Pencil
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Wooded Path
Some places seem to me quite special, magical even, and this is one of them. This path leads up to Reigate Hill, and I sometimes follow it when I walk up that hill from my house. I don’t always take this path however, partly so as not to lose the sense of wonder that this…
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Toque Macaque
These monkeys are quite common in Sri Lanka, particularly near Sigiriya where the original photo of this character was taken. These creatures look very sweet and endearing when you first see them, particularly with their quirky hairstyles, but there is a good reason why monkeys have a reputation for mischief. Just a few minutes before…
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Woolly Hat
It’s been quite cold recently, so I’ve been wearing my woolly hat quite a lot. So naturally, I decided to draw one! Now, on my other website I have a whole series of hat drawings where I imagine the thoughts of those wearing particular types of headgear, so this drawing is done in the same…
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Time to Peel
Here is another re-used (or if you prefer “re-purposed”) quick sketch from the lock-down era, intended if nothing else to burnish my credentials as an eco-artist! This one was originally a simple pencil sketch of a potato peeler, which through the magic of a drawing app is now the hour hand on a kitchen(?) clock.…
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Wat Mahathat, Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya Historical Park in Thailand contains a large complex of ruined temple buildings. We saw them in the early evening, at a time when the lower position of the sun gave a deep warm glow to the brickwork and created many interesting shadows. Ignoring the wonderful colours of the evening light, I used a simple…
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Bruges Arcade
There are many beautiful sights and buildings in Bruges, some quite famous and some not. There is for example the big market square, dominated by a tall belfry tower and filled with cafes and tourists. There is also this arcade, which is just around the back of the building which supports the imposing belfry. This…
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Candle
Not sure there is much to say about this one really. It’s a candle. It’s alight. I have put a lot of graphite on the paper, but crucially I have managed to avoid putting it where it is not needed. End of story I guess …
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Artists Mannequin
I realise that these things exist primarily to improve drawings of real people. They are supposed to guide an artist to help get the right body proportions and realistic limb positions of any people in a scene. However, when they are set up in an action position (such as this one in a running pose…
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A Fresh Face
I always feel that drawing a face presents a type of double jeapody. Not only is there an expectation that the face will look real, there is often an equally strong requirement that the drawing actually looks like the person being drawn! This desire for a convincing likeness makes drawing well know personalities particularly challenging,…








