stop dreaming of the quiet life

May 3, 2008May 3, 2008Leave a comment

What a great week for british football, what a bad week for the labour party, what a terrible week for London. Now let’s see how many election promises boris can break (banning bendy buses? you are, as they say, avinalarf, intya). My own week started off badly; After a sad rescue attempt, I finally abandoned the bike, being unable to move the back wheel at all. I felt very sad, like I was shooting my horse or something. None of my tools could fix it (yes, I have the odd tool). Then a bird pooed on my new trousers and favourite shirt. I’ve also been off drawing, just haven’t been able to do it, partly just bored with the same trees at lunchtime, partly head interior all fuzzy. Hey, it’s May; funny how that happened so quickly.

This is the back of my building at work, lunchtime today, from a bench. I will draw in colour again, I promise.

tombé en panne

April 26, 2008April 27, 20084 Comments

Today was very hot in Davis; not good for allergies, not good if you hate bugs, not good for redheads like pete. After spending the morning playing guitar to the baby I decided to get out on the bike to draw. My bike, however, did not think so. After twenty minutes, on the bike path, it just died; the back wheel refused to spin. I wrestled with it in the heat for an hour, getting filthy, before taking it to a bike shop, where they apparently fixed it by turning a nut with a wrench. Ok, thanks, yes I tried that with my bare hands, that might have been the problem. I cleaned up, and finally got to draw something, choosing a particularly nondescript corner, in fairly nondescript sepia, because I was in a mood.

I then got on my bike to go home. And after ten minutes, the chain went, and then five minutes later the back wheel stopped again, stopped like a french worker in striking season (that’s about this time of year, usually). I had to abandon it, I had no phone with me, there were no payphones, and so I walked home defeated in the heavy heat.

I think the phrase is ‘Bugger’.

no colours any more

April 25, 2008April 25, 2008Leave a comment

The silo, yet again, at lunchtime, encore une fois, in sepia, for a change, today. Hey. it’s at a slightly different angle. I sat on my little stool beneath a tree (it was a lovely sunny day). The last time I drew it though (a month ago, in sepia) the tower was bare, now it is full of leaves and a luscious summery green (um, as you can see in this very brown picture).

Brown…when I was a kid, I used to think Bran Flakes were actually called Brown Flakes, because they were brown, and we were from London, that’s how you say it. Bran Flakes. Similarly, whenever Americans would talk of what we know as cling-film, Saram-Wrap, I thought it was called Surround-Wrap (again, makes sense, ‘cos it saraands it), because my accent said so. Quite a surprise when I found out. Maybe my way makes more sense.

illustration friday: primitive

April 23, 2008April 25, 20089 Comments

I still have all the postcards i’ve ever been sent. I still love sending postcards myself, from all the places I visit.

These days, fewer people bother. One friend told me he doesn’t send them any more, since there’s email and texting and facebook, but that misses the point of the postcard. Another friend, on the other hand, he sends me postcards from various places he visits in the UK on his acting tours, and I love it. You don’t collect those emails in a dusty old shoebox that you come across many years later (one of the postcards in the picture was sent by my oldest friend, tel, from a holiday in devon when he was about 13 or 14, when it was the furthest he’d ever been; now he lives in korea). You can’t stick those facebook wall entries to your fridge. Writing and sending postcards does take a little effort, but it’s an enjoyable effort, and brings a little more sunshine into the world than seeing “inbox: 1”.

Here’s my illustration friday entry for this week, theme: primitive. Here’s to the more primitive forms of communication. Answers on a postcard.

sitting in his nowhere land

April 18, 2008April 19, 20083 Comments

The last, or the 24th if you prefer, of the You See Davis word/image unrelations. It has been fun. I will do more, similar things of equal unimportance. There may be slight differences. Rounded edges, perhaps.

This could be anywhere.

But it’s the large metallic window-sparse building called the ‘Death Star’ locally. I don’t know why; it’s not round, it has no superlaser, as far as I’m aware it has the ability to process a lot of paperwork but not yet functional to destroy planets, and I think its exhaust pipes are a little better protected. Maybe the locals know something I don’t? Tractor beams? There are a lot of farmers here…

the day breaks, your mind aches

April 14, 2008April 25, 20087 Comments

I’m in California, but this is Aix-en-Provence. I spent a year there from 2001 to 2002; I met my wife there, and she met me there too. I drew this last night, Micron Pen 01, and intended to add a wash, possibly in a warm sepia; I still might, but quite like it as it is.

Aix is art country. I did draw a lot while I was there, and paint, but I wish I could go back and draw and paint more, in the way I do nowadays. The light is amazing there – like in California, but possibly better. You have toi watch out for dog-poo though, and dog-people. Et les nains de jardin au parc jourdan, bien sur.

sketchcrawl 18: sacramento

April 1, 2008June 25, 2010Leave a comment

The 18th Worldwide Sketchcrawl took place on Saturday, and I popped across the Causeway for the midtown Sacramento version. Three other sketchers were there, at the Sutter’s fort meeting point; none made it to the ending point, at the Streets of London pub on J street. It was the seventh time I’ve done the Sketchcrawl, and it’s nice to know I’m absolutely not the only one out on the streets somewhere on the planet with pen and sketchbook. Here are my results:

I went to the art store, and found my favourite sketching tool yet: a fold-up stool that easily fits into my small shoulder bag! Only $11. No more sitting on the dirty floor; it means I can sketch anywhere now (normally I find the comfy spot first, then choose what to draw).