she's leaving home

 I really am awful at finishing a story off. This one has been going one for nearly six months and it still hasn't come to a conclusion. I can never deal with endings. I wonder what deep psychological scar I'm avoiding looking at? Hmmm. But, that's another post, another drawing, hey, another book!

So, when we last caught up with my bookbench, my girl, she was finished - all apart from a little colour that I added, and a few more doodles. Less is never more around here. Why stop when you can just keep on going and going? (Go Sober For October really is making me look at my addictive behaviour, it seems).

When I'd thrown as much colour and doodles at her, it needed to be finished with a coat of hardcore resin/varnish. That bit was done at 2am the night/morning before she was being picked up. It was meant to have been done four days before (I didn't realise that until 2am when I finally read the tin) but, shhhh, don't tell anyone. And, anyway, I couldn't have lived with the small of that resin for four days. I'd have been as high as a kite.

And then they came to take her away. After a rather undignified exit from my house which included a door being removed and a washing line being snapped - she just didn't want to leave - she was off.

 After dominating my living room for the past few months she suddenly looked so small. She looked tiny, out there, in the big wide world (car park). Aw.

 She was carefully and lovingly wrapped then bundled into the back of a van and off to find her new home in the big city. In the Big Smoke.

 Well, not quite. Because, yes, she did make her home in London, for the summer, but it was in a rather lovely, green, little churchyard in Greenwich. I even got to go and visit her.

 And, not just once, but twice. Yesterday, I went to say a final farewell, as all of the fifty bookbenches were gathered together in Gordon Square, London, before they go on auction and onto the next chapter of their lives. Lots of people came out to see them in all their glory, on a perfect autumn afternoon.

 And, so, that's it. This evening they will all be auctioned of to raise much needed funds for the National Literacy Trust.

 Unfortunately, I won't be able to make the auction, but I hope she goes to a good home. Bye Bye bookbench.

THE END

(or is it? Maybe, I'll get to visit her in her new home, where ever that may be)

jive talking

So, here's the last few drawings, I'll post, of the jiving (thanks, Elaine!) from the day I spent at the1950s event at Crich Tramway Village. This was a really great excercise in drawing people. You have to work quick - especially when the music was as fast and furious as this. Emmercing yourself in the whole atmosphere and getting caught up in the pace, and the beat, comes through in the drawing. I hope. I couldn't get enough of this whole scene; from them rockin on the dance floor to them watching from the sideline, waiting to be asked to dance.

under the bridges of Paris

A couple more from this week's Dr. Sketchy event. In fact, I think I might just dedicate this whole week to lovely ladies and Dr. Sketchy.
Life drawing is all new to me so I have to ease myself into these drawing sessions. I start by sketching each new pose in my 'warm up' note book (the blue lined paper). If I like the pose, and the composition it makes on the page, I'll then re sketch it into my Moleskine sketchbook. I often then play around with the Moleskine sketches at home. Pimp them up, if you like.

So, that's what you have here; two versions of the same pose by the lovely Miss Pixie Parfait. The bottom is the warm up and at the top of this post the worked up version.

girl

Still trying to sort out my technical issues. Thanks for the advice which, essentially, was 'try turning it off and back on again'. I have tried that. I've even 'switched it off at the wall', but it hasn't worked. Hmmmm. I have a temporary fix so that I can make some posts over the next few days, but I think that it is just temporary.

Anyway, for now, here's a girl. On a post it note.
A post it note portrait. And here's a previous post poem (if you don't know what I'm talking about just take a look at titles to the previous posts);

Girl,
I'm walking down your street again.
Singing with my feet.

The world is turning, but I get so blown away.
I know that's who you are.

I want you, I want you so bad.
It's written in the stars.