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!
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.
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…
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!
‘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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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…
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…
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
