Tree study in pen

I left my paints at home by accident so was only able to do a pen drawing. In the end it forced me to try and make it work as lines only which was good practice I think.

Have a safe and happy Christmas wherever you are, see you on the other side of the silly season!

Horse Paddock II

 

Life drawing

Horse Paddock

Rusty roof

This sketch was done from my car. There was at least a dozen times I wanted to give up on it, but I'm glad I persisted. The light was fading fast and a storm brewing, but I think this all made for an interesting atmosphere.

Gnarled old tree

Another tree study. I don't know where all this observational drawing is headed exactly, but the last few months or so I've had the urge to draw the things around me. I do believe using real life, and nature as one's starting point is a good way to develop a visual vocabulary of one's own. I suspect something is being stored away in the back of my mind as I spend these hours looking at things and recording them.

Tree studies

I found this nice place to study trees in my local area. There are some big old trees, and a few paperbark groves. It's quite untamed, and apart from the constant hum of traffic in the background, you might think you were in the countryside. Places like this eventually get manicured and developed, and one by one they disappear.

Life drawing

 

Travel sketches

 

Travel sketches

Travel sketches

 

Travel sketches

I've just returned from a holiday in north Queensland. I'll be posting sketches from this trip over the next few posts. Here's two to get started on. I hope you like them.

Cafe sketching

Cafe sketching

Tree caricatures

Yes, you can caricature trees... I think so anyway. The top one is an Umbrella tree, and the bottom one is a Paperbark, both very typical sights in Australian backyards.

Hungry homeless guy

 

The topmost image is the closest so far to what I think I want the look of the book to be, however the composition was simplified. The images below it are earlier experiments, one showing an idea for the full composition. I first posted about this project here if you want to see more.

Good Witch character designs

You might notice a similarity between these character designs and the previous post. They were inspired by the same person. I couldn't decide what kind of character to make though. The one's with a broom are supposed to be some kind of 'good witch'.

Cuddles

 

Watercolour canal II

Watercolour canal

 

Sketchbook intermission

Kids Pursuit

Still with the fox project, here are some concept sketches for the children in the story.

'River Crossing'

 

A more polished version of the previous 'river crossing' concepts. I'm still unsure whether I'll go with this style but it was fun to try something like this.

Landscapes

Inspired by some recents visits to a place called Marburg. My personal view of observation is that sometimes it's best used through the filter of memory. I think we somehow distill what was important to us in the subject when we recall it from past observation. When the subject is in front of us the details can be overwhelming.

New project

Here's some concept art for a new project I've started on. The fox concepts were some early ideas which I think I'll change, and the top two images were just figuring out a composition and working out a technique to use. I didn't really like the black ink in the topmost image, but thought the background was heading in the right direction

Ipswich Festival of Children's Literature

Here are some photos and doodles from my first 2 days at a festival for children's literature. I don't generally like drawing in front of people, but the kids were very enthusiastic and made it unexpectedly enjoyable for me.