Location
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Spotlight
This is my first attempt to draw on black paper. I used a white pen, so one might imagine that the approach is basically the reverse of the more normal black-pen-on-white-paper drawing skills that I have been honing. So for example, the pen has to mark highlights rather than shadows. It turns out that things…
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Summerhouse & Shelter
I have already commented on the bad weather we had during our recent visit to Ichi-Coo Park. Early that afternoon we experienced a really heavy downpour, so I took refuge in a summerhouse which was the driest place I could find, and started drawing on the only “waterproof” pad that I had – my iPad!…
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Monkey Warrior
The Grand Palace in Bankok contains many amazing sights and some wonderfully intricate buildings. During our visit my eye was particularly caught by several of the statues, and in particular by these monkey (or demon?) warriors that support two enormous chedi, or stupa. This drawing is a close up of one of these characters, one…
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Avenue of Trees
Another drawing from Ichi-Coo Park, this one from a visit made last summer, when the weather was dry enough that we were able to sketch in the open. The park has many dramatic perspectives, and this one funnels towards a fantastic set of wrought iron gates, although they are rather lost in this sketch as…
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Cart (dilapidated)
This cart is to be found in the delightfully named Ichi-Coo Park on the Surrey/Sussex border. Our trip to that park today was made in typical English summer weather (i.e. it was raining) so our “en plein air” art session risked turning into “plein d’eau”! However, I noticed that a few dilapidated carts had been…
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St Peter’s College
Many, many years ago I was a student here. The college buildings are not stereotypical for an Oxford college, but then the college was only founded in 1929, so a series of gothic quads would be a bit of a surprise! In fact, many of the buildings shown here were built or rebuilt since my…
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Stupas at Wat Xieng Thong
Stupas are to be found in most countries in South East Asia. Many of these structures, like those in this painting, are near to Buddhist temples. I have heard varying explanations as to what these stupas are for, ranging from their being repositories for sacred relics through to just being simple memorial stones. In truth…
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Bruges Station
Bruges is well known for its pretty old buildings and canals. However, few who have visited the city other than by train will realise just how modern by comparison the station is. Of course the station is not brand new – rather it is modernist, with lines that are very straight and clean, the building…
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Reigate Priory – History
Reigate Priory was originally an Augustinian priory, founded in the 13th century. Following Henry VIII’s dissolution of religious foundations in the 16th century the building became a private residence. The Priory remained a private home until just after the end of the Second World War, when the buildings became a school. Although the extant structure was (re-)constructed after…
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Roadside Banana
I have had a banana plant growing indoors in a pot for well over twenty years. Although it has continued to produce new leaves, in all that time it has only managed to grow to about half a metre in height! By contrast, throughout South-East Asia we saw these plants grown to many metres in…
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Canons Ashby – Book Room
Canons Ashby was a bit of a find. We were looking for a place to stop for lunch on a journey up north that wasn’t a motorway service station, and so decided to see what the National Trust had to offer. The manor house at Canons Ashby was perfect – conveniently situated and a haven…
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Kanazawa Castle
Castles in Japan are both quite different and very similar to those I am used to back home (in England). So for example, they have moats, big thick stone walls and slits through which to fire at anyone who is attacking the castle, just as I imagine castles must have almost anywhere in the world.…
Doodling ... 