I was looking for a spare sketchbook today and these drawings fell out of one of my old ones from about 3 years ago? They were quick sketches in a life drawing exercise. We were all given pages ripped from an old paperback and some pastels. Then we drew the model quickly when he arrived. One was just using shadows, another was trying to draw a mirror image, and left handed, plus different poses. I’ve edited the pictures to prevent embarrassment.
We have been including text in my illustration course. I’m glad I found these. Given me new ideas!
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This popped up on my Facebook memories today, it’s a mural I painted on lining paper on the wall in the Arnold Bennett suite at the Leopard Hotel, in Burslem, Stoke on Trent. It’s about 13 or 14 years since I painted it. It’s based on the Burslem Riot which happened at the same time as other riots were happening in the country about how people were being treated. I think it was organised by the chartists in 1843 (when they were trying to get the vote if I remember right). The riot act was read to disperse the crowd. A man called Josiah Heapy was shot dead by the troops and is remembered as a victim of oppression by the local elite. The main characters in the ainting were all based on people I knew.
This is from a few years ago. I think it was just someone in a cafe or a pub. I don’t remember asking permission to draw him. But this is about twenty years old, so there is no reason why I would. What I like to do is draw carefully. I don’t pick my pencil up to measure, but I do look carefully. I try and get the proportions right. I look at the length of the nose, the width of the lips. The length of the hair and the shape of the person’s face. Portrait drawing and painting can be nerve wracking. But I enjoy doing it. I’m addicted to art.
