Blog Archive

Watching paint dry

If you’re not into watercolours I recommend a click of the mouse now before your eyes glaze over.  For those who find sketching outdoors strangely exciting and challenging, here’s another of my colour mixing rants.  It was the last day of term today for my art classes, and it’s become a tradition to escape the classroom and spend continue reading »


Thinking with a pencil

My studio table and floor is disappearing under pieces of paper and chapter five is well under way.  Writing and illustrating a book has its own pace and momentum; you have to keep a part of your brain connected to it or it’s hard to pick up the threads again.  On the other hand, twelve continue reading »


Kittiwakes on Dinas Head

Perspective in art is a glorious illusion, something I’ve been using haphazardly for years in my paintings in a ‘hoping for the best’ kind of way.  But the great thing about teaching something is that you have to learn about it first, so over the last few months I’ve been paying more attention.  Perspective in continue reading »


Reflections on drawing

Several days of thinking ‘must update my blog’ usually pass before I get round to it.  The plan is always to sit down in the evening with a clear head and a glass of wine and get inspired.  This rarely happens.  The glass of wine always happens, but not the clear head, or even the continue reading »


Sketches and distractions

A slap on the wrist for taking so long to post an update.  One excuse is that I’ve been sidetracked by the blog’s more frivolous cousin, facebook; sketches that should have been put on here have been diverted to brighten up my facebook page.  It’s been a busy few weeks at the drawing board – continue reading »