to the manor born

February 9, 20095 Comments

I turned 33 at the weekend. We left the baby with his nana, and went to Healdsburg to stay overnight at the most excellent Madrona Manor, an amazing building from the 1880s overlooking the magnificent valleys of Sonoma County. The heart of the wine country. Easily the best hotel room I’ve ever stayed in (and the door had a key, not one of those bloody card-swipe things; it was great!). The furniture was old, ornate and well-kept. It was pretty foggy and cold, but I was able to do a few drawings; I’ll have to come back up in sunnier months to draw the grounds. We wandered about the vegetable gardens, and were encouraged to pick an orange or two from the pretty orchards by the friendly owner (and I don’t remember the last hotel I stayed at where I chatted with the owner; no soul-destroying corporation this). And speaking of fresh oranges, the freshly squeezed orange juice was te perfect way to start the day. There is very little better than freshly squeezed orange juice, but particularly if you can see the trees where they were grown from the breakfast table.

A sketch of the bed. Very, very comfortable. The rooms are sans-TV, a big plus for me. And below, a drawing of the main mansion. I’m glad we were lucky enough to stay there.

simon says

February 8, 2009Leave a comment

This is my friend back in London, Simon, actor, presenter and fellow on-street sketcher. I’ve attempted drawing him before, but couldn’t quite get it, but this time I think I got it pretty close. Used the sepia micron 0.5, nice for drawing people with.

picture book

February 5, 20099 Comments

The late January sunshine has been replaced by early February rain (much needed, considering California is running out of water as well as money), but here are a couple of photos of my sketchbook in the weekend’s sunshine. I’ve nearly finished this one; a new one is on the way…

the warriors of winter gave a cold triumphant shout

February 3, 2009February 3, 20094 Comments

who needs remote control

February 1, 20093 Comments

Perhaps… we spend too much time looking at the shadows, and not at the trees.

Or vice-versa, take your pick.

This is the old city hall in Davis (now part of a restaurant), sketched on Saturday afternoon on the last of january; see how warm and sunny looking it is. I hear you are having huge snowstorms in Britain. Sorry about that. I recall the arctic blast of 2003, that night I never got home to crouch end (but instead walked through the icy storm several miles to burnt oak). And then the second one a year later, when finchley central station closed because nobody had thought to grit the platform (but i made it home thanks to my boss giving me a lift, and managing not to get frozen in a slippery traffic jam on highgate hill, for which i’m very grateful). I love snow, it makes the world look so peaceful, except when it is causing utter flipping chaos.

daylight falls upon the path

January 30, 2009May 27, 2010Leave a comment

lunchtime sketch by the hog barn It feels like ages since I did drawings of Davis, I have been drawing so many other places lately. More than a month in fact. So I thought I’d make up for it. It was very sunny this week. Well, during the daytime obviously, I mean at night it was dark. It was pretty cold too but is getting progressively warmer; these Californian Januarys, eh! So I got out each lunchtime and sketched.

On Wednesday I sketched near the Silo, by the newly renovated Hog Barn (or Pig House, or whatever it is called; presumably it was renovated after the big bad wolf blew it down or something). No hogs here now though. There are cows not far from here though. Davis is well known for its cows. Scientists do experiments on them. Some of them have windows in their stomachs (please, no jokes about beef curtains, this is a family site).

I had a hole in my shoe once. I used to tell people it was a window to my sole.

On Thursday I went downtown, and drew a house I’ve drawn before, I believe it is some sort of dentist’s surgery on E Street. I drew it in sepia about a year and a half ago. Theres’ that tree look, in the foreground as usual, and it managed to keep itself within the frame this time.

Here’s the older version. I don’t mind drawing things I’ve drawn before. In a city this small it’s bound to happen.

And on Friday, to complete the triptych, I drew a frat house on First Street. Ths is right on the edge of campus. Most of the fraternity and sorority houses are.

Before I moved to an American college town I had no idea what frats were. All those greek letters, old boy’s clubs I guessed. Some frats are aparently older than the US itself. I met some American frat boys when I lived in France, I’d heard of their legendary alcoholic exploits (ah, no more than a typical night in any binge-drinking high-street town in England). They all start recruiting in the fall, having their ‘rush’ events and their ‘hazing’, and how the sororities have all these functions every night for a month whereby the wannabe entrants have to wear a different outfit each night or they are like so-out-omigod-who-does-she-think-she-is.

Yeah I’m glad we never had those sorts of things when I was at university. We had the student union bar, and some nights, oh dear, it was not pretty.

Roll on the weekend.

an old collage of something classical

January 27, 2009January 28, 20098 Comments

This is the sort of drawing I love doing, so I’m pleased with how this turned out. This is the town square Hitchin, a market town in Hertfordshire that I visited while I was back in England in December.

You should go there, it’s lovely.

the sweetest thing

January 25, 20091 Comment

Spent this afternoon drawing more sketches of Luke; the top one was the last I did, and my favourite so far. His hair is a little darker than it should be but it’s from a photo; it looked that way. The ones below are also looking a little more like him. The copic pen and wash one is a bit too dark though, while the pencil one I think captures his ‘I’m busy playing’ look.

happy birthday to ya!

January 24, 2009January 25, 20093 Comments

My son turned one today! We got him (another) toy guitar to rock out on (he loves guitars and is already pretty good at strumming a real one, for a one year old). He also got a lot of other very musical toys from his nana and his nanny, to go with the drum, guitar, keyboard, musical table, and maracas he already has. I think he might become a conductor, or a busker at least. Daddy is still trying to draw him, but every time I get close enough approximation he gets a little older and changes – it’s a cliche but they really do change so quickly. I did the above in sepia micron 05 (nice for drawing faces with!!). Face is a little too long maybe, hair a little too dark. My art goal for 2008 was draw baby; I did, but not enough. My art goal for 2009 is draw more faces in general.

Happy first birthday Lukey! We love you dude!

president barack obama

January 23, 20093 Comments

Ladies and Gentlemen, the 44th President of the United States, new leader of the Free World, Barack Obama. President Obama. No more George W Bush. Did you hear that? NO MORE GEORGE W BUSH!! Off you pop. No more Cheney. But thanks, by the way, thanks for the wonderful state you’ve left the world and the country in. Not your problem, leave it for the next guy.

Finally, someone intelligent running America. Though of course, he had to take his oath of inauguration twice, because he kind of fluffed it up the first time. Was I the only one who thought, when he paused right after the words “I will execute”, that he was about to slip up and say… “George W Bush”?