Sunday 28 December 2014

Debenhams Sale.........again

Debenham's cafe yet again. I often sit drawing over previously made drawings just to get to the end of someone else's conversation. Its like Groundhog day. There is never not a sale in this store, they take many forms; Blue Cross Day, Half Price Sale, Seasonal Sale, Clearance. Whatever type of sale they never seem to shift the stock. Somehow the former incarnation of Arding And Hobbs shines through whatever modifications are made. The cafe is constantly being re-modelled but always under the (rather soiled) grand stained glass dome, beneath which the range of moist paninis on offer are generally of strange and unfortunate combinations. Much like the entire in-store stock.

Sunday 16 November 2014

Woman writing in Tate Modern

I am in Tate Modern members bar on a gloomy grey November day. I spot a spare table and a good subject. The woman is writing in a large book and looking rather crossly at a small child at the next table who I suspect is interrupting her thought flow. Andrew brings coffee and sits down- right in front of the subject. After obvious signalling, which I am sure she is aware of, he moves to my right. I carry on drawing as he then begins to take photos by placing his phone camera at the level of my eyeline. I am becoming irritated and our conversation starts to take a turn........When I look back at the writing woman I realise I know her. We leave swiftly.

Monday 29 September 2014

Punk Granny with Family and Dog

A family; Grandpa, Grandma, Baby and Dog. They sit spaced out facing the same direction. The grandmother is very tanned and has a punk granny hair cut. I am aware that she is conscious of being stared at, discretion is generally a vital part of my sketchers skill set but I am so curious about her hair style I cannot implement my usual effort at not being seen. Her hair is spiked up from the nape and dyed a faded pink. I cannot decide if this was an intentional look or the consequence of too much sun.

Monday 15 September 2014

Tom and Terry's Snack Wagon

This is Tom and Terry's Snack Wagon on Clapham Common, one of the more uncomfortable drawing sessions. In order to get the optimum angle I am sitting precariously balanced on one of the metal rods suspended between wooden posts that define the common, it is windy and I am having hair issues. There is nowhere to put down my materials bag as my ideal view spot is surrounded by stinging nettles. I am adjacent to the very busy road and determined to paint on regardless. A voice behind me repeatedly shouts "Excuse me". I turn to see who this voice is addressing and am taken aback to see a driver, window down and a line of backed up traffic behind him. He is talking to me.

Thursday 11 September 2014

Plastic Sun-lounger

This is the essence of the garden at Miraflores. A large proportion of the average day there involves the repositioning of plastic sun-loungers, this might be in order to optimise position or to move away from garden sprinklers concealed in the grass.

Wednesday 10 September 2014

Return to the Roof Garden

Returned to the Roof Garden where there is an air of calm tranquility as I watch out over Barkers of Kensington (now Wholefoods). There is the faint sound of water from the beautiful stream that meanders over the roof tops and houses the flamingoes and ducks. I am joined by a film crew just out of view who are capturing some kind of barbecue demonstration, every now and then there is a strong waft of meat and the sound of a cameraman shouting "....and relax". I am most tempted to go and see exactly what kind of barbecuing this is.

Thursday 4 September 2014

Organised tours are not for me.......


I have muscled in with a friend on an organised drawing trip to the Kensington Roof Gardens. This is an incredibly tranquil spot high above the mayhem of Kensington High Street. There are huge squashes growing alongside grapes and figs and a group of flamingoes who rise gracefully above a gang of rather aggressive ducks. When approached by the trip organiser who asks if I am joining them I almost hear myself say "no" but realise that I am sitting there with sketchbook and watercolours in hand. I have got to get over this pointless rebellion against organised tours.

Friday 22 August 2014

The Miraflores Bowling Club





While in the Marbella area my friend and I visited the beautiful garden surroundings of Miraflores Bowling Club. After the first day drawing we were already on first name terms with most of the bowlers. By the third day joining them for drawing and coffee, we were invited to participate in a tutored session. As can be noted from the drawings this is not an action sport however the tuition was most thorough, with a good 30 minutes assiduous attention paid to placing the mat correctly, after which there was a Q&A to ascertain how well this information had been embedded. Following on from the mat workshop there was "Jack work" which required several "air throws" before getting to handle the Jack itself. The two hour tutorial did not allow for any casting of the wood. We presumed that was being saved for the following lesson. This was a false assumption, Thursdays lesson involved further mat and jack work, climaxing in two not full length castings of the wood. I remain a novice at Bowling.

Tuesday 19 August 2014

Men and Dominoes





Breakfast in the Centro de Mayores in La Cala de Mijas, an old peoples centre with a cafe attached. The perfect location to enjoy pan con tomates, cafe con leche and a few rounds of dominoes. On returning to the same cafe later in the day, lunch for example, the same old boys are to be found seated around the same three reserved tables deeply ensconced. On being shown the drawings by the charming waitress who had trained as an industrial designer, they gave the barest of glances before returning to the important business.

Tuesday 29 July 2014

Painting in St Nazaire

In a tiny village in the Languedoc, Pearl and I are painting the same scene and listening to the village go about its' business. Mr Shouty Man, our very friendly loud voiced neighbour is audible from around the corner. We like him because he brings us le salade from his allotment. The dog owners of the village seem to congregate around the bench where we sit and at times a small friendly poodle comes to say hello. Eventually a large, old dog slopes around the corner and lays his head in a friendly manner on my knee. He drinks the water from the Windsor and Newton portable water colour set I have owned since I was 18 and leaves, just popping back to eat my sponge.

Friday 4 July 2014

In Bloomsbury Square

After finishing a course in High Holborn on the official "hottest day of the year" realise I have an hour before the next engagement. Decide to do the just walking thing and find myself on Bloomsbury Square- a real haven of shady calm though only a stones throw from the manic sweaty fleshpot of Holborn with it's shorts clad, red faced hordes rushing about their business, always in the opposite direction to mine and making sure to bump and jog me as they go.......or perhaps I was walking like a tourist?

Saturday 19 April 2014

Two Trips to Brighton


For the second time in a month I am on the beach in Brighton. On the previous visit, with a smaller than expected group of students traveling on a coach for 2 hours including a half hour stop-off in a motorway services, I spend a good deal of the day in a Russian themed shots bar.
The second trip in contrast, included two good stop-offs for drawing piers and a lovely break in a  home-ware themed tea shop.

Monday 24 March 2014

Milky bar in Covent Garden



With an unusually leisurely amount of time to kill I sit in a cafe in Covent Garden on a cold afternoon. The coffee comes with a small glass pitcher of milk which I pour in. As I begin to scan the room for subject matter I realise that I have no water in my special bottle. I eye up the glass pitcher and decide to paint with milk. The texture of the paint drags a little but there are many likely candidates in this small establishment. After quite some time I notice that everybody else in here seems to have just as much time to kill as me. The waiter and the bar man do not leave the bar very much and several small groups of people come in and are led downstairs- this seems to be on some kind of unofficial business as the downstairs is not open to the public. I hope the milky paintings will not begin to smell.

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Job interview in Debenhams

Considering the power of a single image to tell a story- the setting is Debenham's Clapham newly remodeled cafe, a location where I have in the past heard many stories and items of news both those related directly to me and those I have overheard. The two characters in the further distance are involved in a job interview, the interviewer is going through the motions and I have the impression that she has many more people to see. The woman with her back to me is young and full of enthusiasm, I find myself rooting for her to get the job even though I have no idea what it is. She genuinely seems to want it and though I have no involvement beyond having captured their likenesses I almost want to intervene and contribute my opinion.
The woman seated closer to me is alone and possibly waiting for someone to join her, I am aware that she is also party to the job interview and wonder what her opinion is regarding the current candidate. 

Thursday 6 February 2014

Life Class....a lesson in life

The model is late for class as she turns up at the wrong site, not to worry it's only 100 metres away. Still it takes her 35 minutes to locate. She  makes clear that she will not be able to do the pose I ask her as she doesn't do "arm in the air" poses. After 10 minutes she is too cold and asks for another heater- I approach a complete stranger sitting in a nearby office and ask him if I can use his heater. He looks bemused but I take it anyway. Model will only sit with her back to the radiator so students have limited view from front and sides.  There is a low rumble of complaints coming from the students.  Model is scowling heavily and now refusing to stand on the floor- it is too cold. She tells me she has no choice but to put her socks on. The radiators and heater blow a fuse due to "the Faraday Effect" I didn't get around to uncoiling the cable on the extension spool.  Model is now wrapped in a blanket with shoes on. She quietly informs me she will not be coming back- I quietly celebrate. Sometimes the life class is more of a life lesson.
This drawing was made during another (more successful) life class.

Saturday 18 January 2014

A visit to the Zoology museum


I took a group of students out drawing to the Grant Museum of Zoology at UCL. We were given a wonderful introduction to the collection by the curator, there are apparently more exhibits packed into this small space than in the Natural History Museum.  On this occasion I am drawn to the spider crab and I spend a good hour looking and drawing. I am reminded of the Cafe California, a restaurant in Marbella renowned for its seafood where I go to enjoy looking at the displays of exotic seafood with many strange looking crustacea arranged on crushed ice.  After the drawing session I walk out into the Bloomsbury sunshine and find myself outside a Spanish cafe on Marchmont street and draw this couple eating calamares. Just for the record I have never eaten seafood in my life but I really like to look at it

Wednesday 1 January 2014

New Years Day in Ikea


Ruminating on all of the interesting, glamorous, romantic, breathtaking, spectacular sites where I have been fortunate enough to spend New Years day as I sit in Ikea cafe surrounded by post festive shoppers taking a lunch break as they scour the bargains offered in the sales.