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Black Mountains – Lower Slopes
Read more: Black Mountains – Lower SlopesTrees present an interesting drawing challenge. There is (normally) just one trunk, then a few main branches, then many smaller branches and finally many, many leaves. However, if one sketches the same level of detail for each leaf as is given to the trunk then the drawing will never be finished! This particular tree is…
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Candle
Read more: CandleNot 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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Durham
Read more: DurhamIf you know Durham you will know this is not the way most people get to the city centre. It is an altogether more peaceful route into town, accessible by car only on the odd day or two when so many students are arriving to start college that a one-way system has to be imposed…
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David’s Admirers
Read more: David’s AdmirersWe all know that Florence is full of Renaissance art – and if we stop to think about it we also know that in consequence Florence is full of art-admiring tourists, their backpacks, their cameras and camera phones. So it seemed fitting to include, and indeed emphasise, these onlookers in a scene from the Galleria…
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Artists Mannequin
Read more: Artists MannequinI 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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2 CVs
Read more: 2 CVsI was rather taken by this scene – although to be honest most views containing a 2CV will tend to catch my attention! I had expected to have to concentrate on getting the cars to look right, but in the event it was the poplar trees that caused me the most grief – to the…
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Ostrich
Read more: OstrichTo drawing something, it is of course necessary to figure out where everything should go on the paper – the relative sizes of the objects in the scene and how they all fit together. So it was that when I drew this ostrich I was quite surprised to discover just how small an ostrich head…
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Cows at Gatton
Read more: Cows at GattonGatton Park has many fine views, thanks to a combination of the natural landscape and to Lancelot “Capability” Brown’s attention some 250 years ago. I have drawn this particular view a few times using different techniques – this vector graphic created using the LibreOffice drawing tools is my favourite to date. This style makes everything…
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Drawing Room
Read more: Drawing RoomThis scene of calm was the room where we rested after one of our days walking a section of Offa’s Dyke. There is a great contrast between the light and dark areas in this scene, which is always an interesting challenge to achieve with only a black pen. The walk was a challenge too of…
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Selfie
Read more: SelfieSomewhat to my surprise (and also somewhat to my regret!) this drawing has a passing resemblance to yours truly. So no, my skin is not quite that blotchy – that is an artefact of the style I have tried to draw in. Also yes, I do have that many wrinkles (or perhaps a few more…
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Under Reigate Hill
Read more: Under Reigate HillWell obviously this isn’t really “under” the hill – this is the path that runs from the main Reigate Hill road to Wray Lane, and so the path effectively runs across the foot of the hill. However, to me the phrase “under the hill” sums this up rather well and I get to choose the…
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Goðafoss
Read more: GoðafossIceland has several magnificent waterfalls, many with equally impressive names. The name Goðafoss is often translated as “waterfall of the gods” and the view across it is certainly awe-inspiring. In the summer you might reasonably expect to see this fall illuminated by bright sunshine, but on our visit the sky was a leaden grey which…











