Giraffe - Mother and Son

20"x 16"

This picture of Mother and Baby Giraffe in Watercolour came about as a request for a prize for the grand childrens school fete, the prize winner apparently loves giraffes, and after some thought, I came up with this painting.  I wanted something with a touch of humour to add  to the painting. This was the first effort in painting animals and am looking forward to finding other subjects to paint

Tusker

 

16" x 12"

 

My grandson Ben asked me to draw him an elephant for his wall, so I decided to attempt a drawing in graphite, this was on of my early attempts in pencil and am progressing with each drawing, trying to push my boundaries and trying new techniques to achieve  a better drawing each time. 

 

 

Kate SOLD

16" x 12"

This painting of a rowing boat against a harbour wall was from a photograph I found somewhere, and as soon as I saw it I had to attempt to paint in watercolour. I was very pleased with the result and was amazed when someone offered to purchase it. I called the boat Kate after my grand-daughter , and was at first reluctant to part with it,  but as time goes on I find myself drawn more to the  painting of boats and their surroundings.

Awaiting the Tide SOLD

18" x 12"

This painting was undertaken at the same time as the painting of  "Kate", after completing the other painting I was eager to try another this being the result. Living in Cornwall with the sea all around and my love with water there is an abundance of such images on my doorstep that not only painting them but collecting the subjects is a pleasure.  I find these images a joy to attempt, once again I was
pleased that someone was willing to purchase it, I hope that it will give them as much joy as it did me painting it.

Hugh

Portrait of a family member

11" x 9"

This drawing is of a very special person who passed away this year 2013, this is Hugh David, father to 2 wonderful children, and a grandfather. Brother to Liz and Linda (my partner) and Son to Vera.
It took a lot of effort to draw this, I drew this using graphite pencil, with the emphasis of trying to portray the person  he was . He was passionate about his family, his love of the outside, hardworking, and in recent years,. Julie that he had met and was due to marry. He is missed by everyone that came in contact with him. In the graphite section there is a drawing of his father Llewlyn 

Reflections 2

 

12" x 8"

 

Having done the first "Reflections 1", I decided  that I would recreate the first without the second boat and this is the result of my efforts. Once it was in a frame I was especially pleased with the result.

Reflections 1

 14" x 11"
 It seems that I love to draw boats again and again, I never tire of them and I know that the title is used over and over, but that is exactly what this picture is about, reflections, I will try to come up with something more original before " reflections 16 "!!

Time stands still

12" x 8"

Places like this and dotted along most of the creeks and inlets in Cornwall, boathouses or old   sail-lofts, boats scattered on the foreshore, awaiting their owners, on a summers day I find these sorts of places  so peaceful and a joy to draw or paint.

Taylors Engine House, St Day

 

12" x 8"

 This engine house  is one of  a number that are visible from  my garden across a wooded valley, I drew this one Sunday morning early, having jumped on my bike with a few drawing aids, sitting in the early morning sun, and listening to the birds singing. We have such a wealth of subjects close at hand to draw here in St Day and the surrounding areas, the whole area has a long mining tradition,  which gives many a varied subject matter to paint or draw in the open air.

Cornish Oyster Boats Racing, Falmouth

16" x 14"

This is one of the many traditional Oyster Boats that used to work the seas of Cornwall, many have been restored and are often seen out on the waters off Falmouth where this is pictured. Often in the summer you can see these boats racing off Falmouth, or peacefully gliding along the coastline making the most of the excellent sailing conditions that are found in this part of the county

Pink

16" x 14"

The reason for this pencil drawing of Pink, was to try and achieve realistic hair. How do you draw blonde hair, several drawings I had done the subjects had dark hair which I found okay. Each time I do a drawing its to push myself to improve, which is what art is all about plus I like her music!.

Kate

Portrait of Grand-daughter Kate aged 15 months

16" x 12"

This is a painting of my grand-daughter in acrylic. I have only done 4 or 5  paintings in acrylic  mostly of the grandchildren, a great source of inspiration to get me drawing or painting. I shall endeavour to more acrylic work soon , at the moment I have been concentrating on Watercolours to try and develop a looser approach to painting.

Tiger in your tail

42" x 42"

This painting was done on a bonnet of a car in 1978. At the time I was heavily  into the customising scene of cars, modifying bodywork  and  paintwork especially in custom finishes that had become available from America.
This painting was  done entirely freehand using an airbrush and using automotive acrylic paints, during this period I was very busy doing  numerous paintings on cars, but though most had photographs taken at the time I have very little of the work that I did  during that period, unlike now with the digital age it is so much easier to keep a record.
 I should love to attempt to paint again using airbrushing as it a wonderful medium  to use, maybe soon.

Bluebells in the Glade

16" x 12"

I attend evening classes in watercolour and this is one that we all attempted so time ago, this reminds me of the beech woodland very near the house that in May is a real picture to see and wander through with that magical light that you get in beech woods from sunlight penetrating through the canopy.

Summer Cosmos

14" x 14"

I love to paint flowers , and our garden  usually  has drifts of Cosmos in various colours, but my favourite is the white, it always looks so delicate and bright in sunlight.

Badgers in the Snow

14" x 10"

A mix of watercolour and graphite, this painting  was an early attempt of  drawing Badgers in graphite and watercolour.

Boat Moored in Harbour

14" x 11"

Once again a boat in harbour, this time trying to capture the shadows of the sand under the water and reflections  of the boat on the surface of the water giving it depth

House in Snow

Detail of 'House in Snow'

Original painting 18" x 14"

Cowlands Creek SOLD

18" x 14"

Picture of a house and  boat on one of the many creeks that are upstream of Falmouth. This was one that we did in the art class, I hope that  I can again capture the tranquillity that is present here in further paintings.

End of a Hard Day

16" x 16"

This is a drawing I did on black paper with white pastel, having done a number of graphite drawings that you gradually apply graphite to produce the darker tones that are the shadows, I wondered what it would be like to do the reverse and start with the dark tones ie black paper, and put in the lighter areas varying the amount of white pastel to  produce the light areas.
This subject was from a photograph taken in low light conditions that gave me just what I was looking for, mind it was hard getting the brain to accept the opposite to what I previously carried out in other drawings, as I have said its about pushing oneself to produce gain experience and produce better work.

Image of Afro-American

16" x 14"

I  really enjoyed doing this drawing, once again choosing a subject that will push my skill to the limit.
This face has so much expression, that I wanted to draw the subject as soon as I found the image,
plus it was a challenge how to draw the hair and whiskers on the face that also drew me to the image.
This one of my own favourites that I have done. I love to draw faces that have a wonderful expression to them almost as if the image is trying to say something to me when I draw, often I am unaware of things going on around me as I am so involved in a drawing .

Bradley

Portrait of Grandson 16" x 12"

Bradley is my youngest grandson, this was a picture taken when he was one. The hat is what drew me to paint him. Done in Acrylic, this was only the third time that I had used this medium, and enjoy it a lot and intend to do much more soon, I like humour in a painting and it was the hat and his  cheeky looks that for me makes this picture.

Untitled

Detail:

18" x 14"

When I found this photograph I knew straight away that I wanted to attempt  draw this subject and capture her expression and the look in her eyes, also to get the hair as realistic as possible. This drawing has given me a lot of confidence in the use of graphite as a medium and always on the lookout for further subjects.

Commission

Commission 18" x 16"

This drawing was done as a commission for a work colleague and is an image of his brother-in-law enjoying a "pint"

Ruby

  

Portrait of granddaughter Ruby in Acrylic 12" x 12"

 

This is Ruby and up until she was 18 months old, her hair was so short and fair that I was told I couldn't draw her, then one day whilst in the garden she wore this hat, I managed to get a photo of her on my phone and this is the result. This was my very first attempt in using acrylic paints, had no idea what to do with them but took a deep breath and produced this, sometimes it doesn't pay to think just get on with it.

 

 

Llewlyn

 

Portrait of a family member 18" x 16"

 

This is a drawing in pencil of my partners father, who passed away in 2011,  this is someone who is greatly missed since his passing. He was a farmer originally, who then took up building in later years, immensely strong in stature, nature, and character, never without his cap. He was very much into clay pigeon shooting, representing  Wales on many times, both here and abroad.  This meant an awful lot to draw this gentleman, one I miss dearly, but not as much as his family do.

 

 

Clara

This was a commission. 18" x 16"

This is a good friends grand-daughter Clara, he kindly gave me my first commission, it gave me a lot of confidence that my work was being recognised, very important when first starting to draw.