I am starting a new job next week and I am so excited about it. It will mean working pretty much full time, mostly away from home and a lot less time for creating my art. So why am I excited by the prospect? There are a lot of reasons. (And yes, money is one...
I’ve been sorely in need of motivation lately! Since my last post *ages* ago, I’ve moved to a new town, new home, new just about everything. And oh my, it’s all proved a huge distraction from my creating! It’s time to take a break from unpacking and organising and get back into the creative swing...
I love the internet. Through it I have found my “tribe”. Many wonderful opportunities have come about because of my digital life and my whole life is richer because of them. I found my voice, clarified my ambitions and had the courage to work towards them, all because of the internet. I will not have...
First I was overwhelmed and had no time. Then there was time but I needed it for rest. Then too much time had gone by and I didn’t know how to restart. Then I just felt plain guilty. Today I’m putting it all behind and simply writing some words. I strive to one day come...
I went to life drawing for the first time in ages. It’s a fairly new group with lots of new life drawers and even the models are new. All this freshness brought me to thinking about what life drawing really is – and what it isn’t. My first life drawing experience was over 20 years...
I am obsessed with colour. My children hate general conversation with me when colour comes up. Recently I was trying to describe which type of coffee I wanted by the colour of its pod. I was having great difficulty describing the deep coral, no, the dark orangey crimson, when my daughter said “Do you mean...
Personal Promise Recently we celebrated our 30th Wedding Anniversary. Honestly it feels like only a few short months since out 25th and not much longer since, well, you know how the story goes… it all just flies by in a flash and before you know it, your kids are grown and you’ve been married 30...
It wasn’t the best of weather, a little chilly and windy, but Notre Dame on Isle de la Cite in the centre of Paris still called to travellers and we answered the call! In the beautiful garden at the back of the cathedral I rendezvoused with Liz Steel. We sat and chatted and drew the...
9 weeks ago I had a dream. Now I have achieved it. In only 9 weeks I have created this website from nothing. I have many more dreams now. Dreams of building on what I’ve done already, of making it even better, offering more and building on the friendships which I’ve already made in this...
I am thrilled to be able to share this interview with you. Rick is such an amazing artist. He hangs out in Cafe le Select, a famous old Paris cafe where he draws the patrons, capturing the character of his subjects and exaggerating it, just a little (OK sometimes a lot!) so we know them...
I’ve been a long time admirer of Marina Grechanik’s sketches. It has given me great joy to be able to ask her questions about her people sketching and her sketching process. Here’s what she said. Why do you sketch? Sketching is one of my passions. Maybe it is the most accessible way to keep myself...
This article is the first of a series on the topic of how to sketch figures, which includes sketching people and faces. My first life drawing class was a surprise. I was young and naive and had no intention of ever turning up for a class with a nude model posing in it. So it...
