Drawing of a replica.

Sketch of a replica of Chauvet cave painting in France.

Cave painting is amazing. The strength of the lines, the energy. The real feeling of life on the cave walls. A cave replica has been created in France of Chauvet cave. This is to protect the original which has been closed to the public. Human breath can create condensation and will allow mould to grow which damages the ancient pigments. This was Sundays prompt for #bandofsketchers. Just catching up.

Faces?

Yet again I can see faces in this pattern. Like little dogs faces. The pale green patches with black horizontal lines coulsvbe frogs eyes. I got the colours by playing with ‘curves’ on my photo editor on my phone. I like the way the complementary colours of red and green work together. I could see this as a print on a scarf or even a place mat for a coffee cup or a pattern on the actual cup.

He’s resigning

Cartoon I drew of Boris Johnson last year as a naughty schoolboy, hearing, seeing and speaking no art. It was about the cuts in art teaching and the creative industries. But I think it sort of works for what has been happening recently. Has he ignored or forgotten reports of one of his senior government members caught in a serious case of misconduct. In fact he has apparently also been caught out in several untruths, and today, finally resigned (sort of) as leader of the Conservative party but he hasn’t stood down as Prime minister. He seems to be staying on as a caretaker for the next three months while his party decide who will replace him.

Whether you love him or hate him he certainly is a character. When he was a child he said he was going to be king of the world. At Eton he apparently was displeased by his tutors displeasure with him. He was a leader of a club of students at University who were antagonistic towards poorer students. If you look up his biography you can find all sorts of things that he was involved in that caused problems but there are too many to list. These seem to have carried on into his prime ministership. Anyway things are changing, but no one knows if it’s for better or worse?

Patterning again

Black and white drawing I decided to colour in. It reminds me of the paisley pattern that used to be on the underside of my Eiderdown as a child (like a duvet but thinner and filled with eider duck down). The covering was either silk or nylon? Some sort of shiny material. The Eiderdown was quilted if I remember, to stop the filling moving around and going lumpy. It had the Paisley pattern underneath and a dark green top if I remember. I think that’s what got me into patterns in the first place. There were so many more a few decades ago. Not minimalist like now.

Looking and strolling hand in hand.

Aren’t the backs of people interesting, watching a woman looking at a steamroller, or a couple walking along the canal towpath, hand in hand.

When you try and sketch figures quickly you have to remember their positions because they are sometimes moving. It’s easier when they stand still for a while, but that doesn’t mean they are motionless. Heads move from side to side, or the weight moves depending on which leg they are standing on. Then the arms move, hold, wave about. A few quick lines are not always enough, but I try.. Two or three minutes tops for these, then colour added later.

Almost full

My lovely soft covered sketchbook is almost full. The paper in it is thick enough to stop most ink getting through and slightly shiny. I really prefer it to ring bound sketchbooks because you can draw across two pages without the rings and perforated paper getting in the way.

It only has a couple of pages left fir me to draw on. I think this sketchbook won’t just be put away in a drawer but will be treasured (until I start a new one)! ❤️

Sweet

Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was sweet.

I tried to draw smarties (the British version of m&m’s?) but my shaking arm made for wobbling lines, so they are more like jelly beans perhaps? Then I had the idea of adding reflected colours on opposite sweets, but the colours are too dark. I also wanted to add shadows from various directions, like there was different coloured light illuminating the sweets, so blue grey shadow on one side and turquoise blue on the other. This could have worked better but I used felt pens again. And the sweets are egg shaped! Oh well I tried!