and it gleamed in the distance and it shone like the sun

A new one here. When I started this it was going to be one of my trademark pen drawings. Just a bunch of pens on a page. I don't know at what point it became London Bridge. That's even if it is London bridge and not, in fact, Tower Bridge.

Can you read the text on this one? Cos, I seriously have NO idea what I'm doing when it comes to resizing these days. It's pot luck.

Anyway, this one drawing is not just new to my blog, but it's new to my shop too. I've put a few originals up for sale over the last few days. Have a gander HERE.

put on your red dress baby

 When I went to the 1950s event last weekend I fully intended to spend the day drawing cars. It's one of those subjects I really want to tackle. I've always been too intimdated to draw them but, these days, I love the challenge of drawing the things that previously scared me off. Anyway, despite that, I ended up getting distracted by all the dancing - as you can see in my last two posts. I did draw a couple of cars and a motorbike though. This was the most successful. It's the car that belongs to the dancing pair in the previous post's drawings.

 I made the sketch at the event and coloured it in at home. I never know whether putting the colour in will be a good thing so I scanned it before I went ahead with the red pencils. I actually like both versions. So, here's the before and after. Which do you prefer?

hidden in the back seat of my head

I've been given a couple of these lovely Moleskine Volant diaries as gifts in the past. They are things of beauty, but I've never really known what to do with them as I found them quite impractical as diaries. Plus I was always losing the individual months.

I came across this one the other day when I was searching the house for old receipts for my tax returns (which I got in on time, by the way). I found it behind the magazine rack. I haven't seen it since back in January 2010.

I think it shows that I wasn't sure what to do with them. It was filled with bits of this and bits of that. Back then, it seems, I even tried drawing outdoors. Well, I say outdoors but I actually mean in the car. I remember this day well...

We'd had a lot of snow that January. I'd made a trip to the bank and parked here where I almost always park. But this day was the first time I'd ever noticed the bulls head on the wall of this building. I felt the need to draw it, and did so in the ca rwith the heater and radio on. Yeah, you've guessed it I went to drive off after making this drawing and the car wouldn't start.

Anyway, since then I have come up with a for my Volant's, and I'll share that with you shortly. Cheers!

what you see sets you apart

I've been meaning to visit A Month of Sundays gallery by Pete McKee since it opened a year, or so, ago.Last Saturday I finally did.

Pete's work was brought to my attention by a series of coincidences which is always the best way to discover something new, I find. I loved it immediately. Whilst our styles are miles apart I think we have a lot in common. Both children of the 1970s housing estates, I relate to his humour and obsession with music.

His work seems to stand alone, it's very distinctive and individual. His little gallery is really very smart. If you are in Sheffield it is well worth a visit.

Before leaving the city I also got time to make this drawing from my car. I would probably have passed this restaurant by without giving it a second look but my car was parked on the hill opposite it. I'd never have noticed it's loveliness. I bet it hasn't changed since the 80s. 70s even. I do like that kind of thing.

As I've said recently, I'm still finding my feet with this on location kind of drawing. Finding my feet in lots of ways. As I get more comfortable with these black pens I am beginning to think about adding colour. I like the results in this one. What do you think?

please be kind if i'm a mess

Some of the black and red ballpoints I am currently using. Simple as that, really.
You know the drill; click on the drawing to read all the nonsense that was going through my head while creating this one. Actually, I haven't actually read it myself. Now that's a worry.

This drawing is also for sale. You can buy it HERE.
Cheers, my dears.

between the lines

I seem to have been waffling on, in my posts, quite a lot recently. So, in this one I'll just let the drawing do the talking.

You know the drill; click on the drawing for a better view.

she's in my head

So, as I said, some brand spanking new drawings from my travel Moleskine. Ah, I just love those sketch books so much. That beautiful smooth cream paper. Plus, of course, it's a heavyweight paper which means it can just about withstand all my obsessive cross hatching. I don't think there is anyway you can improve the Moleskine product - although I'd love them to add a bigger size paper size, and perhaps a nice bright white paper to their range. Not that I'm complaining. I just love these books.

I am now feeling determined to finish this travel themed Moley. Maybe by the end of the year. I know it might not sound like the most ambitious ambition (?) in the world, but these spreads do take hours - and sometimes I'm talking about double figures. Not that I'm complaining. I just love to draw, so I'm going to go hell for leather in this sketchbook. Time permitting, of course.

Anyway, to celebrate my return to the travel Moleskine I've put a sale on the zine that I've produced from this book. It contains nine drawings all with a travel theme. Buy it now by visiting my little shop HERE.

Cheers, my dears. And, in case you are interested the travel Molsekine set (so far) is HERE.

and you tell yourself

OK, this is the last thing I am going to say about shoes, from now on. I feel like I've talked about nothing but bloody shoes recently. So, I'm changing the subject. From my next post, of course.

how to draw a shoe

Over the past few years I have worked through many different processes, when drawing from still life, to get to the one that I am happy with. As I'm self taught it's been a process of elimination to find the ways that work best for me. I have narrowed it down to a couple of methods actually. I'll show you both in the next two posts, and demonstrate with my favourite subject matter; shoes.

 Above are all the tools I've used. They are; a cartridge paper sketch book; tracing paper; pencil; rubber (I believe that means something different in the US?!); three blue ballpoints; one red ballpoint. I want to stress at this point, because I'm asked so frequently, I use ANY kind of ballpoint pen. No special makes or brands. Any. As long as they aren't blotchy I'll use them.

Method 1
Step 1. I am pretty obsessive about getting the shape 'right', so if I'm sketching something, for eaxmple an Adidas trainer, I will do the sketching stage on tracing paper. I realised, a while back, that I do not have any 'sketchy' books as such. I only ever produce finished drawings. I do, however, have huge amounts of roughs on tracing paper. Doing things this way means I can work on the shape I want to achieve and then transfer it easily to paper. It also means that, if I should want to, I can reproduce the same image (in different mediums). Which is something I do quite often.
Step 2. When I've got shape I want I transfer it to paper. In the image above you can see the ballpoint outline. I would obviously start with a pencil outline, but the scan I did for that was rubbish - you couldn't see anything. So when the pencil outline is put down on the paper, I go over it faintly with a ballpoint.
Step 3. I have started to add some shading (values?) to some areas. I work out where this shading should be by observing the shoe and where the shadows and light fall. Excuse me if all this sounds really patronising, it's not meant to. It's just how I have learnt to draw. Step by step.
Step 4. Here comes the cross hatching. This is the part where I feel I can really get into the zone with this drawing. I love this bit. The shoe is starting to come alive, and more texture is being added through the hatching.
Step 5. A continuation of the last step. More building, more hatching, more texture. Also at this point I'm starting to add the detail. That's another bit I love doing.

Step 6. The finishing touches. My most favourite bit. Details, a bit of extra hatching and a splash of red. In this drawing the final finishing touch was to outline the shoe with a bolder line, using a ballpoint that has a bigger nib.

I'm sure there are more sophisticated methods of creating drawings but when you haven't had the training you don't get to learn them. That's OK with me, though. I found my way of doing things through practice.

Check out THIS LINK to see the other method I use to make my shoe drawings. Hope it's useful in some way.

running over the same old ground....again

Look better like this, don't they?
Click on drawing to view.

In the last post I was considering giving up this kind of drawing. I will never give up the ballpoint, though. Never! I love it far too much. I don't understand why everybody doesn't draw in ballpoint. It's more the doodley style thing I was thinking of putting to bed. However, I do have an idea for them, and I need to get that out of my system first. And, it's a rather large idea. After which, you'll be as bored of these kind of drawings as I am.

Click HERE to see more of my ballpoint drawings.

cold comfort for change

I have one final idea in mind for some of these ballpointy doodley drawings. I say final because I've been considering giving up on these kind of drawings in the near future. It's just a feeling I have.

It's not that I don't enjoy doing them. They are what happens when I play around with the pen and paper. When I want to draw but don't know what I want to draw.

And, it's not that I don't like these drawings. Sometimes I think they look pretty good. But, sometimes I feel totally uninspired when I look at them.

It's just that I get this feeling that these drawings are kind of like taking a step backwards. Or running over the same old ground.

And, I don't know that that is what I want to do now. I dunno.

it's so hard to wait

I know, I know.

Another week passes and I still haven't produced a drawing that I want to share. So today, once again, I found solace in a ballpoint pen and some Adidas trainers. Predictable but comforting.

it's just a booty call

Remember THIS POST? Yes? Well, they are back. And what' s more I haven't finished with them yet. Come back soon and see them in a whole new light. And, they will kick start a whole new project for me. 'Citing!

(Click on drawing to view)

something

Just a quickie (well, it's all relative). Currently I'm working on a couple of time consuming drawings. So thought I'd put them on hold for the evening and do something quick. Something in colour. It's not great but it's something to post.

same but different

Purse #6 above. A little friend for purse #4 below. As Bob Ross says 'everybody needs a friend'.

See my purse collection, so far, HERE.