
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was telephone. When I saw this prompt I wasn’t sure what to do. I decided to design a phone case that I would like (mines falling apart) I haven’t go a tabby cat but I drew one to make it more colourful. ©.
New paintings and regular art updates.

Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was telephone. When I saw this prompt I wasn’t sure what to do. I decided to design a phone case that I would like (mines falling apart) I haven’t go a tabby cat but I drew one to make it more colourful. ©.

Draw multiple curved lines, add shading. Voilà! You can almost make a three dimensional image. I think this looks like folds in cloth. It’s an interesting optical illusion. The shading makes it look more rounded. It’s the first one of these I’ve done for a while. I used to draw things like this digitally on my computer, but this was drawn with metallic and matt felt pens.. I think it’s quite a good abstract image.

The choir I was in performed in the play Beautiful Thing in 2018?. We all really enjoyed singing and basically backing the drama that we were immersed in. The story is about a young man and his growing relationship with his boyfriend. It is thoughtful, life affirming, and optimistic. We had to sing songs like Teen Spirit which was fun for a group of older performers. This came into my mind as I delivered my two paintings to the New Victoria Theatre this morning. There are probably thirty pieces of work on show from tonight.

Blue, cobalt, ultramarine, pthalo blue, azure, cerulean, indigo, so many names for blue. When you choose colours to paint with you have to select the right one. When you choose you may want a transparent blue, or something stronger with a real depth of colour to it. If you want a colour to paint the sky you need to match what you see to what you can mix on the canvas. Sometimes you just can’t get the right combination of colours. Some blues have hints of red, or purple, or green or even yellow, it’s amazing how many variations of colours the eye can see. Sea, world, ocean, sky, so many blues.

Feathers in frost,
How crystals grow
Waving and curling
See the cold flow
Other designs
Jack Frost can draw
Painting his marks
They are sublime.
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt, vase. I drew a vase in wax crayons and felt pens. I was hoping to get more of a wax resist effect but when that didn’t work I drew some outlines around the patches of colour on the vase. I also put it through photodirector to change the texture.


I’ll doodle and sketch on anything. This was a cup where I drew a donkey into the froth on the inside of my hot chocolate mug. I have drawn with sticks on beaches, creating mermaids and seahorses, into the gravy on my plate when we have been out to lunch, and when I was a child I used a sweeping brush to draw swirls in the dust on our garden path. That reminds me of videos of people painting Chinese characters with ink using a mop. I guess if you love mark making, it’s not easy to stop!

The one of art groups I am in, Orme art group, is having an exhibition on the theme of ‘Perspectives’. The show is at the New Victoria Theatre in Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire. The exhibition starts on Monday 30th January 2023, and is on till the 25th of February. As the poster says, we are a diverse group, so it will be interesting to see what other people in the group are putting on display. After over a month of illness I’m really pleased to be involved with this. I’m looking forward to seeing it when it’s up. One of the group members is a volunteer at the theatre and its great to be able to show our work to a wider audience there.

Also on the easle today, my Spode reflected painting. I was at the Orme Art Group earlier and I took the painting with me to tidy up for an exhibition at the New Victoria theatre in Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire. It is due to be hung on Monday. The painting is from 2019 and had been knocked on the corners so I got my black paint out and covered over the white patches where paint had flaked off. I would like to have the picture framed but as it’s about 2 1/2ft by 3ft I can’t really afford it. It will be for sale at the exhibition.

I think this is done. It’s a beach and sea scene viewed from above. I decided to put some rocks in the bottom right corner, but do they look OK? This had Bern sitting on my easle since before Christmas and I have only just felt well enough to try and finish it. I hope the person who commissioned it likes it.