All the Food in China

 

I strongly believe the physical act of drawing can enable clearer memory recall. When I view the drawings I have made at a later I can more clearly recall the event and feel a connection to the time the drawing was made. Having recently been in China where I ate the most delicious foods, I wanted to ensure that I was able to hold on to the sensory memories of the food I ate. By creating a drawn record of all that I ate and drank I tried to capture the essence of every culinary highlight. 

Sesame broth with three types of tofu, taro root noodles, mushrooms and chilli

A clear broth with three types of mushroom

Truffle dumplings 

Brown cloud mushrooms in sesame sauce

Teenage peanut shoots

Tangy yellow fermented cabbage broth

Shaved lions mane mushrooms 

Tiny pink vegan sushi rolls

Extremely Important Meetings

 Meeting notes made during important course meetings. As a rule I make my notes with good intentions to list all of the important points made for future reference, I bring in a notebook and pen and within the first few minutes I find that I have begun to draw a record of the colleagues I see around me. The first picture was at the conclusion of spring term and there were important items of news shared around sabbaticals. The second two images were from an extremely important meeting announcing important changes to the university timetables.......these have now been "put on hold".

Mister Softee in Hambleden

 On one of the first sunny days in the spring of 2021 took a walk around the River Thames close to Marlow in Buckinghamshire. Parked in a car park close to a village called Hambleden. Walking along a country road in a fairly isolated spot came across an ice cream van parked on a verge. There really were very few customers and not a great chance of passers by as there was no footpath. Had a nice chat with the ice cream man who had only recently refurbished the old van, it was bright and sparklingly blue in the sunshine. Following our chat I took a photo and made the drawing in Procreate - I sent the owner a copy of the drawing. Looking at the ice cream cone on the front of the van in contrast against the blue sky strongly evokes my recollection of the scene 

Lockdown Ice Cream Part 4

 

A brisk walk along the Thames in Chiswick, bright sunshine just after a heavy rain storm. The ice cream van is parked on the pavement and is not open for business. Probably preparing the hotdogs for the lunch time crowds. Ice cream and hot dogs seem like an unusual combination  

Lockdown Ice Cream Part 3

  A cold damp scene in Battersea Park, a small boy dressed in full winter weather wear looks longingly at the parked ice cream van. He is shouting to his parents who are intent on walking in the other direction and not the least bit interested in what Mr Whippy has to offer.  

Lockdown Ice Cream Part 2

 This Fields Gelato mobile vendor was parked under a shady tree by a small local square in Balham. I came across him before he became popular and only a small number of passers by had stopped. Over the time I stood sketching more and more people gathered and quite a queue formed. As I had started the drawing with the mother and daughter I made a decision to keep them as the only customers. It is in fact not an accurate depiction of the popularity of the stall.

Lockdown Ice Cream Part 1

Working from home over the course of the pandemic I began to feel an urgent need to leave my house at least once a day to take a walk, see the sky and get a bit of exercise. I walked around my local area and over time the expeditions became longer and further reaching, at times up to 9km. I began to notice that whatever the weather, at some point in every walk there would be an ice cream van parked up and waiting for business. 

These drawings from August 2020 were drawn on location on Clapham and Wandsworth Commons. The first lockdown had ended but people were anxious about going into public spaces so even though the weather was sunny there were very few people around. Hence the man in the top image feeling free to sun himself wearing only shorts and no top. I am fascinated by the patience of the ice cream sellers but I never buy one as I really don't like ice cream

 

Royal Ballet

Joyful opportunity to draw at the Royal Ballet rehearsals for Swan Lake at the Coliseum. The time just flew by and the energy in the room was absolute focus.

Notes from a Meeting

There was an important staff planning day which began with a series of long presentations. I made some notes assiduously throughout the morning. 

World Cup 2018

These drawings are all made in Spain while watching World Cup 2018 matches or during the build up to the match. I do not like football on television or sitting in bars so I tend to sit with my back to the screen and draw whatever is in front of me. All of these images are peaceful scenes that were made while there was match related tension in the air. 

Pharaoh Saunders

Last night I was at the Barbican to see the legendary Pharaoh Saunders. He is now in his seventies and the Barbican was packed with men in dark clothing and women with sparkly tops (myself included). We had really good seats with an unobscured view of the stage and even though it was completely dark and I couldn't see a thing I wanted to record the event in my sketchbook. I made a series of drawings and only saw them when the lights went up. Also learned that he is called Pharaoh Sanders, as in Colonel and not Saunders.

Not at Love Supreme

A hot day hopping out of the Love Supreme festival. Sitting having coffee in a friends garden, the sun is strong and I am aware that my right arm is burning. Really relaxing location and having a very nice chat about performance art with a fellow festival exiteer. As the afternoon wears on more people leave the festival and join the conversation. A 7 year old artist beside me also draws the scene....... very nicely. 

Vegan Sunday

Sitting in a Malaga cafe I have visited many times before. The cafe is a social enterprise and this leads to a very relaxed easy going atmosphere and surprisingly cheap prices. It is vegan Sunday and I am awaiting the arrival of friends not seen for a very long time. There is a man sitting on a staircase behind me very carefully painting a column of well drawn ants onto the wall.