Pre-Walking Harrison

See on a Monday when we look after Harry it's the greatest pleasure and hardest test of our endurance!

He is such a bag of tricks for a wee baby not-yet-able-to-walk I am totally exhaused by five-o'clock when his daddy comes to take him home.

But what fun! Endless games of knock-the-box-over, and Old MacDonald, and wibbly-wobblies on unsure legs, and how-come-you've-got-all-those-teeth-and I have only got two?

How on earth do you capture any of that high-octane activity?

Snap-shots:


Watercolour pencils in sketchpad, A5.

This ones like Golom!
Watercolour pencils in sketchpad, A5.

I can do up-side-down!

Watercolour pencils in sketchpad, A5.

Raspberry to you, Pappa!

Watercolour pencils in sketchpad, A5.

Ah, if only I was ten years younger.

I wouldn't be a grand-pappy!

Roxy Bar Flies

Reliving past glories here, since I am presently incapable of doing any drawing or painting.

This goes back to our first camping expedition this year in May when we visited Girvan on the coast of the Firth of Clyde, overlooking Ailsa Craig, and in the evenings downed a few pints in the hottest pub in town: The Roxy Bar.

And, as is my want, I sketch the clientel in all their Saturday Nite glory:

Pencil in Sketchbook, A6 x 3, #1

Pencil in Sketchbook, A6 x 3, #2

Pencil in Sketchbook, A6 x 3, #3

Pencil in Sketchbook, A6 x 2, #4

I liked the diamond cut-away sections of the back of this lassies dress.

And finally three american golfers who thought they had died and gone to heaven to be playing golf in Scotland AND spending an evening in the company of these sirens out on the town looking for a good time:

Pencil in Sketchbook, A6 x 3, #5

And I think they found it.

A good time was had by all!

The Long Black Coat

I don't know if this is just a reflection of the mood I'm in or whether I just saw the graphic potential of her Long Black Coat with Fur Collar?

Since I can't get to Life Drawing Group at the moment and being perpetually skint, I have "employed" my darling wife to model for me once-a-week:

Pose #1, Charcoal on cartridge paper, A2.

Pose #2, Charcoal on cartridge paper, A2.

Pose #3, Charcoal on cartridge paper, A2.

Well, I might as well get something for the nine-and-sixpence SHE paid for the marriage license!

Degas Devotions

I am writing this post in response to a new artist I have just met in Bloggerland, degasblog, and our common interest in the art of Edgar Degas, and also in ballet dance.

Myra_plus_paint_plus_degas (as she is otherwise known) and I share a mutual enjoyment not only of looking at Degas's work but also of making studies of his drawings and paintings, in particular those of the ballet dancers, always hoping to learn and hopefully have some of his magical ability rub off.

For me it's his pastel drawings that attract my greatest interest - the quality of his figure drawings and the pastel techniques that I love so much.

We are very fortunate here in the West of Scotland to have some terrific works exhibited in our Burrell Museum and Gallery in Pollock Park where I frequently spend many hours visiting. And, of course, making my own studies:

"The Green Dress".

"Behind the Scenes".

I have also tried my hand at painting in the same style in oils:

"The Rehersal Room".

and:

"Taking a Break Behind the Scenes".

As those of you who have been visiting this blog for a while will know whenever I attend any live performance I always make my own sketch impressions of the action and about two years ago made a series of sketches from Scottish Ballet production of Sleeping Beauty. These, along with sketches from Les Ballets Trocadero de Monte Carlo, were later to form the basis of five paintings done in February last year for Project 2 of my painting Course.

Now, I haven't made this posting in order to brag about anything I have managed to do but more as a conversation piece and sharing of artistic pleasures. And it has also given me a happy opportunity to look back again at stuff I have done and wonder anew as to how on earth it all came about!