Pastel sketch of a Cow Skull

  

Charcoal and Chalk Pastel on Canson 46 x 30cm

Having had a bit more time on my hands this last week or so I decided to wander

around my local landscape in search for suitable drawing material. In a nearby woods

I passed this cow skull picked clean by time. I couldn't resist sketching it, as it made 

such an attractive subject, despite its obvious tragic history. 

Thanks for looking :)

Quick pastel sketch

Charcoal and colored chalk on canson 40 x 30 cm

It's been a while since I posted so I thought I might upload this quick sketch of the Gearagh as twilight approaches. Less is more I think for this type of description and it is so tempting to try to accurately portray what you think you can see, rather than the mystery offered by the fading light.

Thanks for looking :)

Out of its element

Colored chalk on canson 42x30 cm

Today I thought I might try my hand again at chalk pastels. Its been a while, 

but some time back, for ten years or so I used nothing else but dry media.

It was good to feel the chalks in my hand again and it came easy.

I have neglected them for too long in favor of the more forgiving oils.

Perhaps I will do more in the future.

Thanks for looking :)

Some more sketches from the ruined mill

Returning today I had once again a chance to study some different areas around the ruin..

The first being another roofless building deeper into the trees

 Charcoal and white chalk on canson 40 x 30cm

Charcoal and white chalk on canson 40 x 30cm

The second was a study of one of the now overgrown canals 

used to manage the waters for powering the mill system.. it was 

really enjoyable and quite peaceful.. I must return with oil 

paints as the weather gets cooler.

Thanks for looking :)

Churchyard Cat

Graphite on 150lb press 30cm x 20cm

 Every so often I get lucky enough to travel around the countryside with an 

art group that go by the name of Sceitse exploring different locations 

and their aspects of interest. This last trip was to the lovely seaside town of Youghal.

Always lots to draw on these trips, but what really caught my eye that day was this 

friendly cat happy to pose in the church yard. Unfortunately he wouldnt pose for long 

enough. But I was able to get quite a bit of camera reference from him and work this

little piece up in the studio later.

Thanks for looking :)

A pastel sketch from the island..

Pastel on tinted canson 30cm x 20cm

Another impression from the island of Illauntannig, the island itself is surrounded 

by quite a bit of rock, having only one short beach where a boat can be landed.

Rockpools of course are an endless source of sketch material.

Thanks for looking  :)

Life drawing at the Fourth Floor Studios.

Some more life drawing today at the Fourth Floor Studios.. Sometimes it just does not work, today it just seemed to be stuck, no likeness, proportions out of whack, just about everything wrong. I guess my muse had the weekend off or found something more interesting somewhere else. Whatever it was I was on my own :) So after a few hours frustration and in desperation, I switched to red conte on tinted sheets, rather than my trusty old pencils on bare white cartridge. All of a sudden things started flowing again. I suppose then, it's true, one small change is often all it takes.

Thanks for looking :)

Sketching with the Cork sketch group..

disposable pen on recycled paper 30 x 20 cm

A quick sketch I did from the Cork sketch group event "Drink & Draw 

last thursday 24th of April. Once again I have used the incredible records of

Edward S Curtis as an inspiration.

Thanks for looking :)

Portrait under strong light,

Charcoal and colored chalk 30 x 24 cm

The other evening while the web cam was on I leaned in toward the computer screen.

At the same time I had the fluorescent light I use at the desk for sketching switched on. 

The lamps I use are old salvaged medical spotlights similar to the lights you would find in a dental surgery. Very bright.The dark light contrast I saw in the cam display was far too tempting not to draw so I completed this little work with dry pastels based on it. While I'm not too sure about the likeness as a self portrait, not being quite as lean faced as the work appears, I still felt happy enough to post it.

Thanks for looking :)

Quick Figure Study

Graphite on Cartridge 42 x 30 cm

A quick excercise to draw the figure study using mostly line.

I have to admit, I find this a much more difficult excercise than 

just drawing using light and shade as the areas. Here I just wanted 

the line alone to describe the volumes and masses. 

Thanks for looking :)

Study of the head of a crow

Ballpoint pen on cartridge 30 x 20cm

I have to admit I have a weakness for drawing crows, they are such a resilient and

intelligent bird. I have ample opportunity to study them also, living near a large 

roosting colony.

Thanks for looking :)

Study of a Velazquez self portrait in ballpoint pen, sandpaper & Bleach

Ballpoint pen, sandpaper & bleach on recycled card  30 x 20cm

Here is a study from a self portrait by Velazquez. For this piece I first scribbled

out the main portrait with my ink pen, I then sanded the whole piece with a medium grade

emery cloth and used a hard eraser to knock back the lighter tones. After some adjustments

with the pen I then proceded to brush with household bleach the areas where I wanted to get 

the highlights. It's a messy approach but I thought it would be worth a try and for the materials

I used it seemed to come out ok. The whole work is done on a piece of recycled white card used
for packaging which I found much easier to sand than the normal A4 cartridge sheets I use from
time to time. Of course this is not the first piece of artwork I have created from mediums which
are all  destined to become rubbish :)

Thanks for looking :)

Quick scribble of a woodland scene

ballpoint pen on cartridge  30 x 20cm

 Here's another quick sketch done with ballpoint pen at the cork sketch group

Drink & Draw event. I heard someone say recently that the ballpoint pen is the 

pencil of the 21st century.. I guess that could be true really as even the cheapest

mass produced pen can still offer up a satisfactory drawing result. I find for speed

and tone and a fine line, a ball point pen can be second to none when you are in a

hurry. I also like to use sandpaper with these scribbles, drawing the ink across the 

page in a semblance of a wash, making for a nice finish. Of course with the pen, 

there's no turning back, once you put down that line it's there to stay, but I like to 

think that's an advantage to as it forces you to make better decisions knowing in 

advance that you will not be able to undo any strokes. I have been using ballpoint

pens now for many years and I find that each time I return to graphite or oil pitt I

 do less corrections as a result of using this medium.

Thanks for looking :)

Abandoned

Disposable pen on recycled paper 30 x 20

My entry for day six of the July drawing challenge.

Thanks for looking :)

Invisible to her prey.

Disposable ink pen on recycled paper 30 x 20cm

Here is the day five drawing from the drawing challenge, the subject was, "invisible"

I attached a digital border to this piece to contain the text as I thought the drawing

itself needed a bit of an explanation in order to satisfy the theme

Thanks for looking :)

Old Crow

Disposable ink pen on recycled paper 30 x 20 cm

For the month of July I have joined a drawing challenge started by the Galway Pub Scrawl. 

A drawing group based in Galway. The challenge is to draw something each day for the

month, based on a list. One drawing per day each day. All the drawings done by those in 

the event can be seen here. The above is my entry for day three " your spirit animal "

Thanks for looking :)

Study of Caravaggio's "Doubting Thomas" with disposable pen

  Ball point pen on recycled paper 12 x 8

I started this the other night while with the Cork sketch group at their drink and draw event

 and finished it on returning to the studio. I felt attempting a Caravaggio study would have

 been a bit of a challenge with the,"ten for a penny" ink pens I am using at the moment but 

they seem to be more than able. Any reluctance on my part to do this was based on the fact 

that there is no adjustment allowed so I would have to look at my own mistakes when finished. 

But that's all part of the process and I think I got away with it, for the most part. I do like the 

results though, because the finished scribble gives me a good understanding of where I
might have made better decisions with my pen strokes and it also teaches me to accept the
limits of my ability with the media.

Thanks for looking :)

Empty glass bottle

Disposable pen on recycled paper 30 x 20 cm

It seems lately that I am unable to let go of these cheap pens, I am

finding them so versatile. I just buy them in bunches and draw with 

reckless abandon.. 

Thanks for looking :)

Very quick tree study

Disposabel ink pen on cartridge paper 20 x 30cm

As the title suggests, here's a very quick tree study.

When I am little caught up for time I like to resort back

to my well used disposabel pen and some cartridge paper.

Thanks for looking :)

The Crow

Disposable ink pen on cartridge paper 30 x 20cm

Heres a quick sketch I did at the Cork Sketch Groups, "Drink and Draw" meet up.

I really like working with cheap disposable pens and recycled paper. When I'm 

using more expensive media I am always worried that the outcome might not

 justify their cost, however with just the basic tools I dont have these concerns

so I tend to be a little less cautous in my approach... something that seems at times 

to prove usefull.

Thanks for looking :)