolour paper.

Cheeky monkey's

Young animals always have the 'ah' factor and this pair of 'cheeky monkey's' are no exception.
Executed in graphite on Fabriano 5 hot press paper, the original background was too dark and didn't work at all. It looked like a candidate for the drawer destined to be forgotten forever, so it was a make or break decision to knock it back with some extensive 'blue tack' work which saved it completely and is now a fully framed member of the collection for a future exhibition.

Do not disturb

Yeah, yeah, they all look cute and cuddly when asleep....just like children.

Another graphite on Fabriano 5 watercolour paper to add to the collection for a future wildlife themed exhibition, venue and date to be decided.

Humbolt's

An underwater scene of Humbolt penguins executed in graphite pencil on Archers hot press watercolour paper. Blue tac proved very useful in getting the foamy, dapled underwater feel.

Original, framed £220
Print £20
Framed print £75

Detail