Two of my latest batch of digital fabric prints…our old friend the cockerel in two sizes
Cockerels on Canvas
2
Beach Walk Sketches
I don’t usually remember to pack my sketch book and paints when I head out for a stroll along the beach in El Palmar but there was something in the gentle sunshine this Monday afternoon that reminded me…
I didn’t quite manage to capture the beauty of these Retinto cows in my pen and wash sketch above…
…but there’s a softness that I like in this deserted beach scene painted with sea water
Sushi Time
With no Vejer Sketchers outing planned for today, I promised myself a lunch of takeaway sushi on the condition that I made a pen and watercolour sketch of it before eating…this has to be a perfect definition for delayed gratification and certainly helped to whet my appetite and really appreciate the artistry of our local chef at Sushi Time.
Yum.
Cockerels for Terry
Having recently refurbished the chimney pipes for his wood burner in preparation for winter, Terry asked me if I’d paint some cockerels for him in the alcove behind the stove.
Stenciling in there was a bit of a tight squeeze but they turned out rather well.
…roast chicken all winter!
Click here to see photos of my cockerels stenciled in other locations in my Signs and Murals gallery
Rainy Day Sketches
With the onset of showery weather it’s tempting to skip the weekly sketch meetings but these last two Saturdays I’ve been determined to persevere. For sure the white walls of Vejer don’t glow without sunshine but the brooding clouds lend a different atmosphere.
Above, the old town of Vejer from a roof terrace in the new town.
Left, the church bell tower from my roof terrace in the old town.
Both pen and watercolour.
Hooray for roofs and brollies!
Pretty Creepy Horsey for Hallowe’en
This piece was inspired by the beautiful carved wooden horses of the Jubilee Gallopers carousel at Carter’s Steamfair.
I started off with a conventional pencil drawing, working from photos I had taken while visiting the fair in the summer.
Having scanned the drawing into Photoshop I coloured it. Nice but boring, I thought…and that stripy saddle looks a bit like a rib cage…
…so I kept drawing and developed the skeletal theme which I found much more interesting
I scanned the new pencil drawing into my computer, vectorised it in Illustrator, then coloured and duplicated it to make a repeating pattern in Photoshop. I also added noise to the image to improve the texture.
I like the way that it’s not until you look closely that you see the dark creepiness of this image.
I’m eagerly awaiting delivery of a sample of digitally printed fabric in this design….it’s been dispatched today….dead horse cushions, anyone?!
Silk Scarves
I recently sewed these two scarves featuring my dragonfly and 2CV designs digitally printed on super soft silk. What luxury….
Autumn Sketches
The pen and watercolour sketch to the left was my first of the autumn season, having been invited to see the sherry grape harvest in the the Faustino González vineyard just outside Jerez.
The grape pickers moved too fast for me to capture with my painting hands!
The sketch on the right is of one of the old town gates in Vejer de la Frontera, you can see one of my fellow sketchers on the left.
The last sketch in this trio is of the Roman aquaduct in the beautiful village of Santa Lucia.
Alquimia Logo
I recently designed the logo above for Alquimia (Alchemy in Spanish) , a magical full moon fine-dining and entertainment experience set against the beautiful natural backdrop of La Costa de la Luz in Andalusia.
The brief was to incorporate a tree and full moon theme with art nouveau style text as shown in the sketch I was given to work from (left) .
I duplicated the tree image and inverted the colours so that the moon and tree appear to shine in the night sky.
I can see all sorts of additional imagery in the finished design which reflects the mysterious nature of the event; bat, owl and dragonfly wings, the face of a fox, the figure of a woman, a chalice, a heart….
…I can;t wait for my first taste of the Alquimia experience tomorrow night, the menu alone promises many delights:
1. Roasted autumnal vegetable soup with a baked wafer, jamón lardons and angel hair garnish
2. Baby Green Leaf salad with sprouting herbs, edible flowers and white balsamic pearls
3. Fresh fish from the port with samphire, new potatoes, a lemon and chilli sauce and spiced smoked mackerel pate
4. Local Blue sheep’s cheese and alejandrina pear salad with organic walnuts and honey
5. Griddled fillet of local Retinto beef wrapped in jamón ibérico with a red wine jus served with milk soaked courgette fries
6. Wild mushroom, truffle and pine salted croquettes with an aged parmesan dressing
7. Bitter Chocolate tart served with orange wine from la Barca caramelized pistachios and crème fraiche
8. Selection of artisan cheeses with homemade chutney and baked crackers
9. Baby Guinness expresso shot
London Sketches
This summer I spent a few weeks in London which meant that I missed out on my weekly Saturday sketch date with the Vejer sketchers. Despite the busy-ness of my city visit I made a little time to go out with my pens and watercolour paints.
The gorgeous view from my friends’ flat next to Caledonian Park in North London
The clock tower in Caledonian Park
I love a visit to a cemetery; they inspire, calm and ground me all at the same time.
I made my first trips to Highgate (above) and Nunhead (right) cemeteries this summer and found both to be oases of cool, damp, quiet wildness in the hubbub of the hot summer city.
The chaps who were restoring Karl Marx’ grave very kindly moved the scaffolding for a while to improve my view and a lady dog walker told me that her dog once refused to walk past the spot I was painting which raised some goosebumps.