the reasons i love ink

The reasons I love ink (part 1)

This

This

 This

Oh, and this

And all of this.

born to potter

I pottered around the house all day today - like I had nothing else to do! I would actually love to spend all my time pottering. I can't think of anything better. Apart from draw, that is. Drawing and pottering. A good day. Anyway, one of these drawings took around 15 minutes the other took considerably longer. Take a guess which is which.

Part of the pottering plan was I to have a clear out in the kitchen. Go through the cupboards. Throw out some of the herbs and stuff that were out of date. I found that that was about 95% of them. I reconsidered and decided that actually most of them may 'come in useful in the future'. Take these porcini, for example, I'll get at least one more drawing out of them.

calling all artists

The exhibition season is starting here in the UK. From now until late autumn there will be a series of exhibitions taking place and it's a really good opportunity to have your work shown in some wonderful galleries. The various Royal Societies hold open exhibitions every year and over the next two months they will be calling for entries to the Royal Society of British Artists, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and the Society of Women Artists. Last year I entered two pictures, to the latter, which were both accepted - this is one of the two. The exhibition took place at the Mall Galleries, London. Her Madge has a little place just up the road. Buckingham Palace I think it's called.

If anyone would like any more information, on how to enter, get in touch with me and I'll try and point you in the right direction.

(Photo courtesy of Tim)

more fungi

Here's a photo taken by my friend Tim. It's a painting I made a couple of years back. I used brown and indigo inks for this one, but I can't quite remember how I got that effect. I like this one.

he's a real fungi

I really like drawing fungi (yes, I worry about myself sometimes). You can really take liberties when drawing toadstools and fungi. The thing about fungi is they come in so many weird shapes and colours, that no matter how much you exaggerate the image it still is plausible. In the world of fungi anything goes.

It doesn't just stop at its appearance either, the names are pretty mad too; Fairy Ring Champignon, Wood Hedgehog, Weeping Bolete, Death Cap, Destroying Angel, Satan's Bolete to name but a few. And, I'm betting the guys who named them were partial to a few of the Magic variety.

Ink is one of my favourite mediums and it just seems to work so perfectly with this subject - and I believe that some inks are actually fungi based. I am certainly no expert on fungi, I just like to make up my own. I have named this one Old Jack's Cap.