Martins Online Sketch Book

These boots were meant for walking…

2012-02-05T20:45:00.001Z

Last sketch of my shoes – hopefully next week will be better weather for urban sketching!

Wot no laces…?

2012-02-05T20:37:00.001Z

What do you sketch when it’s too cold outside? Find something inside that looks interesting, is challenging to draw and has areas of contrast for a watercolour. Why not go round the house and find something to draw right now?

No Fishing

2012-01-30T21:59:00.001Z

I love to paint the coastline and this is one of my favourite places - Bosham. I like to experiment with different painting styles and this is based on paintings by Steve Hall. Steve uses a giant mop brush to produce all his paintings and this is also my weapon of choice when painting. Mops were originally used in French polishing but their ability to pick up vast amounts of water makes them ideal for watercolour. They do take a while to get used to but it is well worth the effort.

More paintings from Bosham…

Limbering up idea

2012-01-28T22:46:00.000Z

Had an adventurous evening with the Woodley and Earley arts group on Thursday evening, rather than sitting watching a demonstration we had a workshop with Dee Carrol. This comprised of making chalk and charcoal pictures of movement. As it turned out it was a valuable lesson in observation. It was so good that I had another attempt at home with my conte crayons that I have been looking for an excuse to use. You can get some great pictures of people doing actions in the sports pages of the newspapers or buy online at fotolio.com

Granddads Shed is on a hill

2012-01-25T21:21:00.001Z

Whilst in Woolacombe in 2011 we stayed in a rented flat called Lundi Set. The nearest beach was Combesgate and was approximately 400 foot away – straight down! When I did my morning physio and medication I managed to make some sketches looking out of the window at the surrounding landscape. There was no mobile phone signal so I couldn’t look up news on the internet! Anyway I saw this wonderful little shed that was perched like a goat on a hillside and I thought I must draw that. So I did. And this is the sketch. I have ideas on developing this into a painting. The original sketch was worked up in pen and then I added some tone with my Derwent sketching pencils.

The actual accommodation was lovely and well presented. Because Sam was under 1.5 at the time we thought one bedroom would be okay, however Sam refused to go to sleep at his normal time and by the end of the week we were in need of another holiday.

Another version of the same view…I worked on this one back home in my studio. To make the painting work I think I am going to have to move bits about to get a better flow.

Blue Bucket at Sizewell

2012-01-24T20:57:00.001Z

I visited Sizewell in the 1990’s when I was at a steam fair held in Bressingham Steam gardens. There is an unerringly quiet beach which appears devoid of wildlife and this is where the boats were along with some old sheds. The day according to my diary was clam and overcast but was overshadowed by the looming monster of Sizewell itself (whatever that means). Why did we go there? Because we had been to the Garrett Steam Museum and felt compelled to go after seeing a scale model of the area! We also had some time to kill.

I started this sketch using a blue pencil to outline the shapes and then blocked in the main areas of colour. Finally I added the details like the blades of grass by darkening the shadow and negative space areas. There are too many strong verticals in this image and I think I should have broken up the picture by rotating the propeller to push the eye round the scene.

Below are my initial sketches and the photo that i took on the day.

See other sketches from Norfolk.

Aldeburgh, Suffolk

2012-01-17T21:34:00.001Z

This is a sketch that I have done twice now. It is of Aldeburgh in Suffolk and I liked the Tudor building that is so out of place amongst the fishing shoreline. The seafront is littered with little sheds selling fresh fish. And to top it all off you can see the Sizewell Nuclear Reactor.

Sketching a Trip Home

2012-01-16T21:18:00.001Z

During my last week at Thrive I noticed a brilliantly green tree on my way to work along Church Lane, Three Mile Cross, Shinfield. Everything else around it seemed to lack colour but the tree really stood out and it felt unreal – Like a lot of things I like to sketch it caught my imagination as painted correctly it looks wrong. So I have used a real acid green to highlight the tree and I have included the jumbled chris-cross of telegraph poles.

Other Sketched views.

Sue always greeted people with a smile on her face and a spliff in her hand

2012-01-15T22:21:00.001Z

Sue always greeted people with a smile on her face and a spliff in her hand...’Tales From Trunkwell’ was a book that Sue and I were writing when I worked at Thrive. It was meant to be a light hearted look at the work of therapists in the garden. This is the first picture for the book and the story is based on part truth and part myth, and most definitely it happened before Sue and I worked for Thrive…

The story goes that in the garden before the Geoffrey Udall Centre there was a small out crop of cannabis grown by an enterprising client – who just brought in some strange seeds and wanted to see if they would grow. Grow they did and medicinally speaking the project, clients and staff were favourable pleased with the results. Then came the fateful day when the stash was found and burnt to the ground sending wafts of paranoia towards the villagers of Beech Hill – In fact the day is recorded in the Beech Hill council notes…7.00 pm meeting opened big dog, strange pink elephants floating around the Elmtree. The meeting closed inexplicably early.

If this story has affected you please speak to Frank.

More characters from the Thrive…

It’s probably someone’s granny…

2012-01-11T21:54:00.001Z

Due to a very complicated set of circumstances I had to mail a sputum culture to the hospital (If that sound disgusting I apologise and welcome to the world of Cystic Fibrosis – but take it a step further, worse than having to post such an item is being on the receiving end of the aforementioned posted sample!). Anyway I had to catch the first post so I got up early and aimed to be at the post office counter bang on 9am to avoid the queues. I was beaten to the front of the queue by someone’s granny. Dressed in an itchy Edinburgh Woollen Mill woollen suit, with matching hat. I think she was withdrawing a pension and she couldn’t enter her pin. FOUR Times. ‘I’m Sorry dear, it’s my fingers.’

‘No love, it’s because you are old and should be in bed waiting for the rush hour to die down before venturing into the big wide world’, is probably how I would have reacted in the past. But I have seen my future and it involves getting up at the crack of dawn, driving through rush hour traffic like it was a Sunday afternoon and paying my bill at the Tesco’s checkout in pennies. And I think I am going to enjoy it.

For more thoughts on getting old try this poem Warning by Jenny Joseph

By the way if this was your granny please ask her to try a lay-in, so the rest of us can muddle through our lives until we too can enjoy retirement…

ohh…ar

2012-01-09T22:05:00.001Z

The Wokingham Fireworks Spectacular – Last year, we took Samuel to his first ever firework display following on from an afternoon of frolics at a birthday bash in a 10 pin bowling hall. Organised by the The Windsor Forest Unicorn Club (You’d expect it to be the Wokingham Forrest Unicorn Club but there you go…), the weather was great apart from a slight breeze. Unfortunately we missed the processional walk from Wokingham Town Centre to Cantley Park as we were busy eating burgers and playing with a glowing head Lisa Simpson toy in Burger King. We brought our tickets in advance and were able to neatly jump the queues to the beaconing of ‘Oi…this is the queue for the fireworks’, from those not organised enough to pre-purchase. While we waited for the spectacular to begin I found myself surrounded by a group of iphone owning parent piers and I began to feel the pangs of school playing ground envy as I was the only one without an iphone – an unnecessary expense according to Debs (who has an ipad2). Anyway my iphone loving friends – watch this video and feel the quality of an LG Cookie…Bet you’re jealous.

Old Thrive cartoon

2012-01-04T19:29:00.001Z

I found this cartoon I did of Thrive’s training manager in 1998 on my computer. I don’t always manage to capture a true likeness more a feeling but I have noticed that some people do morph into their caricatures…see below and tell me do you agree has Kim become more like my drawing?

I’m a martyr to zuma…

2012-01-03T22:14:00.001Z

Every Tuesday evening I am subjected to cries of, ‘Daddy no away, bottle mummy.' I then have to patiently sit through half an hour of hide-n-seek and maybe an episode of Justine’s house before Samuel will accept his bottle and go to bed. Why do I do this? Because Deborah goes to Zuma. An exercise class with her friends and some bloke called Ian Waite apparently he’s a dancer on BBC’s Strictly come Dancing. Having looked at his website I now realise he’s a bit buff and probably works out a bit. I’m not actually sure why Debs comes home all hot and sweaty. She has shown me the moves she has learnt, but to be quite honest it all looks a bit raunchy. I may have to buff up a bit and infiltrate this gang of giggling girls.

Any guys out there fancy a bit of body buffing?

click for more Samuel related images…

Happy New Year

2012-01-02T21:37:00.001Z

Bosham Harbour, I like this image and thought it fitting to start the New Year, as it was originally drawn 4 years ago when we took a yearly outing to the coast before we had Samuel. The picture works well for me as I think I have created a nice balance of corresponding lights and darks which has created a feeling of depth to the painting. It also gives the viewer the opportunity to roam around the scene before spotting the main character Debs walking along the path. I think I probably should have made Debs look to the right to help push your eye back around the painting, you may notice that there is no facial detail and this is a trade mark of one of my sketches.

Skies can be particularly daunting because with watercolour you can’t go back and repair! This sky was painted with the yellow highlights first that went into the sea below the horizon and then a wash of blue was brought into the yellow areas – Always add a little bit of red to your blue to stop the colours mixing green. The colours used in this image are :- Cobalt blue, French Ultramarine, Windsor Yellow, Raw Sienna, Burnt sienna, Permanent Rose and Burnt Umber.

Damn, you Asda and your colourful checkout displays

2011-12-24T11:23:00.001Z

Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for supporting martinsonlinesketchbook this year.

This sketch is of Samuel at the Checkout in Asda last week as we finished our Christmas shopping. As we loaded the conveyor belt I looked up to see that Samuel had taken off his dull grey woollen hat, to replace it with a shiny Father Christmas hat from the handy checkout display. £1 a hat, that’s Asda price. Good job he can’t reach the sweats yet!

Criss-Cross Wires

2011-12-15T20:14:00.001Z

Urban Sketching an old road I used to walk down to Junior school. Not much has changed but there is a definite bump in the path where the cable television cable has been laid. Silverdale road is slightly up hill, the estate was built a long time ago, before I was born. Later Lower Earley would be born in the backs of the gardens on the houses on the left of the picture.

I particuarly like to include telegraph poles and tv antenna’s in pictures as they are slowly disappearing. It’s amazing how many wires actually cross the road when you look up and they all appear quite randomly placed, Maybe why the broadband is slower in England! I might do a sketch of the old style lamp-posts as some of them were built from concrete – again something you do not see too often these days.

See-saw like it’s 1558

2011-12-14T21:06:00.001Z

Samuel can be quite shy, but he is also has an adventurous spirit. Maybe that’s why a 6 year old talking fluent Spanish attracted his attention. See-saw’s are not as I remember them, nowadays they have springs as well as a pivot – maybe so that you don’t need equal weights. The little Spanish girl was definitely not he same weight as Sam and her enthusiastic see-saw action left her mother feeling quite ill at the thought that Samuel might be catapulted into orbit over our local housing estate. You could be forgiven for thinking that the little girl did not know any better but she had a tiny brother, about Sam’s age and her mother who shouted – ‘ reducir la velocidad - no es 1558.’ – while looking sheepishly at us as if to explain that her poor parenting skills are only to be expected in this mean world.

Sam actually enjoyed being thrust into space…

Little sweep in the mix

2011-12-13T21:13:00.001Z

Last Saturday Debs took Samuel outside to sweep up the leaves. I was indoors frantically decorating our Christmas tree as we had friends coming round for a bit-of-a-do. I couldn’t help laughing as with Deborah’s back turned to Samuel he helped to redistribute the leaves across the lawn. He seemed to be having such a wonderful time that I didn’t tell the other half why it took so long to rake the leaves. Sorry Debs – Good one Sam!

The bangs

2011-12-12T21:55:00.001Z

‘Bangs’ how Sam described the fireworks that he saw at the mother-in-laws house. A display at the end of the road gave us hope that Samuel would not be scared by the noise of a professional display that we had paid to see. We were even more surprised that Samuel wanted to look out of the window to see his bangs. In fact it has now become a request every time we turn up to collect him - that we go out side to see the bangs. Not convenient when its cold and raining and there are no bangs because firework night was 5 weeks ago...

Are you sitting comfortably?

2011-12-12T21:54:00.001Z

Isla ‘G’ came to Thrive just as I was leaving but I hope I have educated her in health and safety...Years ago I watched a video presentation on VDU health and safety - I also put up a poster illustrating the best position to sit at a desk. And those were the qualifications that alerted me to Isla’s bad posture not the way she was using her mouse in the right hand on her left hand side with her arms folded and resting on the desk, her head slightly slumped to one side.

Dog training the hard way

2011-12-11T19:32:00.000Z

Following on from Sue Twiggs cartoon, I thought I would introduce Misty the Dog to the blog...Misty was my Heinz-57 cross mutt who was found tied to the back of a car in Asda carpark. We collected her, under the impression she was a border collie cross but it turned out she was a collie with a little grey hound - as she could move and vanish quite fast. She was an expert escapologist, leaping over our 6ft high garden fence, and disappearing like the littlest hobo. However in all the time we had her Misty never tried to escape through the front door.

One of my favouritest memories is Misty taking off around a field or in this case Bude seafront and collecting as many dogs as she could behind her. The game was to call Misty, who despite her nomad ways, was very obedient and she would return to us but leave a beach full of dog owners all searching for their pets in her wake!

For dog behaviour issues please register with Cesar the dog whisperer.

A friend in need gives you a dog…

2011-11-24T09:30:00.000Z

Sue Twigg is the person most responsible for my last 11 (almost 12) years employment at Thrive. What started as a temporary phone answering position lead to better things, and now a new challenge at Debra. But this is not the first time Sue Twigg has affected my life – She was the one who introduced me to a rescue dog called Misty - the most disobedient animal in the world and the reason my dad had to build a 6 foot plus high fence around our house. Sue Twigg is the most organised person in the world of administration and the person least likely to make a mistake. Sue Twigg is also knows my mum, a reason that I have kept secret many, many things from my Thrive work mates. So now I don’t work for Thrive here is the best-est and most embarrassing secret that I know about Sue Twigg.
Thrive used to have a water cooler. It had a standard plastic cup dispenser on the side. One fine day I found a very puzzled Sue Twigg (a woman who makes no mistakes) looking blankly at the water cooler trying to work out where the new plastic cups had disappeared to, that she had loaded into the aforementioned plastic cup dispenser. She could see them but couldn’t work out why they were not dispensing.
The reason was clear to me.
Sue had put the cups in upside-down.
The thin bit of the cup was stuck up and the fat bit of the cup was jammed down. And so we had to lever the cups out of the machine in a fit of giggles - and we agreed never to speak about it again.

In good company

2011-11-22T22:00:00.000Z

Angie K – what can I say but Legend. My favourite look has been ‘fly-away hair K’, inspired by high winds and if you can imagine what it would be like to travel to work with your head hanging out of the car window – that is the look that inspired this sketch. When I think Angie k I think Teddy K from the movie In Good Company – you have to watch this movie, poking fun at managerial speak and a love story for the ladies…watch this clip.

Angie K is one of Thrive’s Trust funding wing women.

Mooonn

2011-11-17T18:20:00.000Z

One of Samuels first words pronounced ‘Mooonnna’ which now means anything that is round in shape. He also says ‘bot-al’ and can string a sentence together. The other morning he said, ‘Dad…door…away…tea’ Not impressed as it was mummy’s turn to make the morning drinks. The sketch is of Samuels grandparents house where you can actually still see stars at night. Samuel visits on a Friday and at precisely 8:36pm he will point to the door and say ‘Away…coat…bye’ Which means it’s time for bed can I go home.

Pairings

2011-11-15T22:00:00.001Z

Meet the A-team of the Thrive community gardening for older people project. While I was working for Thrive it became increasing harder to tell Carl and Paul apart, both eager gardeners, both corporately dressed, and surprisingly both very capable with a thermos flask. And so, to be instantly recognisable, and like many comedy pairings, Carl always stands to the left of Paul.

When I get in from work…

2011-11-10T21:36:00.000Z

After a long day at work there is nothing better than getting home and putting your feet up. Samuel has recently had other plans for daddy. When I get in, Sam will meet me at the door shouting ‘Vroom…’ An indication that he wants to play in my car. This is his opportunity to turn on all the switches, move all the dials and hoot the horn, much to the neighbours dismay. And it’s not just my car, Grandad’s van and Mummy’s car are also suitable playgrounds for our 18 month old toddler. Mummy quite often gets a rude awakening in the morning as Samuel has now learnt to use the gear stick – I wonder who taught him that!

Family

2011-10-29T16:32:00.001+01:00

Something different for the weekend. This is a series of paintings I created from an old family album.

Me on the beach probably aged 3ish and most likely in Weymouth.

The same day but with my dad.

Finally a picture of the garden where I grew up. Dad built the shed. It survived for several decades but dad replaced it with a fence panel construction a couple of years before he died.

Leaving Thrive 2

2011-10-25T21:16:00.001+01:00

The next batch of victims…

I’ve known Tracey for as long as I can remember, so I think she has been at Thrive longer than me. She likes a nice big cup of hot water. And a cup of tea. She drives a Mercedes.

Alyson loves to organise her day in a calendar, rather than a diary. The space to write appointments on conventional calendars is limited and I suspect that’s the reason she doesn’t have many meetings.

One of the three wise Senior Managers – Cathy recently went to France where she spoke loudly and clearly in English, so the frogs would understand. She translated her presentation in google translate so, Qui sait si ce que Cathy a dit à la frenchie a été correcte. I used to run a competition on hospital radio using the same technique but I went one step further, I translated the french back to english…with limited success.

I like Damien. He has limited IT needs.

This is our CEO Nicci Carruthers. I have always loved this coat. I think it is either the skin of a grizzly bear that she wrestled to the ground in an expensive London Boutique or DFS lost a sofa covering. Whatever, it’s looks very warm.

Jan or Janet as she likes to be know to her close friends, has dyslexia. Janet has never let this disability stop her confusing people, in particular the corporate volunteers who have helped to paint the toilets and plumb the walls on her instructions.

Leaving Thrive 1

2011-10-18T22:06:00.001+01:00

So on 28 October 2011, I will spend my last day at Thrive before moving to Debra. It has been great working for Thrive over the 11 years that I have been there and I have fond memories of a lot of good people that I have worked with, here is a selection of cartoons of some of them…

Fiona – who is very tall and wears the most amazingly beautiful outfits.

Simon – who has only just joined Thrive and is a very athletic person and has a drinks bottle which I believe may be filled with gin. He sits to my left. He has never shared his gin.

Sally – Thrive’s account guru. She faces up the office and all you can see is her peering over the top of her laptop screen.

Kath Power – She is very tiny.

Lynne – who I sit next to on Weds, Thurs and Fridays. Last week she was reconciling a spread sheet by colouring it in.

Sue Tiplady – Who is another very fit old bird who cycles about 17 miles to Thrive, at least once a week.

more to follow…

Money Maker

2011-10-17T21:09:00.001+01:00

Here is a great idea if you have an industrial unit and a couple of miles of old scaffolding poles. We have taken Samuel to the Madhouse on numerous occasions and he has enjoyed every visit. I have seen better slides, there is one at the Big Sheep in Devon that has an almost vertical drop to it. Madhouse is quite weird as there are sofa’s for adults to sit while their offspring go wild in the scaffolding. The Big Sheep is weird as it is all about the sheep. Lots of sheep. Sheep Racing, Sheep Shearing, even a Sheep theatre and I have a cartoon of that which I will reveal later this week…

So all I need to make my fortune is an industrial unit and scaffolding poles. I’ll just head over to ebay…

A chance happening

2011-10-12T22:02:00.001+01:00

I belong to the Woodley and Earley arts group and we went to Greys Court in Henley for the day, it had been arranged that we had access without the public. Having made loads of sketches during the day I found this broken door on an old building next to the toilets. There was no time to do a sketch so I took a picture and with plenty of time at home I produced this image with Derwent drawing pencils. I was testing a blister pack of 6 colours. I think the limited palette has helped to hold the picture together and made me think more about tone rather than finding the right colour.

Quick tip: – Make sure you keep the pencils sharp otherwise you lose detail. This is what happened when I drew the padlock!

Secret Garden

2011-10-10T21:49:00.000+01:00

This is a view of the Secret Garden at Thrive which I sketched out on an unusually hot September day while eating my lunch. The three raised beds contain vegetables that were benefitting from the September sun, but like so many other gardens the tomatoes were still green.

I am disappointed with the composition of this sketch as there is a strong diagonal line that has become overpowering. I might revisit this view and make a more pleasing picture by making the bean poles stronger and bringing the trees closer to the roof line of the building to break up the roof.

I have recently resigned from Thrive to move to a Debra, a charity based in Crowthorne. It was a difficult decision to leave these stunning surroundings knowing that my next job will be based in an grey industrial estate, however I’m looking forward to the challenge of the new job and also to find some urban life and colour to sketch.

Last time I posted I asked you what body part breeds around 516,000 bacteria and the answer is your armpit. Nice.

Tour de Windsor

2011-10-05T21:01:00.001+01:00

We love Windsor for a day out as it is local and there is always something to do. On the 4 September we merrily made our way to Windsor and in the excitement of it all we went straight on where we should have turned left…well three quarters of an hour later and with a trip through Eton and Slough back round and into the car park, it began to rain. This was unfortunate as there was a London to Windsor bike ride in progress in aid of the British Heart Foundation. The picture is of 2 canonists that I saw coming under a bridge (by the time I got my sketch book out they were very close), I like the contrast of light and darks that runs through this picture.

Now for this weeks question…Which part of your body is home to over 516,000 bacteria? Answer at the end of the week.

Boscastle–a trip through the archives

2011-10-03T18:46:00.001+01:00

This is a sketch I did way back in the 1990’s when I first started a sketch book. We were on holiday in Crackington Haven and we visited Boscastle to see the amazing Blow Hole where when the tide comes in a whoosh of waves and floods through a cave in the rocks. I can remember it being a warm and busy day with the car park being very full.

I did a quick pencil sketch which I later coloured in and put pen over to bring out the details.

Something different for the weekend

2011-10-01T12:06:00.001+01:00

On Tuesday I posted a picture of Samuel stood in a box and I asked if anyone knew what television programme was on the telly and what was happening in the show… I can reveal today that Sam was watching Gigglebiz (Check out the theme tune) and D.I.Y Dan was learning how to paint a wall with a roller.

Samuel was so inspired by this, that he produced the picture above and when I asked him what it was he said ‘Dooug’…I’m not sure if that’s an animal dog or a friend he has called Doug. Either way he is a boy genius.

If anyone would like to purchase a boy geniuses first attempt at art please let me know!

Samuel stood in a box

2011-09-27T22:02:00.001+01:00

It is an amazing thing to watch a 16 month old baby walk around the house with a cardboard box on his head and without bumping into anything. Better than when he puts his potty on his head, anyway on this particular occasion he chose to stand in his box. It was only just big enough and he tried to sit down but couldn’t bend at the knees. The box originally contained lego. In the picture the television is on and it is one of Sam’s favourite shows, but can you tell which one and what is happening? I will let you know at the end of the week.

Coke incident

2011-09-21T21:47:00.001+01:00

The view from of the infamous coke incident in Bournemouth – this is our favourite eatery the Slug and Lettuce – We don’t get out much our son is 17 months old and a burger and chips done well is like a trip to London’s Savoy.

On this particular adventure we had waited three quarters of an hour for a pudding, which they didn’t have and I had to reorder. I leant on the table, as you do. I was playing with Sam and trying to keep him entertained when I removed my weight from the table all hell let loose. Deborah’s Coke ended up on the floor and over her. Deborah’s instant and vocal reaction brought the restaurant to silence and I was faced with the glares of a thousand women who were on-side with Deborah. Many a man will know the look I am talking about – it’s a look that says the sofa is yours tonight!

On a lighter note, the staff were very good and within seconds towels and a mop destroyed the evidence of the sticky sweat liquids presence.

London’s Shard

2011-09-19T08:29:00.001+01:00

A day out in London and we ended up looking at the tallest building in London – the shard. I choose this view which is looking from Guys St Thomas hospital towards London bridge for a specific reason. We were contemplating having lunch in the McDonalds that sits on the Guys St Thomas hospital site. In the end we opted to travel on the underground to Waterloo to eat at Burger King. Much healthier. I used the 1 day travel card in this picture, but can you spot the 3 pieces of the ticket?

Hair cut?

2011-09-14T20:50:00.000+01:00

Samuel has had 3 haircuts within the 16 months of his life. We decided to take him to the Barbers in Finchampstead as we haven’t been there before and also it’s a good introduction to a barbers for Sam. He was very interested and watched while a man had his head shaved and beard cut. He was very interested in the seat that raised him to an acceptable barbering height. He started to become suspicious when the apron was put over his head and he couldn’t see his arms. He cried when the he heard the snip of the scissors. The barber himself was very good and did a fantastic job he even offered Sam a sweet to distract him, but Sam is no fool and so Mummy ate the lolly and daddy tried to distract Sam with a book about dogs. I have drawn this in the style of Quentin Blake who I think is a great illustrator.

Through the Garden Gate

2011-09-13T22:15:00.001+01:00

Way back in 2008 I entered the above picture into the Reading Art Exhibition and I won first prize in my category. It now hangs in my mother-in-law’s living room – well it did before the room was recently repainted and now it sulks waiting to be re-hung on the wall. Perhaps if I married Debs it would get hung quicker! Following the success of the Reading Art Exhibition I went on to enter some paintings into a national competition and failed to get picked. But the following year at the Reading art Exhibition I managed to sell my first uncommissioned work! THe only picture that I have regretted selling…I wonder what wall it is hung on.

Find out more about the exhibition here…

Roll up, roll up

2011-09-07T21:52:00.001+01:00

Okay, this is your opportunity to own a piece of Martin Rolfe illustration. I have designed a Christmas card for Thrive, the place where I work. You can order cards here! Enjoy

8 legged tales

2011-08-26T21:29:00.000+01:00

It’s the bizarre world of travelling insects again…Denise whom I work with has told me about the spider who clings fearlessly to her wing mirrors. That is not an euphemism, apparently the same spider rides on the car wing mirrors of whatever car Denise is racing at the time. How do I know she races, I can’t keep up with her on the times that I have followed her to work! And if you are interested here is a great euphemism generator for times when words escape you!

Do not feed the animals

2011-08-21T21:11:00.000+01:00

Spent an hour entertaining Samuel with the Alpaca’s of Hare Hatch Garden centre. It was a fun filled animal afternoon also featuring bunny rabbits, goats, guinea pigs and ferrets. Samuel, who is now learning to talk, regards all animals as doggs…specifically putting a lot of emphasis on the G. I think Alpaca’s are really strange and odd looking creatures. Below is an illustration that Debs and I were commissioned to do for Hare Hatch, but sadly it was never used. If you need an illustration of a cow or sheep, please let me know.

Spie-der

2011-08-20T16:28:00.001+01:00

I’m not a fan of spiders but curiosity is one of Sam’s greatest assets. This morning he found a long-legged pin bodied spider behind the radiator in our bedroom. He proceeded to intimidate the eight legged beastie by poking it and then running up and down the length of the radiator to find out where it had gone! He managed to press his head close to the wall to allow himself the best view of the dust and creatures…I had a cup of coffee to calm my nerves.

Flat sketching

2011-08-20T16:21:00.000+01:00

Inspired by the urban sketchers web blog, I tried a bit of observational sketching. This sketch was a drawn in about 10 minutes and then colour added in the dry.

Ant-igravity

2011-08-19T08:49:00.001+01:00

This post is inspired, in part, to Rob Whites facebook post -

Has identified that a grass hopper can wing mirror walk up to a speed of around 53mhp! Beyond this, their powers fail!

I have also had some experience with insects on my windscreen. There is usually an army of ants walking across my bonnet in the morning, I think they are coming from an over hanging shrub. Anyway back to the story, I was driving to London when I noticed that there was an ant on the windscreen his little ant abdomen wobbling in the breeze. As I speed up his little ant abdomen lifted and at 68mph between Reading and Maidenhead on the M4 a cross wind took him flying over the roof of my car. This is a picture of that moment. I like to think that no ants were hurt in the making of this picture.

Potters Delight

2011-08-15T22:22:00.001+01:00

Wendy has been sat next to me in the office at Thrive, for around 18 months, although we have worked together indirectly for much longer. When she announced she was leaving to work in a school and because I knew of her love of ceramics and art I knew instantly what to draw. I think I have gone a bit Wallace and Gromit in the actual design. That’s not really surprising as Samuel is always looking at the Aardman animation book that we have in our bookcase. Another influence on my art!

Fun gets in the way of Gardening

2011-08-14T22:26:00.000+01:00

Sunday was meant to be a productive day for me in the garden, having paid £60 to have my Bay tree trimmed I became inspired to tidy up our overgrown back yard. Samuel took over the planned afternoon activities, he tried his favourite hobby, eating stones. He helped me wash potatoes and narrowly avoided giving himself a shower when he tipped the bucket over. He was suspicious of the lawn mower but didn’t mind having a ride sat on the mower from the front garden. He kicked the football for a while and sat in his tent, jumping up and down on daddy! Samuel also helped to pick the green tomatoes. Very Helpful!

BBQ

2011-08-13T21:54:00.000+01:00

Saturday we meet up with the parent,s and now toddlers from the NCT classes we attended before we had Samuel. There was a large number of outdoor toys in the garden but the most sort after was the toy car with those annoying, oversized supermarket trolley wheels. The slope in the garden made for an interesting afternoon of Child car racing. Experienced chidlers who remembered to pick up their feet were better than those like Sam who let his feet get caught under the car!