Sketching a Trip Home

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.

Old Thrive cartoon

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?

Are you sitting comfortably?

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.

A friend in need gives you a dog…

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

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.

Pairings

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.

Leaving Thrive 2

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

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…

Roll up, roll up

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

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! 

Flat sketching

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.